Colorfully Stunning: You Can Recover from a Busy Week in Peace, in Dunbar, Scotland

My return trip to Dunbar, Scotland was two years in the making! With its rhythmic waves, quiet streets, and colorful harbor it’s a perfect spot to seek solace after a week of bike camping and adventuring with friends. After biking the Outer Hebrides and Isle of Skye, through head winds and driving rain, steep hills and unfinished (or washed away and abandoned) roads, I was ready to slow down.

When I allow myself the luxury of slowing down, on the heels of a nonstop pace, I’m sometimes rewarded with a head cold. I tried to outrun the aches, sniffles, and sinus pain through the streets of Edinburgh on my last day before the train deposited me in Dunbar, but I was unsuccessful. No concern – I can’t think of a better place to sip coffee, get lost in a book, nap with the windows open, and listen to the seagulls.

My last visit to Dunbar, in 2023, lasted less than 12 hours. It was part of a 3-country tour of Europe, including stops in Paris, London, and Edinburgh. The seaside town of Dunbar is less than 30 minutes outside of Edinburgh, by train. My initial visit was just long enough for me to fall in love with the sea air, quaint coffeehouses, museums, and charity shops.

When plans for our cycling trip in the Hebrides began to form, we knew a return to Dunbar was in order. It was up in the air whether we’d get to Dunbar before or after 6 days of cycling, due to additional trips to DC, Chicago, New Jersey, and Bangkok this summer, but I sincerely hoped to end my European holiday by the Scottish seaside! My wish was granted!

The definition of quaint: rose gardens behind aged stone walls; art galleries and community centers with nature-based craft classes; the Co-Op grocery store with everything you need; all manner of pubs where the locals gather as the sun sets. Throughout the town I’m touched by the supportive, community-based social services that provide everything from food to financial education, addiction recovery to the simplicity of everyday social connection.

My favorite local produce and dry goods stand, Crunchy Carrot, is a major player in drawing me back to the town. It’s a microcosm of all that is good in the world — environmentalism, community connection, shopping small, supporting local, giving back, and limiting waste. On our first morning in Dunbar I let the folks running the shop know we’d be back each and every day of our visit. The next morning I saw a sign posted in a nearby bakery, explaining a service Crunchy Carrot provides, delivering goods to those in need or unable to leave home. Signs announced that they are soliciting volunteers to make deliveries.

Crunchy’s Motto: “It’s a whole lot more than a fruit and veg store.”

”The Crunchy Carrot, a greengrocer and whole foods shop that has been at the heart of Dunbar’s High Street for 25 years. The Crunchy is a whole foods gem; a community hub; a beacon of sustainability; a ticket and events office; a social whirl; a refillery; a local employer; a supplier to local businesses; a green campaigner; a local produce purchaser; a cooking tips and recipe exchange; a purveyor of food for tight budgets, seasonal celebrations, exotic recipe demands, luxurious treats and the simple basics of the weekly shop.” (Crunchy Carrot website)

Downtown areas in Scotland, large and small, are full of narrow alleyways or passages, often leading off a main street or thoroughfare, and sometimes connecting to a courtyard or between buildings. These are called a ‘close’ and each represents a bit of the unknown, until a traveler is bold enough to go exploring.

During this visit to Dunbar we discovered The Ridge Support Centre, down one of these passageways.

Their Festival of Recovery celebrates “all types of recovery through exploring personal journeys and the importance of social support networks, promoting the need for acceptance, hope and resilience. Through workshops and information sessions, music, art, social cafe, cooking and well-being sessions and many more exciting events. We aim to show what recovery means to us as a community.” (Ridge website)

I fell in love with their gardens, first and foremost, complete with a stone birdbath, yard art, and a portrait project on display. The heart of the place is its contribution to offering community mental health and addiction recovery services. I took a novel from the little free library and I took a moment of rest and recovery myself, exploring the native flowers, meditative landscaping, and sense of peace.

There’s something of a blessing in knowing that you are not alone in this world, no matter how complex and confusing, challenging and character-building the events of your life can be. This sanctuary provides the space to consider this. The artistic expression that’s present, in so many forms, helps to process it and make appropriate changes in one’s life.

This likely won’t come as a surprise, but as I stroll any neighborhood I’m the one to check out the backyards, front yards, side yards, window decor, home improvements, and any effort to make a house a home. That makes me a major snoop, I know. But I get a glimpse into local life in Dunbar – its shared meals, efforts to keep the harbor safe and clean, friendly competition and working together to something as simple and highly visible as maintain flower boxes that set the stage for the community.

There’s a kindness vibe in this small harbor town. It’s relaxing. It’s refreshing.

It was also a treat to run into the family of Dean and Nala, of 1bike1world (see link below). We knew that Dean wouldn’t be in Dunbar while we were visiting – he and his adventure kitty companion, Nala, are seeing the world by bike. They will be away for some time, but we feel inspired through our shared love of cycling, of connection, and of opening our minds to what’s possible.

There’s a whole blog I could write about our experience meeting Dean and Nala (virtually and through Dean’s book Nala’s World, read by our book club) and meeting his mom and niece (in person, this month in Dunbar). For the moment, I can attest these are good people! They are a representation of the heart of Dunbar.

I quietly glance around and notice everything from a welcoming bench at street level to pots (and pots) of beautiful flowers in bloom on doorsteps. Wandering the side streets, alleyways, and harbor of town I feel welcome. Speaking of the harbor, the food is “Fresh from the boat to your plate” if you keep an eye on the lobster stand’s hours. Prawn Cocktail Pots were a light, fresh alternative to the standard Fish & Chips throughout Scotland.

When the chef is on site, sharing stories of his colorful culinary past, and making every effort to make East Coast Langoustine successful – well, he may have climbed a ladder down into the harbor to recover a tub of bread that the wind swept away… semi-successfully. He and the bread came out a bit waterlogged.

“Our locally caught langoustines are landed daily in Dunbar, Scotland. Check our page for updates on where we will be or please contact us for more info.” (East Coast Langoustine on Facebook)

One regret is that I’m not able to extend my visit – even a few extra days would have allowed me to celebrate with the city of Dunbar as the European Land Art Festival (ELAF) and Stone Stacking Competition comes to town.

“Do something for wildness, and make the mountains glad.”
~ John Muir

We were able to experience The Art of Balance in Nature, an exhibit on display at the museum within the birthplace of John Muir, father of the US National Parks. What a treat, to explore, reflect, and internalize a very special, meditative approach to art “in the wild”. The exhibit features the use of natural materials, in a delicate balance at the hands of the varied artists. Rocks become compositional anchors – colorful leaves serve as the artist’s pigments – light dances – water speaks.