Gullane

Gullane is a seaside village in East Lothian, in central Scotland. It's surrounded by golf courses, notably Muirfield, a regular venue for the Open Championship. It's also a commuter town for Edinburgh.

• Gullane Bents. are the sands and dunes of Gullane Beach. By car take Sandy Lane, 2nd left after entering the village from the west, which leads to a large car park. There's a broad curve of golden sands, with rocks at the eastern end and low cliffs to the west. The dunes, which in the 20th C were just blowing sand, are becoming grown over as the Council has sought to stabilise them. This may have been overdone, as there's nowadays quite a thicket of blackthorn.
• National Museum of Flight, East Fortune Airfield EH39 5LF (B1347 three miles south of Gullane, +44 1620 897240. Apr-Oct daily 10:00-17:00, Nov-Mar Sa Su 10:00-16:00.. Shows the history of 20th C flight, with an aircraft collection in four hangars including British Airways Concorde G-BOAA, De-Havilland Comet 4C,Vulcan bomber and Boeing 707. Adult £12.50, conc £10.50, child (5-15) £7.50 £3, children £2.
• Dirleton Castle, Dirleton EH39 5ER (2 miles east of Gullane. Daily Apr-Sept 09:30-17:30, Oct-Mar 10:00-16:00. Impressive castle dating from about 1240, smashed by Cromwell in 1650. It's set in well kept gardens. Adult £6.

Gullane Bents. are the sands and dunes of Gullane Beach. By car take Sandy Lane, 2nd left after entering the village from the west, which leads to a large car park. There's a broad curve of golden sands, with rocks at the eastern end and low cliffs to the west. The dunes, which in the 20th C were just blowing sand, are becoming grown over as the Council has sought to stabilise them. This may have been overdone, as there's nowadays quite a thicket of blackthorn.

National Museum of Flight, East Fortune Airfield EH39 5LF (B1347 three miles south of Gullane, +44 1620 897240. Apr-Oct daily 10:00-17:00, Nov-Mar Sa Su 10:00-16:00.. Shows the history of 20th C flight, with an aircraft collection in four hangars including British Airways Concorde G-BOAA, De-Havilland Comet 4C,Vulcan bomber and Boeing 707. Adult £12.50, conc £10.50, child (5-15) £7.50 £3, children £2.

Dirleton Castle, Dirleton EH39 5ER (2 miles east of Gullane. Daily Apr-Sept 09:30-17:30, Oct-Mar 10:00-16:00. Impressive castle dating from about 1240, smashed by Cromwell in 1650. It's set in well kept gardens. Adult £6.

• Walk the John Muir Way, a long-distance coastal trail. The route is obvious both ways: eastbound follow the shore by Yellowcraigs into North Berwick, and onward to Tantallon Castle, Dunbar, and the cliffs of Berwickshire. Westbound leads you to Luffness and Aberlady, a bird reserve; you can't short-cut across this bay as it's muddy. The trail continues east via Craigielaw and Seton Sands to Musselburgh.
• Muirfield Golf Course, Duncur Rd, Muirfield EH31 2EG, +44 1620 842123. Visitors only Tu and Th. The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers wrote the first recorded rules of the game in 1744 when they were based at Leith Links. They moved to Muirfield in 1891 and the course has been known as one of the World's finest ever since. Visitor bookings are taken up to a year in advance and fill up quickly. The course is 6728 yards, par 70. 18-hole round Nov-March £110, April-Oct £270 and two rounds £400.
• Gullane Golf Club, West Links Rd EH31 2BB, +44 1620 842255. Three 18-hole links courses, plus a children's course. Courses 1 (laid 1884; 6162 yards par 71) and 2 (laid 1898; 5976 yards par 71) have been used for qualifying for the Open Championship. No 3 (laid 1910, 5259 par 68) is shorter but still challenging. Much easier to get a round here than at Muirfield, but you should still book in advance. The three main courses all start from the clubhouse at the west end of the village. The children's course is accessed from the old village green, just east along Main St.
• Other nearby golf courses are Luffness, Craigielaw and Kilspindie towards Aberlady, and Archerfield near Dirleton.

Walk the John Muir Way, a long-distance coastal trail. The route is obvious both ways: eastbound follow the shore by Yellowcraigs into [[North Berwick]], and onward to Tantallon Castle, Dunbar, and the cliffs of Berwickshire. Westbound leads you to Luffness and Aberlady, a bird reserve; you can't short-cut across this bay as it's muddy. The trail continues east via Craigielaw and Seton Sands to [[Musselburgh]].

Muirfield Golf Course, Duncur Rd, Muirfield EH31 2EG, +44 1620 842123. Visitors only Tu and Th. The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers wrote the first recorded rules of the game in 1744 when they were based at [[Edinburgh/Leith|Leith Links]]. They moved to Muirfield in 1891 and the course has been known as one of the World's finest ever since. Visitor bookings are taken up to a year in advance and fill up quickly. The course is 6728 yards, par 70. 18-hole round Nov-March £110, April-Oct £270 and two rounds £400.

Gullane Golf Club, West Links Rd EH31 2BB, +44 1620 842255. Three 18-hole links courses, plus a children's course. Courses 1 (laid 1884; 6162 yards par 71) and 2 (laid 1898; 5976 yards par 71) have been used for qualifying for the Open Championship. No 3 (laid 1910, 5259 par 68) is shorter but still challenging. Much easier to get a round here than at Muirfield, but you should still book in advance. The three main courses all start from the clubhouse at the west end of the village. The children's course is accessed from the old village green, just east along Main St.

• Coop Food is on Main St, open daily 07:00-22:00. Tesco and Aldi are three miles east on the edge of North Berwick.

• Main St choices include The Main Choice, Super Fry and The Old Clubhouse. See also the hotels.
• La Potiniere, Main St EH31 2AA, +44 1620 843214. W-Sa 12:30-13:30 & 19:00-20:20, Su 12:30-13:30. This upscale restaurant gets rave reviews.

La Potiniere, Main St EH31 2AA, +44 1620 843214. W-Sa 12:30-13:30 & 19:00-20:20, Su 12:30-13:30. This upscale restaurant gets rave reviews.

• The Old Clubhouse on East Links Rd does bar meals and is open daily 11:00-23:00.

• A little way east is North Berwick, with the "Law" rearing up behind town, and the Bass Rock and other islands out to sea.
• Further east is the fishing village of Dunbar, then the cliffs of Berwickshire stretch to the English border.
• Inland is the small market town of Haddington, the Glenkinchie whisky distillery, and the rolling Lammermuir Hills.
• Scotland's capital city of Edinburgh is barely 20 miles away.