Longniddry Bents

The walk along Longniddry Bents pulls you right out towards the Firth of Forth, with the sort of wide-open coastal views that make you understand why people actually chose to live in East Lothian. It's a stretch of dune grassland and beach that feels properly wild without requiring serious hiking boots - ideal for a couple of hours if you're based at Haven Seton Sands or Drummohr, both nearby.

You get genuine dune habitat here, the kind with marram grass and the occasional butterfly if you time it right. On a clear day you can see across the water towards Fife. The beach itself is sandy and empty more often than not, which beats the hell out of fighting crowds elsewhere. Families will manage this comfortably; kids get to run about on the sand, adults get some proper air. The light changes constantly depending on weather, so even a repeat visit feels different.

There's nothing fancy about it - no visitor centre, no ice creams, no facilities that I could find. That's rather the point. Allow an hour minimum, longer if you're a photographer or just want to sit on the dunes and think. Best avoided in driving rain, obviously, but autumn and spring are particularly good when the weather's dramatic without being impossible.

It works brilliantly as an easy break from holiday-park base camp. Close enough that you won't spend your afternoon driving, far enough that you actually feel like you've properly escaped.