Located to the north of Dunbar, Belhaven beach is approximately 2.5km long, with a long relatively narrow stretch of sand that opens out into a wide bay at the south end of the beach,  The beach surface is generally quite firm, with only small areas of soft sand along the edge of the 'dunes' and back of the bay.  However, due to the action of tides/currents the beach can develop deep pot holes, so watch out!  These are moveable due to the exact nature of the tide/weather at the time, but are generally worse at the north end of the beach where the currents are greatest on an ebbing tide.  After heavy rain the beach can remain wet, as water drains from the adjacent marshes and seems to come to the surface at the high tide line.

The beach is best in a North-Easterly wind, but the large flat area at the south end works well in anything from Northerly to Easterly. However, any off-shore wind will be gusty (anything with a southerly), though a W-NW may still work.

The beach is used heavily by surfers when the waves/wind are good, so the beach can get very busy.  A surf school use the beach for lessons, so be aware of groups of people and surf boards left on the beach, although most of the surfers are friendly. 

The beach at Belhaven can be accessed from 2 directions.  At the rear of the beach, the John Muir Country Park has ample grass parking available.  Watch out for the height restriction barriers on the carpark.  These are set at 6ft 6in.  There is some parking in bays along the side of the access road (after the entrance to the carpark).  However, these are also used by the surfers.

Access to the beach from the Country Park is across open marshes.  Footing is generally firm and there are fairly well defined paths to follow.  Please keep to the marked paths.  There is a timber bridge and several piped drainage ditches on the path that follows the river.  These are narrower than your average buggy and make pulling a race buggy difficult.  The better route is across the middle of the marshes via the defined path. Access from the carpark to the marshes is through a narrow opening in the fence.   Wide axle buggies will need to be manhandled through the opening.

The alternative aceess is via the foot bridge for Belhanven itself (opposite the chalets/golf course).  This bridge is not accessible for a periood of time approx. 2 hours either side of high water when the approaches are flooded by the rising tide.  Please be aware of the incoming tide, as there can be plenty of beach left but you may not notice that access via the bridge has been cut-off by the incoming tide.  The alternative walk around via the road is a long way !!

There is a dedicated site for Belhaven Bay which sets out guidelines that have been discussed with locals and the council / ranger service. Mainly common sense. http://www.belhavenbay.org/content/

Review by Puds and Roors