Best Anchorages — Scotland East Coast & North Sea

3–7m · Alarm: 85m

Stonehaven is a picturesque NE Scottish fishing town at the foot of the Mearns cliffs — historic market town and birthplace of Robert William Thomson (inventor of the pneumatic tyre). The harbour is an active fishing port but the bay to the south provides a reasonable anchorage in westerly conditions. The ruined Dunnottar Castle (1nm south), perched on a dramatic coastal headland and set against the North Sea, is one of the most spectacular castle ruins in Scotland — the Scottish Crown Jewels were hidden here in the 1650s. Stonehaven is also famous for its New Year (Hogmanay) fireball ceremony and for the world's best deep-fried Mars bar (allegedly originated here). A useful staging anchorage between Aberdeen and Montrose on the east coast passage.

View details →

1–3m · Alarm: 60m

Anstruther (pronounced 'Ainster') is the principal village of the East Neuk of Fife — Scotland's most charming coastal region, a string of historic fishing villages on the north shore of the Firth of Forth. The town is home to the Scottish Fisheries Museum (one of Scotland's finest museums), the ferry to the Isle of May (puffin colony and nature reserve), and a legendary fish and chip shop. The Bass Rock (7nm SW, 150,000 northern gannets — the world's largest colony) is visible on clear days. The East Neuk is a beautiful sailing area — the combination of historic harbours, East Neuk stone buildings and the dramatic Firth of Forth scenery makes it distinctive. Edinburgh (30nm west) is accessible by bus.

View details →

3–7m · Alarm: 80m

Eyemouth is Berwickshire's principal fishing port — an active, working harbour community straddling the border between Scotland and the sea. The town has a remarkable maritime history; the Great Eyemouth Fishing Disaster of 1881 (189 local fishermen drowned in a sudden gale) is memorialised in the Eyemouth Museum. The nearby St Abbs Head National Nature Reserve (3nm north) is one of Scotland's most spectacular and accessible cliff reserves — home to huge seabird colonies (guillemots, razorbills, kittiwakes, puffins) and with outstanding sea diving. The Berwickshire coast between Eyemouth and Berwick-upon-Tweed (5nm south) is among the most dramatic coastal scenery on the east of England/Scotland.

View details →

1–4m · Alarm: 70m

Holy Island (Lindisfarne) is one of the most historically significant and spiritually atmospheric places in the British Isles — the birthplace of English Christianity, where St Aidan founded his monastery in 635 AD and where the Lindisfarne Gospels were illuminated (now in the British Library). The island is connected to the Northumberland mainland by a tidal causeway that floods twice daily — creating periods of complete isolation. The ruined priory (English Heritage), Lindisfarne Castle (National Trust, built 1549), the nature reserve and the village of Holy Island combine to create an extraordinary destination. The anchorage is tidal and the timing of entry is critical — this is not an island to approach without careful tidal planning. The fame of the island means it is busy with day visitors but overnight the atmosphere is completely different.

View details →

1–4m · Alarm: 55m

Brancaster Staithe is North Norfolk's quietest and most unspoiled sailing village — a genuine working quay with National Trust ownership, sheltered between the vast Brancaster beach (backed by dunes owned by the National Trust) and the sheltered harbour creek. The village has a small sailing club (Brancaster Staithe Sailing Club), a traditional quayside pub, and the feel of a place largely unchanged since the 1950s. The North Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty extends in both directions — saltmarsh, dunes, tidal creeks and seabird colonies. Scolt Head Island (National Nature Reserve, 1nm offshore) is the largest offshore barrier island on the Norfolk coast and holds one of England's largest nesting colonies of Sandwich terns. The whole coast between Brancaster and Cley is a UNESCO biosphere reserve.

View details →

1–4m · Alarm: 55m

Blakeney is one of the finest and most atmospheric of the North Norfolk tidal harbours — a medieval wool port now a National Trust village and nature reserve, accessible only near HW across a shifting sandbar. Blakeney Point (a 6nm shingle spit extending west from the harbour entrance) is one of England's most celebrated nature reserves — it holds England's largest grey seal colony (over 5,000 pups born here each autumn) and in summer is home to significant tern colonies (common, Sandwich and little terns). Blakeney village has a beautiful medieval guildhall, excellent gastropubs and a long history of smuggling. The National Trust owns Blakeney Point and much of the surrounding saltmarsh. Entry requires careful pilotage and calling the harbour master — but the experience of lying at anchor in the creek behind Blakeney Point, surrounded by seals and seabirds, is one of the finest in English coastal sailing.

View details →