North Berwick
North Berwick is a small town north 25 miles East of Edinburgh and easily accessed by bus or train.
Just outside North Berwick places to visit include The National Museum of Flight, which has a Concorde and accompanying exhibition in a hanger and plenty for children as well as adults. There is also the The Myreton Motor Museum.
Judged one of The Sunday Times’ Best Places to Live 2021 and 2022
Reached easily by train or bus from Edinburgh.
A slow start has a wander to the two large hotels on the trail. Leaving the train station walk down the hill and cross over continuing down a curving road towards the sea. Eventually this straightens out to present The Marine Hotel. The poorest beer bar on the trail, it has the best views of the places visited. Leave here and walk back to the last junction, a crossroads. Here you will notice that a road and a lane lead off to the right. Take the lane, Ware Rd, and at the top turn right to find The Nether Abbey Hotel.
On leaving the hotel turn left and walk back towards the station. Passing by the station area keep walking until a Y junction is reached. Take the left-hand fork and walk on past the golf course into the main town where The Auld Hoose will appear on the right.
Exiting here, turn right and continue along the road turning right at the crossroads, into Quality Street. Walk up to Zitto's Wine Bar on the left then at the end of Quality St cross over to The Ship.
Now walk back down Quality St turning left into High St. Not far along is The County Hotel CLOSED), then a bit further along The Golfer's Rest, quickly followed by Herringbone.
You can now walk on and return to the station.
The Marine Hotel
Macdonald Marine Hotel is spa hotel looking over a golf course out to the mouth of the river Forth. The seating is couches and armchairs with lots of space between them for privacy. The drink offered is a bitter and a lager. There is a selection of bottled lager but no local Scottish bottled beer. Dog friendly.
Half a half pint
Bitter: Belhaven Best
Lager: Estrellla
There is nothing wrong with sobriety in moderation.
— John Ciardi (1966)
Nether Abbey Hotel ★
Nether Abbey Hotel is an old hotel with a very modern makeover. Visible from the car park is the traditional front door and the modern extension, which houses the bar, at the right hand side. There is a dining area inside the main door and walking through this and down a few steps is the bar counter. The bar with the extension has standing room and lots of tables in. The design and light are contemporary and very stylish. Lunch and evening meals, dog friendly (in bar) and disabled access
Good Beer Guide (CAMRA) regular including 2023, 2024, 2025
Have a pint or two here
Real ale: Joker; Thrappledouser; Belhaven IPA
Bitter : Joker; Belhaven
Lager: Erdinger; Tennent’s: Peroni; William’s Draught Lager; Urquell
Cider: Stowford Press Guinness
Pub Jukebox:
Alcohol themed music to listen to while you browse.
alligator wine - Screamin Jay Hawkins
The Auld Hoose ★ ❤
The Auld Hoose is a large two roomed pub with a nice looking back bar. The bar area is to the right of the main door where the bar counter takes up one side. Paddled settle and small tables are opposite the bar and these are heated with a real fire. Plenty of tables, stools at bar and standing room. The left-hand side has more tables and chairs and a large TV screen which tends to dominate the room. Dog friendly
Featured in Scotland's True Heritage Pubs Oldest pub in town?
CAMRA Good Beer Guide 2024, 2025
Have a pint or two here
Real: Bitter & Twisted; One Stop Hop; Landlord
Bitter: East Coast Pale Ale; Belhaven Best; McEwan’s 70/-
Lager: Tennent’s; Stella; San Miguel; St Mungo
Cider: Strongbow Guinness
Zitto
(check you can drink but not eat)
Zitto is a small Italian restaurant and wine bar with limited space for merely drinking at the bar. In fact it would now seem as if drink only sold with meals. Check before you visit.
Plenty of intimate tables and pavement seating. Formerly The Dalrymple Arms.
Have a half pint
Bitter; Belhaven Best
Lager: Peroni; Tennent’s
The Ship Inn ★
The Ship Inn is an old pub which has been transformed into a bar diner. There are booths by the window at the entrance. The large bar counter is on the right hand wall. Opposite this is a wall with several large booths. This wall is decorated with pictures containing beer mat collections. Either side of this wall are arches leading to a second smaller area with tables and seating along each side. There is outside seating to the road and a beer garden through the bar. Lunch and evening meals; dog friendly until 9pm.
Good Beer Guide (CAMRA) regular including 2023. 2024, 2025
Have a pint or two here
Real: Abbot; Ossian; East Coast Pale Ale; Schielhallion
Bitter: Belhaven Best; Punk IPA
Lager: Innes & Gunn Lager; Tennent’s; Fringe By The Sea Lager; Bitburger; Black Isle
Cider: Strongbow; Strongbow Dark Fruit Guinnesss
PLACES TO VISIT WITH PUBTRAILS
The towns and villages highlighted on this web site have a wide variety of pubs and beers in them. All of the places are great to visit, whether for a day or longer, and most have tourist attractions for all of the family.
There is a large variety of pubs throughout the different towns shown below. Some you may wish never to visit again but even discovering these can be interesting. There are pubs that you would not take your wife into. While some you could not take your girlfriend into. A few you would not take either into. However, most of the pubs are very pleasant.
HOME MAP of places visited
Alnwick Ambleside Anstruther Bakewell Bamburgh Barnard Castle Bath Berwick upon Tweed Birnam & Dunkeld Bourton on the Water Bowness on Windermere Bridge of Allan Chester Chichester Dunblane Dunoon Edinburgh Ely Fort William Glasgow Gourock Greenock Helensburgh Inverness Kelso Keswick Knaresbourgh Largs Linlithgow Lyme Regis Melrose Montrose Newton Stewart North Berwick Norwich Oban Pebbles Penzance Portree Pitlochry Quorn Richmond Rothesay St Andrews Seahouses Seend Shrewsbury Skipton Stirling Stratford-upon-Avon Stockton Heath Whitby Windemere Whitstable York
The County Hotel closed
The County Hotel has closed
The Golfer’s Rest ★
The Golfer’s Rest is a large pub, on the High St, which stretches through three distinct areas. At the front served by a rounded bar counter takes up either side of the entrance door and has padded seating curving around the wall and the two bay windows, with small tables and chairs. Up the right hand side is the main length of the bar (with real ale pumps). Tables and chairs line the right hand wall. At the top of the bar widens out again and has a pool table and more seating. Disabled access, lunch time meals and dog friendly.
Have a pint or two here.
Real: Ossian; London Pride
Bitter: McEwan’s 70/-; John Smith; Belhaven Best
Lager: Carling; Tennent’s; Stella
Cider: Carling Guinness
PUB QUIZ
Which fictional character made a detailed study of tobacco ash?
Answer at foot of page
Herringbone
Herringbone is a modern dining bar restaurant and which also invites drinkers to sit at the metal bar counter. A picture window looks out over the High St. Lots of round dining tables and chairs taking advantage of the window. Further back is the bar counter. Dog friendly, food all day
Recently refurbished.
Have a pint here
Bitter : Joker; Bitter & Twisted; Twisted Thistle; Belhaven Best
Lager: Innes & Gunn Lager; Schinhallion; San Miguel; Stella; Black Isle
Cider: Stowford Press Guinness
ANSWER: Sherlock Holmes
“[Taverns] are universal places, like churches, hallowed meeting places of all mankind. .”
— iris murdoch
