Suggestions: What to do with a week in Noth Berwick

[RE Blanks]

Heading to Scotland and will be in North Berwick for a week.  Already planning on playing Murfield, NB, Gullane, and Dunbar.  Any others that I should see in the area?  Also, any good drinking/eating establishments? Thank you very much.  

[Bob_Huntley]

REB,

If you are there for only a week, just repeat what you have mentioned. Anything else is just trophy hunting.

As for eating and your American dollar purse will not take too much of a bruising, have dinner at Greywalls. The food, service and ambience is superb. I think one of my great evenings was dining there on a good friends largesse, it was my first taste of a great Romanee Conte, I shall remember it until I kick the bucket..


Bob

Bob

[Tiger_Bernhardt]

I second Bob's motion.

[Jim Nugent]

See if you can check out the new course Doak designed and is building -- not open yet -- which I believe is between N. Berwick and Muirfield.  It's called the Renaissance Club.  

[Mark Pearce]

REB,

If you are there for only a week, just repeat what you have mentioned. Anything else is just trophy hunting.

As for eating and your American dollar purse will not take too much of a bruising, have dinner at Greywalls. The food, service and ambience is superb. I think one of my great evenings was dining there on a good friends largesse, it was my first taste of a great Romanee Conte, I shall remember it until I kick the bucket..


Bob

Bob

Don't agree.  Play Kilspindie for a very different ut fun experience.  Play Gullane 2 (and 3) maybe even in preference to Gullane 1.

[Sean_A]

Kilspindie, Gullane #s 2 & 3 are all worth go, but if I had to choose one it would be Gullane #3.  Personally, I don't think #1 is all that much better considering how much extra they charge.  I have yet to see Luffness, but I would make an effort to see this course.  Strangely, I have found Luffness to be the hardest one to access, everytime I have tried they have been full.  However, Muirfield and North Berwick are very much worth repeating.  It is also worth considering a day or two off to enjoy Edinburgh.  Finally, you can't go to East Lothian and not play Musselburgh Old.  It doesn't take much time and could easily be done on the way into Edinburgh - DO NOT SKIP IT BECAUSE YOU WILL KICK YOURSELF LATER.  In all honesty, a week sounds like a lot to spend in East Lothian, but it isn't enough time to do it properly.

Ciao

[redanman]

Agree add Kilspindie, Luffness (relatively tough ticket) and Old Musselburgh, too. Very easy to spend the whole week without going too far.

[Bob_Huntley]

REB,

If you are there for only a week, just repeat what you have mentioned. Anything else is just trophy hunting.

As for eating and your American dollar purse will not take too much of a bruising, have dinner at Greywalls. The food, service and ambience is superb. I think one of my great evenings was dining there on a good friends largesse, it was my first taste of a great Romanee Conte, I shall remember it until I kick the bucket..


Bob

Bob

Don't agree.  Play Kilspindie for a very different ut fun experience.  Play Gullane 2 (and 3) maybe even in preference to Gullane 1.

When answering the first question I harked back to the general consensus of  what I deemed to be the opinons of most the writers on this board. Time and time again, we have heard that one should not cram as many courses as possible in a few days but replay some of the greats.

Like Mark, I have a great deal of affection for Kilspindie but would much prefer a second round at N. Berwick and Muirfield.


Bob

[David_Tepper]

Re Blanks -

The March issue of T&L Golf ran a lengthy article on golf in East Lothian that included some dining suggestions as well. Here is a link:

www.travelandleisure.com/tlgolf/articles/golf-high-on-gullane-hill

DT

[Jon Wiggett]

Sean,

for Luffness you need to try in jan/feb this works for me and if you hit a half decent day during the week you have the course almost to yourself.

[Sean_A]

Sean,

for Luffness you need to try in jan/feb this works for me and if you hit a half decent day during the week you have the course almost to yourself.

Jon

Unfortunately, I am not in the habit of travelling up to Scotland in January for golf.  Its hockey season then!  The truth of it is I am not too bothered when I have gone up.  There are plenty of other places that accept my money.  

