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What route from Berwick-on-Tweed to Edinburgh?

Posted by (BC, Canada) on

Hi there - we are looking at two possible routes for part of our July 2016 UK road trip. We are looking for the most scenic route of course, like both historic and natural beauty. One route we are considering is up the coast through Dunbar and North Berwick, and detour back to Rosslyn Chapel. The other is to cut inland and travel through Jedburgh and Melrose heading to Rosslyn Chapel before arriving in Edinburgh. What our these roads/highways like? How do they differ? Scenery? A little more background - after leaving Edinburgh 4 days later, we will drive south through Peebles, Traquair, Selkirk, Hawick-Castleton and Carlisle - arriving at our final destination that day in Keswick (sorry, I know some areas are not part of the Scotland forum, but had to include it for logistical reasons!!).

Also, where is the best viewing of, and easiest access to Hadrian's Wall given our driving route? I have read Heddon-on-the-Wall is good and it would be on our route through Newcastle. The other would be close to Carlisle, but would that be too much of a detour given the length of our day coming from Edinburgh to Keswick? Thank you very much!

Posted by
2501 posts

There's not much of the Wall at Heddon on the Wall - you need to be further west at the Housesteads area or closer to Carlisle at Birdoswald

both routes are nice either coastal or inland - maybe if you're coming back to Keswick on an inland route take the Dunbar option

Posted by
30 posts

We made a day trip from Edinburgh to Berwick-upon-Tweed and it was an unexpected surprise. Luckily, we had beautiful weather all day--so much more sunshine and clear skies than we experienced in most of Scotland (May '15 trip). The drive is awesome as you will get a lot of beautiful North Sea scenery along the highway. Dunbar is a nice little town and has a great coastal walk down by the harbor. Also, check out the community bakery in town (I think its the 'Bakery Dunbar', but will have to confirm in my notes later), apparently it's 'owned' by the whole town or something like that. Regardless, it had some great food and was apparently voted one of the best bakeries in Scotland. We visited North Berwick on the way back home to go to the Scottish Seabird Centre--which was somewhat disappointing--but it had a nice small town feel as well as great views on the coastline. We also visited the town of Haddington (where I have family) on our way to Berwick-upon-Tweed and it was also an interesting little town with a lot of history.

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