Outside Edinburgh Is A Unified Coastal Town With Fresh Seafood, Harbor Views, And A Historic Garden

While beautiful Edinburgh, Scotland's capital city, dominates the Firth of Forth, it's the many smaller towns and villages along the coast that will brighten your day when you get the urge to take in sea views. Edinburgh is magical and features many stunning views of its own, but the coast is best appreciated from a day trip to a nearby small town like Cockenzie and Port Seton. Originally two separate fishing villages, Cockenzie and Port Seton each had its own harbor and grew for different reasons. Today, Cockenzie and Port Seton is a unified coastal town, merged and operated as one entity. The fresh seafood is still top notch, and there are plenty of beautiful harbor views to go around with two harbors to choose from. Step into the town's history with a visit to Cockenzie House and Gardens or the Waggonway Museum, or visit one of the best preserved medieval churches in Scotland at Seton Collegiate Church.

Cockenzie and Port Seton makes for a lovely day trip from Edinburgh for those that want to enjoy the coast, fresh seafood, and a bit of history. It's a 30-minute drive or about an hour via bus, depending which route you catch. The town doesn't have its own train station, so your best bet for public transport is catching the No. 26 bus, which doesn't require any transfers en route. The closest train station is in adjacent Prestonpas, an ex-mining town with a quiet beach, but you'll still have to walk, bike, or taxi into Cockenzie and Port Seton.

There's no shortage of coastal towns near Edinburgh with fresh seafood, and Cockenzie and Port Seton is no exception. Historically, Cockenzie and Port Seton both served as fishing villages, but their harbors also exported goods like salt and coal in the 1600s. Today, they're a pair of petite harbors used mostly for leisure craft and small fishing vessels, which supply the town with fresh seafood. Head to James Dickson & Son near Cockenzie Harbor or J&C Seafoods near Port Seton Harbor to choose your own fresh seafood to take home. Dickson & Son is committed to sustainable fishing practices and can tell you exactly where their products are fished or farmed, while J&C's long-time local owners recently retired and sold the business to another local couple to carry on the tradition.

If you'd rather someone else do the cooking, stop by Port Seton's Carlo's Fish Bar and Restaurant for classic fish and chips, as well as pizzas, pasta, and kebabs. Admittedly, there aren't many restaurants in this small unified town, but you'll find them all along High Street to Seton Place. Choose from the cafe at the historic Cockenzie House and Gardens, a sushi takeaway, and a few Chinese restaurants. Alternatively, bring a picnic lunch with you on your day trip from Edinburgh, and enjoy lunch with a view from a bench with harbor views.

For something a little different on your day trip to Cockenzie, stop in the Cockenzie House and Gardens. This historic home was built in the late 1600s by the prominent Seton family, and you can still wander through the historic garden and follies today. Spring is a particularly colorful time to visit, but the real show here is the dozens of artisan studios. Come watch artists create, and stop in the gift shop for unique postcards sold nowhere else in town.

When you're finished at the gardens, go for a peaceful stroll on the John Muir Way, a coastal path stretching from Helensburgh to Dunbar that passes right through Edinburgh and the town of Cockenzie and Port Seton. The full walking route is 134 miles across central Scotland and runs by popular spots like Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park, Scotland's first national park. You could even walk to Cockenzie and Port Seton from Edinburgh if you wanted a long, invigorating walk to the coast before returning to the city. But for the rest of us, enjoy beautiful harbor views with just a short, reasonable walk along the portion of the path that hugs Cockenzie and Port Seton's coastline. The path goes right along the waterfront for both harbors, offering beautiful sunrise views and the soft lapping of water on calm days.