Scottish Seabird Centre

An excellent place to visit for some great pictures of the Bass Rock with little rocky paths that run out in to the sea, not too far for those that are shaky around water!
We only toured the paths and ledges around the Seabird Centre so this review is solely on the views that the Centre has to offer and not what «lies within» although as far as I’m aware there is a café to grab something to eat, a souvenir shop that sells just about anything you can imagine and a place for you to go book a few boat trips to go out to and around the Bass Rock.
If you’re in North Berwick for the day and it is a fairly clear/​sunny day, make sure you take a trip out as far as you can go, following the rocky path that will finally bring you to a point that is absolutely beautiful, allowing you to go snap happy.
Enjoy!

Conveniently located off the shore!
I have been to this place twice now. Its in North Berwick, directly at the beach where you can watch a few birds and the beautiful views onto Bass rock.
There is a little coffee shop attached to a souvenir shop where you can buy cuddly toys, pictures, hand creams, soaps, hand towels, candles and much more.
The food there is ok. Nothing special, but its nice to have a coffee and a cake on a nice summers day (if you get one). Some items are a bit overpriced for what you get, but then, the views make up the difference.
I went for a juice (and ice cream, of which the ice cream was not so good. Cant remember the brand of the ice cream, but its the only ice cream they have.
Definitely worth a visit and if time take a boat trip to watch some birds.

This place is slightly at the whim of the weather (never a good thing in Scotland!) Because one of the higlight of the place is the cameras on the islands off the coast that you the punter can control from within the centre. In rough windy weather, such as I encountered, you mostly get birds trying to shelter or no birds at all. In the right weather at the right time of year they must be awesome though! Whatever the weather though you get value for your money (just 7.50) and the people who work here are exceptionally friendly and helpful. North Berwick is a nice place to visit too, with a lovely vista. Even if it does feel a bit like the seaside town that they forgot to shut down. (See photo below)

This is a pretty sea side town which looks out towards the extrodinary gannet paced Bass Rock, this centre couldn’t be better located. If the weather isn’t something you want to face then fear not, you do not have to venture outside to find the avion action. With the use of modern camera technology, it allows visitors to zoom in on the colonies of birds that are inhabiting the islands.
Bird watchers haven.

W went to the centre late September. It is quite expensive to get in, so I only took my 2 oldest children in. They have a nice gift shop and tearoom on site too. You go downstair to the education centre which has live cams over bass rock. The members of staff approached myself and were very knowledgable about the birds and wildlife, I seemed to go when there was lots of gannets, I think the puffins appear over winter time, would love to go back and see them. The is a small indoor softplay area, which my kids were more interested than the birds! There are boat rides to Bass Rock form the centre, but when we arrived they were pretty booked up in advance, so didnt managed to go.

The Scottish Seabird Centre has a great café and shop which is nice to browse but the actual Seabird centre is a bit over priced if you ask me. The boat trips however from the seabird centre although expensive are well worth the price! We had an amazing tour leader who certainly knew alot about the local area and the wildlife and we saw many many many different seabirds and a few seals! We even nearly had to rescue a bird who looked as though he was too exhausted to get where he was supposed to be.

I love the Scottish Seabird Centre, it’s a great place to take the kids as there are a great variety of things for them to do. Although the place itself is not all that big, it’s amazing what has been crammed in. There is a gift shop and a little café with nice food, although both are quite pricey! From the outdoor observation deck you can look through the telescopes and watch the puffins on Craigleith Island or the gannets on top of the Bass Rock, or just have a general look about the River Forth! The outdoor part of the café looks over the harbour, and it’s nice to sit out there on a sunny day. Activity wise there is always a busy programme of events for the kids, some special events are held for members too. You can view the birds on the islands from the webcams downstairs which you can operate yourself. There is a fish tank with crabs and various other critters in it which you can watch being fed (yuck). A little cinema shows various short films about the seabirds (the puffins are a must see). You also have the option to adopt your own Puffin, Gannet family or seal. This will cost you £25 but you get to name it and get your name up on the board. You get an adoption certificate, a cuddly toy and a little story book (well i did with my Puffin, his name is Jimenez). The puffins are there normally from April until late Aug, they steal the show for me. You can also register to help with SOS Puffin and help clear some of islands of tree mallow which has been threatening the habitats of the puffins.
Membership prices: Family 2 (2 adults and up to 4 children) £49
Family 1 (1 adult and up to 4 children) £39
Joint adult £36
Adult £21
Junior £13
These are for a year, and i really do think it’s well worth the money. With the membership you also get a 10% in the café and gift shop.
It’s a great place to visit, and always different activities to try out. The kids will love it :)