Scottish Seabird Centre
About
A marine conservation and education charity on the rocky point beside North Berwick harbour, opened in 2000 by the Duke of Rothesay, and the reason most first-time visitors come to the town. The Discovery Experience is built around remote cameras trained on the Bass Rock, Craigleith, the Lamb and Fidra, so you can pan and zoom around a gannet colony three miles offshore from a warm room. New for 2026, the Centre has 360-degree camera systems streaming live from the Rock. There is also an outdoor viewing balcony with telescopes, staffed spotting sessions, a wildlife film programme, VR, and the SOS Puffin film about the campaign to clear tree mallow off Craigleith so puffins can nest again. The Centre states a visit of about an hour and a quarter. It is also the booking office and departure point for the boat trips.
Photos
Highlights
- ✓Live and 360-degree cameras on the Bass Rock gannet colony
- ✓Outdoor viewing balcony with telescopes over the Firth of Forth
- ✓The SOS Puffin film about restoring Craigleith for puffins
- ✓Departure point for every Bass Rock and Isle of May boat trip
Tips
- →Opening hours change by month: 10:00 to 18:00 April to August, 10:00 to 17:00 in February, March, September and October, and 10:00 to 16:00 in January, November and December. Closed 25 and 26 December.
- →Advance booking is recommended at weekends and in school holidays, though tickets are also sold at the information desk on arrival.
- →The adjacent harbour car park charges £3.50 for one hour up to £10 all day between 09:00 and 18:00, and is free from 1 October to the end of February. The free Recreation Park car park is about 15 minutes' walk away.
- →In winter, when no boats run, the Centre is the substitute: the cameras still show the Rock.
Best Season
More Attraction Activities
Tantallon Castle
A huge red sandstone curtain wall on a clifftop headland facing the Bass Rock, four kilometres east of town. Parts are currently closed to visitors.
Dirleton Castle and Gardens
A thirteenth-century fortress and its gardens in the village of Dirleton, four kilometres west. Parts are closed, and it shuts Thursdays and Fridays in winter.
Coastal Communities Museum
A free, volunteer-run local museum above the library, with an original West Bay beach hut and an audio tour of the town. Wednesday to Saturday, to 31 October.