Skip to content
windplease

Belhaven Bay

Edinburgh's home beach — clean sand, a shallow river-mouth flat, and a woodland wind shadow to ride out through.

East Lothian · East LothianDirections

Loading the week's forecast…

Loading map…

● Spot · shaded: the wind directions that work here. It is not a riding area or a permitted kite zone. Two fingers to move the map.

Location & launch

Know before you go.

Launch
Sand at the mouth of the Biel Water, backed by John Muir Country Park woodland and dunes.
Wind
NNW · N · NNE · NE · ENE winds work here.

The shaded area shows the wind directions recorded as working here. It is not a permitted kite zone or a safe launch boundary. Check local signs.

Local rules, hazards & spot guide

Need to know

The things that catch people out here.

  • The 'bridge to nowhere' at the Biel Water is cut off by the tide twice a day. It is a landmark, not a crossing.
  • The John Muir woodland behind the beach shadows the wind close in on southerlies and westerlies — get out past it.
  • Forty minutes from Edinburgh and the region's most-used spot, so there is usually company.
  • Cold water year-round. A proper winter suit, boots, gloves and hood from October.

Conditions

NESW
  • Best
  • Works
  • Offshore
Works in
NNW, N, NNE, NE, ENE
Best in
N, NNE, NE
Offshore (careful)
SSE, S, SSW, SW, WSW, W
Wind quality
moderate
Water
Flat to choppy
Depth
standing
Best tide
Low to mid
Spring range
4.9 m

The John Muir woodland behind can shadow the wind close in on southerly and westerly directions.

Beginner
Good
Intermediate
Ideal
Advanced
Good

Hazards

Most serious first. The level is in words as well as colour.

  • medium

    current The Biel Water runs out across the beach; streams round the point towards Dunbar are strong.

  • medium

    wildlife John Muir Country Park and the Firth of Forth SPA — protected dune and estuary habitat.

  • medium

    wind shadow Woodland behind the beach shadows the wind in southerly and westerly directions.

  • medium

    cold water North Sea temperatures rarely exceed 14°C.

Access & rules

Launch
Sand at the mouth of the Biel Water, backed by John Muir Country Park woodland and dunes.
Permit
Not required
Insurance
BKSA or RYA third-party cover expected.
Tuition
Permitted
Facilities
toilets, cafe

Parking

  • Linkfield / John Muir Country Park car park

    paid

Safety

Who is around if it goes wrong. None of it makes the water safe.

Lifeguards
None
RNLI
Dunbar RNLI
Nearest A&E
Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, Edinburgh (~40 min)
Water quality
Designated bathing water — good

The spot

Belhaven Bay at Dunbar is the most-used kitesurfing beach in south-east Scotland, forty minutes from Edinburgh. Clean sand, a shallow flat where the Biel Water crosses the beach, and enough space that it rarely feels crowded.

The John Muir Country Park woodland behind is the local quirk: it shadows the wind close in on southerly and westerly directions, so the first fifty metres can be disappointing before it cleans up. The Belhaven Bridge — the 'bridge to nowhere' standing in the middle of the sand — is cut off by the tide twice a day and is a landmark rather than a route.

The water is cold enough year-round that a full winter kit is not optional from October onwards.

Links & local

Clubs, forums & groups

Schools & shops nearby

  • Skymonster Watersports · kite school · ~1 km

    Edinburgh-based school that teaches at Belhaven.

Nearby alternatives

Other launches around East Lothian, with different conditions.

  • Longniddry

    Shallow, sheltered Forth water twenty-five minutes from Edinburgh.

  • Thorntonloch

    A quiet East Lothian option with a bit more swell than Belhaven.

Sources

Where this record came from, and how confident we are in it.

Confidence: medium · 3 independent sources · status needs-review · updated 2026-09-07

Verify locally. Coordinates 56.0054, -2.5593. Conditions, access arrangements and beach rules change; check them on the day before you rely on anything on this page.