Musselburgh

For all long-distance travel by air, rail or bus, see Edinburgh. From the airport take Skylink Bus 400 to Fort Kinnaird, then local buses for the last 3 miles into town.

By bus

For long-distance coaches change in Edinburgh: these fly past on the A1 and don't call at Musselburgh. Lothian Buses 15, 26, 30 and 44 run to Musselburgh from Edinburgh.
East Coast Buses X5, 124 & X24 run from Edinburgh Fountainbridge along Princes St (close to but not into the bus station) then via Musselburgh along the coast road to North Berwick. They run daily every 30-60 mins.
East Coast Bus 104 runs every 30 mins from Edinburgh West End and Princes St via Musselburgh, Wallyford and Tranent to Haddington. East Coast Bus 106 starts from Fort Kinnaird then follows the same route from Musselburgh to Haddington; change at Haddington for buses to Dunbar and Berwick-upon-Tweed. East Coast Bus 113 runs from Edinburgh West End via Brunstane to Musselburgh then via Wallyford, Tranent and Ormiston to Pencaitland. There are night buses along these routes.
East Coast Bus 140 runs from Musselburgh via Dalkeith, Loanhead and Roslin (for Rosslyn Chapel) to Penicuik.

By train

Musselburgh has Scotrail trains hourly between Edinburgh Waverley (6 mins) and North Berwick (25 mins). Trains to Dunbar also stop here every couple of hours, but most trains whirl straight through - go into Edinburgh and change, even coming from the south eg Newcastle. is half a mile south of town centre. Trains for North Berwick (but not for Dunbar) also stop at , which is more convenient from the racecourse end of town.
has trains along the Borders Railway every 30 mins from Edinburgh to Newtongrange (for the Mining Museum), Galashiels (for buses to Melrose, Jedburgh, Selkirk, Hawick and Carlisle) and Tweedbank (for Abbotsford House).

By car

From central Edinburgh follow A1 Milton Road onto A199; from anywhere else in the city join the city bypass A720 and loop round.

The main town and racecourse are all walkable. Buses between High St and the railway station are Lothian Bus 30 and East Coast Bus 106.

• Newhailes House

  phone: +44 131 653 5599
  address: Newhailes EH21 6RY
  National Trust for Scotland owned mansion house, little changed since the 18th century. Tranquil wooded grounds, open all year, nice for walking. House interior can only be seen by guided tour and is closed for repairs at least until April 2020, but the grounds remain open.
• are on reclaimed land just north of the racecourse. Lots of resident and migratory birds here, and concrete hides to allow for observation.

• Musselburgh Museum

  address: 65 High Street
  This is closed because of a ceiling leak in Aug 2019. Repairs are under way but the re-opening date is tba.

• Inveresk Lodge Garden

  phone: +44 844 4932126
  address: 24 Inveresk Village EH21 7TE
  A garden on a domestic scale, open all year. The garden was designed in 1851 and restored by the National Trust for Scotland in 1959. No dogs. The adjacent Inveresk House (not open to the public) dates from the 17th century.

• The Brunton on Ladywell Way is a two-auditorium theatre with a year-round programme.
• Go to the races at

  Musselburgh Racecourse

  phone: +44 131 665-2859
  address: Linkfield Road EH21 7RE
  This has flat-racing Apr-Oct and jumps races Nov-March, about once a fortnight.

• Musselburgh Old Links

  phone: +44 131 665-5438
  address: 10 Balcarres Road EH21 5SD
  Located in the middle of the racecourse, this 9-hole links golf course is among the oldest continuously played courses in the world, dating back to 1672. Par 34. Players need to work around race fixtures.

• Royal Musselburgh Golf Club

  phone: +44 1875 810 139
  address: Prestongrange House EH32 9RP
  A picturesque parkland course, 6254 yards, par 70.

• Musselburgh Golf Club

  phone: +44 131 665 2005
  address: Monktonhall Terrace EH21 6AX
  Parkland course, was the Open Championship Qualifying course for Scotland until 2010, and in 2013 was a Local Final Qualifying venue for the Open at Muirfield. Yellow tees 6241 yards, par 69.

• The big local shopping centre is Fort Kinnaird, 3 miles west along Newhailes Road.

• Along main drag are Gurkha Bar & Restaurant, Mario's Pizza, Caprice and Shish Mahal.

• Elena Di Rollo

  address: 34 Bridge Street EH21 6AG
  A family-run business producing very good ice cream and other sweets.

• Luca's

  phone: +44 131 665-2237
  address: 32 High Street EH21 7AG
  Long-established cafe / ice cream parlour.
• If you eat mussels here, they may be Scottish but won't be local: the town's mussel beds were lost by the 20th C to over-harvesting and pollution. For centuries they had provided food, marl for fertiliser and construction, and a habitat for other marine life. There are initiatives to re-establish beds elsewhere in the British Isles, but it's unlikely to be feasible here so close to city industry.

• Sportsman Bar

  phone: +44 131 618-7123
  address: 58 High Street EH21 7BX
  Traditional, cheap & friendly local pub with an extensive range of wines, beers and spirits.

• The David Macbeth Moir

  address: 47 Bridge Street EH21 6AG
  JD Wetherspoon's pub in a former cinema, with the usual cheap real ales and large menu.

• B&Bs in town centre are Ravelston House at 182 North High St and Arden House by the racecourse. Inveresk House is a mile south.
• A couple of chain hotels lie along A1 to the south of town: Travelodge are in the Moto Service Area, jcn A1 and A720 (Edinburgh City Bypass), and Premier Inn are on Carberry Road near jcn A1 and A6094 Wallyford-Dalkeith road. They're only convenient if you have a car.

• Carberry Tower Mansion House

  phone: +44 131 665 3135
  address: Carberry Tower Estate EH21 8PY
  Upscale hotel in imposing mansion, rebuilt from the 18th C. You'll need a car.

Good signal this close to the city.

• Edinburgh borders Musselburgh to the west. The big attractions are the Old Town and New Town, while other city areas convenient for Musselburgh are:

• Portobello is the city's seaside resort. Arcade games, fish & chips and a nice promenade walk; the beach itself isn't much.
• Leith is the old port and still in use. See the Royal Yacht Britannia and explore the cobbled Georgian centre.
• South side is Arthur's Seat, Duddingston and Craigmillar Castle.

Go east along A198 the coast road to Gullane and North Berwick, for sand hills, golf courses, and the crags of North Berwick Law and Bass Rock.

The main road A1 breaks free of the burbs at Haddington. Continue east to Dunbar, and a series of attractive little coves and harbours in the cliffs of Berwickshire.