A rugged Berwickshire headland where thousands of guillemots, razorbills and kittiwakes nest on the cliffs below a lighthouse
The cliffs at St Abb’s Head are one of the best places on the east coast of Scotland to watch breeding seabirds up close. This rocky volcanic headland on the Berwickshire coast is a national nature reserve, a site protected for its wildlife, looked after by the National Trust for Scotland. From late spring into summer the ledges are packed with guillemots, razorbills and kittiwakes, with shags, fulmars and a few puffins among them, and the noise and smell are considerable. A white lighthouse stands out near the point; like all Scottish lighthouses it was run by the Northern Lighthouse Board, and it works automatically now. A circuit on foot from the village of St Abbs takes in the cliffs and Mire Loch behind them and joins the Berwickshire Coastal Path; Coldingham Bay nearby has a sandy beach if you want one afterwards.
