We first stayed at this site some thirty years ago, and it still remains one of our favourites.
The location is simply stunning, set back half a mile from Dirleton Village and with the lovely beaches of the Firth of Forth on your doorstep.
The little town of North Berwick is around a mile away, and has good rail and road links directly into the heart of Edinburgh and beyond.
In truth, the site has altered little in the past thirty years. Still has a very informal feel, with pitches set in little clusters, rather than boring rows.
There are now quite a few hard standing pitches, but still plenty of grass pitches, which remain good for parking as the base is sandy. This and the shrubs and trees tend to give certain areas a “large CL feel”, and certainly the pitches are spacious. The toilet and shower block is central with a nice little reception area that had some very interesting information and photos about all the wildlife and flora around the site, and includes a little reference library for visitors to use. The block looked newly decorated and very modern, was warm and has a good few showers, privacy cubicles and loos.
There is a separate utility block that has more toilets (no problems with cleaning time closures here!), a laundry, pot washing area and disabled facilities. The facilities were first class, absolutely spotless, and the site was busy, so full credit to the Warden teams.
We wanted a nice quiet little grass pitch and found the perfect spot at the back of one of the pitching areas, overlooking the adjacent fields and woodlands, and close enough to hear the sea! So pitch 43 it was for us, although there are some other little pitching gems dotted around all of the site.
Our photo shows just how spacious and private it was, despite all the pitches in our area being in use! The plantings are a mix of conifers and deciduous, with lots of shrubs and island planting dotted around, and the lovely colourful buckthorn that is a feature of this heathland site. This meant that we had lots of bird life, deer, foxes, and rabbits as regular visitors! There is a small children’s playground within the site as well, but the site hardly needs such being so close to the lovely sandy beaches a few hundred metres away. Rock pools galore, all teeming with lots of shore life including our favourites, hermit crabs! The motorhome versions of sea life!
Dog walking is superb, straight out of the site gates, onto a big car park field then miles of woodland, dunes and beaches! And if that isn’t enough, the CC have provided a nice big field, with mown paths also just outside the site gates! All the areas were clean as well, so visitors were clearly showing the area the respect it deserves!
What to see and what to do will be hard to choose, as there is just so much within a few miles. We can recommend Dirleton, Tantallon and Hailes Castles (Historic Scotland), Lennoxlove House, Fenton Barns Shopping and Crafts village, The Museum of Flight at East Fortune, and of course, wonderful Edinburgh with everything there. Closer to the site, North Berwick has an interesting harbour, some lovely independent shops, and a good indoor pool and sports centre. The Scottish Seabird Centre is well worth a visit, and has a very nice cafe and gift shop. Walking and cycling from the site is very good. More golf courses than we have ever seen, of different price ranges and suitability!
North Berwick has a Tesco and an Aldi supermarket on the eastern outskirts, and a small Coop in the town itself. There is a petrol station between the site and North Berwick as well.
In summary, Yellowcraig is still very much a lovely CC site, although nowadays a lot busier than in the past. For those seeking a quieter visit, we would highly recommend avoiding school holidays, as it does get very very busy with families. We didn’t find the weekends too busy though, and the site was lovely and peaceful throughout our October visit. It is a place we will return to time and time again, the beaches alone are magical! Add in easy travel to lots of other great Scottish destinations, and you have a perfect short or longer break.
