The beautiful little fishing village of St Abbs sits perched atop dramatic cliffs above the North Sea some fifteen miles north of Berwick-upon-Tweed. The village only developed in the mid 19th century after an Edinburgh brewing company invested in a fishing station here.
However the name St Abbs stretches back many centuries when a Northumbrian princess called Aebbe established a monastery near St Abbs Head in 635AD. When Aebbe subsequently became St Aebbe, the village was named after her.
The wonderful walk towards the National Nature Reserve of St Abbs Head actually provides the finest view of St Abbs, particularly at dawn when the warm rays of the rising sun strike the coastline, which was formed over 400 million years ago when lava flowed from nearby volcanoes. A beautiful, wild and windswept landscape offers views across a variety of twisted, rocky chimneys down to St Abbs cluster of houses and its little harbour, built into the ragged shoreline. The path keeps on to reach St Abbs Lighthouse, which was erected in 1862, initially with an oil burning light, to provide safer passage to the boats making their way along this treacherous stretch of coastline. The view along the Berwickshire coast from here is stunning.
- St Abbs Head
Wanderings - the ramblings of Outdoor Fergie. 