Cramond Island

Walk off the mainland…
Do not get caught by the tides…
Wonderful wildlife!

Cramond is a great place to go if you want to forget that you live in the city. We are pretty spoilt by such delights though in Edinburgh: arthur’s seat, the meadows, salisbury crags, princes street gardens etc…
Sometimes it’s nice to get close to a great body of water though. It always seem as though there should be a great impressive river between the royal mile and Princes street; instead there is a massive train track. This is not a terrible thing, but coming from a small seaside town, sometimes I miss water. Portabello and Cramond fill this void.
I have yet to go to Portabello, though I have been to Cramond a couple of times, and it is an incredibly attractive little village when the sun comes out. The island with the disappearing walk way offers a thrill. Don’t get stuck there, read the tide times. There are no shops or amenities there, so you’d likely be hungry, lonely and cold for a couple of hours…
The walkway provides a pretty walk, one can see the fife and several buildings along the bank. Once on the island, you can take a walk around, enjoy the quiet and tranquillity, hopefully avoid getting blown away by wind, and potentially see dolphins and porpoises if you wait patiently. Don’t wait too patiently, or as already mentioned, you will get temporarily marooned.
This is a great destination for a Sunday day out with friends, for a couple, or the family. It is also well linked to Edinburgh by the 41 bus.

Maybe it’s because I’m an Edinburgh blow in but I find the concept of an island that can only be reached at certain times and includes the possibility of peril ever so romantic!
Apparently so do other people as last time I was there a massive pair of pink polka dot knickers was hanging from a hedge…
Aside from the campers shenanigans, which I’m sure are all too frequent when the sun goes down, Cramond Island is well worth a visit. Accessible from Cramond Village, which itself is worth a wander, the island is famed for it’s ‘low tide only’ pathway. There’s a handy sign nearby telling you when you can go, and more importantly when not to, and a bit of googling will be your friend if you’re planning a day trip from your couch.
Walking around the island is a bit of fun, there’s a bunker and some old walls that have been overgrown with weeds. The views are quite nice and there’s boards that explain some of the history of the area.
So next time you’re thinking of a trek up Arthurs Seat, maybe think of heading here instead, the walk is just as good and there’s always the possibility you’ll end up trapped! How exciting!
*Disclaimer: being trapped on Cramond Island is probably not exciting, it is probably cold and wet and there be wolves.

Cramond as a wee village/​neighborhood is beautiful. It has a beach, a pub, a river, and woodland walks. It also has Cramond Island.
I think Cramond Island is pretty cool, but then I love walking/​hiking exploring abandoned buildings/​ruins. You can reach the island on a walkway that’s only exposed during low tide. Fortunately the coast guard (probably tired of having to pick folk up who got trapped) has posted times when the «island» is accessible.
In my opinion it’s definitely worth a bit of exploring on a sunny afternoon, as long as you keep an eye on the time!

Wow, the first review of this was particularly scathing. I have been here a number of times in my adult life and have enjoyed each one. Fair enough, there’s nothing really to do there apart from walk out and walk back, but what do you expect! It’s an island! On that note, it’s always worth checking the tide times before you do head across, as there would be nothing worse than having to call the coastguard out. It is a fair walk across, along a path that is not of great quality, but this should be expected with the amount of time that it is probably submerged!
On a sunny day, this is a great place to go, and gives you a good view out into the Forth and across to Fife and beyond. I have also been on a foggy day, when it is not as nice. But then that’s Scotland for you! It’s completely free to visit, and well worth the walk out in my opinion.

Fancy going to a tiny island that doesn’t have anything on it apart from an old war bunker and some rats and tramps? I have spent a lot of time on Cramond Island. I’ve spent a lot of time trying to get to Cramond Island. The amount of times when we were younger that we got busted for trying to camp on there. Kids are stupid.
I haven’t been back in my adult life because it’s ridiculous. The amount of times you misjudge the walk and are wading in a metre of horrid seawater or you get stranded and have to call the coast guard. It’s nothing something I have any desire to do again but I’m old enough to drink now and have better things to do.