Ciao

[Tony_Muldoon]

We had a great week there last summer.  Other than golf I would recommend:


There's a second-hand shop run by a pair of deaf grandparents in the street that runs up from the harbour.   They have some golf books in the shelf just in front of the cash register but if you ask they’ll take you into the back room where they keep the old volumes.  They had lots of old books Id never heard of but I can’t think of anywhere you’re more likely to find a first edition Darwin.  There are multiple charity shops in the main street and you’ll certainly find a copy of the World Atlas of Golf and any number of old irons at very good prices.

If you fancy a break from golf you can hire a lace on a boat and go fishing, or diving. And if the wind is for the north you can surf right beside the 1st hole on the West links. The centre of Edinburgh is 35mins by train.

The best value dining we found is in a largish restaurant almost opposite the local equivalent of the 24/7 on the main st, east end. The old fashioned large window had a green surround.  Very good food at keen prices.   Ducks at Kilspindle(sp?) is where we had “Dinner with Doak” in March.  Malcolm Duck the proprietor is something of a card, a golfer and provides “Greywalls standards at more appetising prices”. IN North Berwick a couple of evenings a week the Sealife Centre café becomes a restaurant. Enchanting eating on the terrace with wave s breaking a few feet away.


If you’re a history buff you should try and see the museum at Gullane.  I’ve yet toget there  but have heard many good things about the proprietor.  I don’t have his number(it’s appointment only) but he features in Curtis Gillespie’s “Playing Through” which would put you nicely in the mood.

[Mark Bourgeois]

Somebody with a picture of Jeff Spicoli is asking how to spend his nights?!  All you need are some tasty waves, a cool buzz, and you're fine...

[Mark Buzminski]

IMHO, you are heading straight into the light of golf heaven.  I remember the first time I drove from Edinburgh out to North Berwick, and my head was absolutley spinning with the gorgeous linksland.  It is truly stunning.  It was just one links course after another.  Its a similar feeling to the first time you drive into St. Andrews from Leuchars and you first see the spires of the old town in the distance and the spit of linksland and all those golf holes....ah, heaven, as I said.   What to do with a week in heaven?  You'll figure it out.

[Dan King]

Spend some time with Archie Baird. His little museum at Gullane is excellent, and if you can get him to come out and play some golf with you later that day, it will be a day you will always remember. Archie is a wonderful man, full of stories, some a bit difficult to believe.



If he hasn't change his number, it was 0185 870277.

Two places worth checking out in Gullane is the Gullane deli on Main street and the Old Clubhouse. I loved The Old Clubhouse's Death by Choclate Çake, but not the best thing before playing golf.

I also liked the putting courses in North Berwick. There is one just up the beach from North Berwick and another one, much less crowded, that I wouldn't be able to find again. Ask for it, and locals will point you in the right direction.

If you also have some time to kill, I'd take a tour of the Belhaven Brewery. Belhaven is really good on tap, so make sure you try some out. It's in Dunbar, and you can book a tour on their Web site. Dunbar is also a nice town to walk around.

I'd add my vote for Gullane #3, in the gloaming. Take three or four clubs and you'll have a ball making up shots as you go.

I also liked Luffness. North Berwick East Links (The Glen Course) is a bit of a disappointment, but a very friendly clubhouse.

Cheers,
Dan King

The Redan at North Berwick is another fine hole which has been copied almost as often as the Eden at St. Andrews. The original hole can hardly be considered perfect, as it is too blind and there are too many bunkers which have no meaning, but the ideas embodied in the hole are excellent, and these ideas give an architect great opportunities of making interesting holes.
 --Alister MacKenzie

[Kevin Pallier]

If I was in North Berwick for a week - I'd certainly play it more than once for starters.

Agree - with Sean though - for the experience I'd have a game at Musselburgh with hickories and current equipment.

[Greg Beaulieu]

Spend some time with Archie Baird. His little museum at Gullane is excellent, and if you can get him to come out and play some golf with you later that day, it will be a day you will always remember. Archie is a wonderful man, full of stories, some a bit difficult to believe.

