Welcome to the village of Aberlady and its extensive heritage. We hope what you discover here will interest you and that you may pay us a visit. 

Looking over the beautiful Bay which takes its name, Aberlady has always been a place of cultural and economic exchange.  Its waters and sheltered location have been used by travellers and traders for centuries.  Today, most of these travellers come to Aberlady to enjoy its hospitality, its good food, the magnificent links courses that lie to east and west, and the captivating natural environs of the village more generally.  Less well known is its fantastically deep and rich history.  If you wish to hear more about this, a talk and tour place is highly recommended.

Our history extends back to a time before Scotland, to the days of Roman occupation and native Gododdin Britons.  During the Dark Age, Aberlady was an Early Christian centre on the pilgrimage route between the monastic powerhouses of Celtic Iona and Lindisfarne.  The pilgrimage route south from Aberlady to Holy Island is now known as St Aidan's Way after the founding saint of Lindisfarne who travelled this way.

The orginal beautifully carved 8th century Northumbrian cross, now reconstructed in the village Memorial Garden, was a symbol of peace and cultural conciliation and collaboration during this little understood but seismic period of British history.  The remaining fragment of the original cross is on display in the National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh.

In addition to the Northumbrian cross, Aberlady hosts the largest concentration of stray Anglo-Saxon finds discovered in Scotland.  Yet, extensive anomalies detected in three separate geophysical surveys of the scheduled sites remain unresolved.  As such it is an exciting research location for those wishing to better understand the activities taking place on the northern frontier of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria during its Golden Age.

Fragment of Aberlady's 8th century high cross

Copyright Trustees of the National Museum of Scotland

Aberlady Heritage is a social enterprise established to promote the rich and unique history of the village of Aberlady.   Proceeds raised are reinvested in the enterprise for the benefit of the community.  We gratefully acknowledge the support received from the Social Entrepreneurs Fund.