Another trip to Scotland provided the opportunity to tick off a couple more stations on the East Coast Mainline (ECML) with another episode of Exploring the East Coast. With England completed back in the last episode, episode 13 (which you can read here, or watch on my YouTube channel here), the number of stations left to complete is dwindling. This episode will cover both Dunbar and, at the time of visit, the ECML’s newest station at Reston.
The first stop for the day was Dunbar, a 25-minute or so trip from Edinburgh Waverley on a TransPennine Express (TPE) service bound for Newcastle. Whilst Dunbar is on the ECML and is served by four of the five operators that run along the northern section, it receives a very irregular service and is definitely a ’check before you travel’ destination. The most regular is ScotRail which provides a service roughly every two hours between Dunbar and Edinburgh between 1100 and 1700. Before 1100 there is only one ScotRail departure to Edinburgh, the 0652 and after the 1710 is the last one of the day.
TPE also provide a roughly two-hourly service to Edinburgh, and southbound to either Berwick or Newcastle although ‘roughly’ is definitely the best description with a three or four-hour gap at some points during the day and only an hour’s gap at other points. The East Coast’s main operator, LNER, serves Berwick four times per day in each direction, with three northbound departures to Edinburgh and one through to Aberdeen whilst southbound there are three services to London Kings Cross and one to Leeds.
The final operator that serves Dunbar is CrossCountry, with three trains per day in each direction. The northbound serves all terminate at Edinburgh whilst southbound, there is one each to Plymouth, Taunton, and Birmingham New Street. Between these four operators, there are 19 northbound services each day with all but one terminating at Edinburgh. However, the gap between these ranges from 11 minutes between the 1843 CrossCountry and 1854 LNER departures, to a whopping two hours and 56 minutes between the 1854 LNER and the 2150 CrossCountry services!
However, once you’ve managed to get to Dunbar, it is definitely somewhere that’s worth a daytrip if you’re in the area. Birthplace of the explorer, naturalist, and influential conservationist John Muir, the town is also home to Scotland’s second oldest RNLI station and the location of the 1650 Battle of Dunbar where the English army of Oliver Cromwell won a decisive victory over Scottish defenders.
Dunbar’s High Street is just a few minutes’ walk from the station with the route to the town centre well signposted. Heading down the High Street, the first noticeable sight is Dunbar Town House, a Renaissance style building with a tower constructed in 1593 and now a Category A listed building. The town house is one of the oldest buildings in the town and is now home to a museum and gallery, which are open on Saturday afternoons between 1400 & 1600 during the winter, with more wide-ranging hours during the summer. Entry to the Town House Museum & Gallery is free.
Just across the road from the Town House is John Muir’s birthplace which is now home to another museum with free entry. The outside of the building has been restored to look as it would have done in 1838, the year of John Muir’s birth and the museum contains three floors of interactive displays. During my visit to Dunbar, I did stick my head in to the museum but found that a school group was also visiting and so decided to give it a miss.
Beyond the end of the High Street is a road that leads down to Dunbar’s twin harbours along with Dunbar Castle and Dunbar Battery. The oldest of the harbours is the Cromwell Harbour which dates from the 1600s and is linked to the newer Victoria Harbour by a passage that was once the original harbour entrance. From the walls of the Cromwell Harbour you can look across the bay to Dunbar beach and the site of the Battle of Dunbar on the hill behind.
With Dunbar located at the corner of the North Sea and Firth of Forth, it sits in a strategically important location and in 1781, the Dunbar Battery was built to protect the town from privateers that frequented the waters nearby. Lying in ruins for many years, the Battery was restored in 2017 by the Dunbar Harbour Trust and has improved access as well as a sensitively installed outdoor amphitheatre.
On the other side of the Victoria harbour from Dunbar Battery is Dunbar Castle, once one of the strongest fortresses in Scotland and one that featured importantly during the rebellions against Mary, Queen of Scots. Following Mary’s forced abdication, the Parliament of Scotland declared that Dunbar and Inchkeith castles were “cast down utterly to the ground and destroyed in such a way that no foundation thereof be the occasion to build thereupon in time coming”. Unfortunately, the castle remains in ruins to this day and no access is available to the imposing ruins that stand above the harbour.
With a train to catch and the risk of an extended wait if I missed it, I unfortunately had to leave Dunbar and head back to the station. If you do visit, make sure you give yourself the day to explore, visit the museums and one or more of the local cafés and restaurants. If you’re lucky with the weather you could even spend some time on Dunbar beach, or head a few minutes away from the High Street and harbours to the Belhaven Brewery for a tour.
Having had roughly two hours in Dunbar, I caught the next TPE service bound for Berwick for one stop, to what (at the time of visit and writing) was the ECML’s newest station, Reston. The station had been open for around 16 months when I visited and was still looking very new. Whilst the station is the basic design of two platforms, a footbridge and lifts, it does have a uniqueness to it as the railway runs on an embankment at this point, meaning the station towers over its car park and the neighbouring countryside.
Unfortunately, whilst Reston got a shiny new station, it didn’t really get the train service to go with it. The station is served by just eight trains in each direction each day, with seven of these operated by TPE and the remaining one operated by LNER. Southbound there are two services to Berwick only, five to Newcastle and one (the LNER service) that runs through to Leeds with gaps between services ranging from 62 minutes to three hours and 57 minutes, the latter being between the 0618 & 1015 TPE services.
Northbound, all services from Reston terminate at Edinburgh with the gaps ranging from 44 minutes to almost five hours! If you miss the 1717 TPE service, you may as well cancel your evening plans in Edinburgh as you’ll have to wait four hours and 45 minutes until the 2202. There’s talk of an improved service in the future but with TPE being the main operator and all of their recent struggles, I wouldn’t hold out much hope.
Whilst Reston station serves the wider parish of Coldingham and the town of Eyemouth, only the village of Reston is within walking distance of the station and unfortunately there is very little to do. With just under an hour until the next northbound train (or over three hours until the one after that) I didn’t have long to explore the village, but did discover the Reston Riverside park and walking route. This area along the banks of Eye Water is managed by the community and provides a haven of peace and tranquillity.
Having had a short walk around the village, including a visit to the local shop/post office for some lunch, I headed back to the station to close off this episode of Exploring the East Coast. I was pleased to have ticked off Reston, although unless you’re visiting friends or family or are jumping on one of the buses to Eyemouth, there’s no real reason to visit. Dunbar however is definitely worth a visit, with a full day easily able to be spent in the town. With these two stations ticked off, there are just three stations left for me to visit, although a fourth may open depending on how long it takes me.
Flights & Times 