Is Dougie Seaton still in NB? I recall, Dan, that you hooked up with him in your Golfweb days when you wrote your diary of your visit. I had an email correspondence with him for many years but lost track of him. He seemed a fine fellow.

[Paul Sinclair]

Is Dougie Seaton still in NB? I recall, Dan, that you hooked up with him in your Golfweb days when you wrote your diary of your visit. I had an email correspondence with him for many years but lost track of him. He seemed a fine fellow.

Dougie is still alive and kicking in North Berwick. I corresponded with Dougie for several years in the mid-90's and in 1998 during a trip to North Berwick we played at the West Links and had dinner a couple of nights. Dougie and his wife Carol paid us a return visit to Richmond, VA a year or so later. He is a great guy.

Adding to the list of ideas for what to do in the area:

1. Don't miss a visit with Archie Baird at his Golf Museum. It was a highlight of our trip to Scotland.

2. Try dinner at La Potiniere in Gullane. Fabulous restaurant. You will need reservations well in advance.

3. We stayed at the Marine Hotel and it is highly recommended. Right on the West Links and the pitch and putt course mentioned by Dan King above is also right there.

Enjoy your trip!

[Marty Bonnar]

2. Try dinner at La Potiniere in Gullane. Fabulous restaurant. You will need reservations well in advance.

Paul,
La Potiniere possibly not as good as when the the Browns were owners. (Don't think the new folks have the Michelin Star just yet...) We used to book the following years visit on the day we were there!
Still very, very, very nice menu though. Atmosphere however a bit too staid pour moi...

FBD.

[Tom_Doak]

Play golf till dark in the evenings, on the West Links or even the Glen, which some dismiss but which I enjoyed last summer.

Go out to Tantallon Castle.  Climb the Law, which is not as strenuous as it looks from the bottom.  Have dinner at the Indian restaurant in the center of town if you are looking for a bargain.

[Andrew Mitchell]

Other than the suggested visit to Musselburgh Old Links...play North Berwick West Links as often as you can.

[Rich Goodale]

Spend at least 1/2 of your nights in Edinburgh (1/2 hour by train).  It is a world class city (with some great restaurants, pubs, theaters, etc.), which North Berwick is not.  To spend the whole week in North Berwick would be like spending a week in Garden City without visiting New York.

[Mark Chaplin]

We played and dined at Whitekirk a pleasant inland course near NB. The food was decent and they sent a mini bus to collect us and drop us back in NB so we could enjoy a bottle or two with our dinner.

[Andrew Mitchell]

Spend at least 1/2 of your nights in Edinburgh (1/2 hour by train).  It is a world class city (with some great restaurants, pubs, theaters, etc.), which North Berwick is not.  To spend the whole week in North Berwick would be like spending a week in Garden City without visiting New York.

Agreed.  Days in the North Berwick area and evenings in Edinburgh sounds perfect!  Only don't miss the last train back like we did a few years ago - it's an expensive taxi fare back to North Berwick!

[Doug Siebert]

I enjoyed walking up the Law to take in the view.  Calling it a "climb" is giving it too much credit for difficulty -- if you can walk the West Links, you can make it up the Law....heck, if you are able to walk up that first fairway at Gullane you can make it up the Law

There's a path that sort of girdles around it rather than making you to straight shot it (though there may be such a path somewhere I didn't notice if you want to turn it into a workout)  It was quite interesting to see the North Berwick side with some occasional sunshine and dry weather, with the other side under some very dark and rainy clouds.  It seemed to be that way both days I was there.  I would think that the Law is a large enough feature to affect the microclimate in the North Berwick area, but unfortunately I didn't run into any meterologists up there so this is just my hunch.

You can see for miles in every direction, subject to the weather of course, and you can ponder how in the heck they got that huge-ass whale's jawbone way up there.  Especially the first one back in the 1700s.  Yeah yeah, I know, lots of grunting and sweating seamen.  As for the why, it had to have had something to do with too much spare time and enough spare money for lots and lots of whiskey!  It is amazing what crazy ideas seem brilliant when the blood alcohol content reaches a certain level