On the way to Tantallon Castle: North Berwick

Edinburgh Waverley station

Our journey started at Edinburgh Waverley station which looked really nice and neat despite being refurbished. We bought round-trip tickets at £6.80.

 To our relief, trains turned out to run frequently and till late hours. Our train was very comfortable and, what is more, it provided status updates - approaching announcements (by visual message displays and audio equipment), which was convenient too. 

The journey took us 30 minutes. 

Our platform

Our train to North Berwick

When we got off the train, we were trying to find some information on how to get to Tantallon Castle, but instead we happened to find ourselves in the middle of some sort of festival. Only later did we realize it was an annual event - Lifeboat Fete. Somehow, however, we only managed to see some fancy classic cars parked right next to the golf course and food stalls. Interestingly enough, old cars or motorbikes, as I was told by my friend later, are often exhibited on any occasion and without any reason in the UK. Surely, I took pictures of some of them (thinking it was the main attraction there at that moment).

Live music, families playing golf, kids hanging out with their parents at game stalls made a very family friendly picture as a whole and made me feel welcome and blissful.

North Berwick, as a matter of fact, is said to be one of the most beautiful seaside towns in Scotland. Indeed, the place looked picturesque despite the gloomy, murky sky.

I also admired these pretty houses and their immaculate gardens.

After half an hour, we finally found the right bus stop, but apparently the bus must have arrived ahead of schedule. It was getting late and it started drizzling, so we decided to make inquiries with the tourist information. We had actually considered walking to Tantallon Castle (5 kilometers - 3.1 mi east of North Berwick), but since we were short of time, we eventually called a relatively cheap cab and we split £7.00. We arrived at our destination two hours before closing time and we were greeted by extremely friendly staff. The admission fee was £5.50. We swiftly entered the site and this magnificent castle emerged from behind the visitor center:

Literally, we were glued to our cameras.

To be continued ...