NORTH Berwick’s Coastal Communities Museum will not be opening to visitors this season.

An exhibition – ‘Wish you were here: Postcards from the seaside’ – had been planned for 2020, designated Scotland’s Year of Coasts and Waters.

The exhibition would have featured the history and heritage of the local coast and waters, including postcards by local artist R P Phillimore.

The exhibition was almost complete and the museum had been ready to open on April 4 but all work was halted due to the coronavirus lockdown.

The former cafe room had also been converted to give the museum more exhibition space.

Access to the museum building, on School Road, was not possible until the middle of this month, meaning the exhibition would not be ready to open until mid-September.

The museum board members said “with a heavy heart” that they had decided not to open the museum to visitors this season.

The Year of Coasts and Waters will continue into 2021 and the Coastal Communities Museum will reopen in April next year, featuring the exhibition that celebrates the unique attractions of the coastal region.

The museum, which focuses on the North Berwick Coastal ward area from Aberlady to Whitekirk, also plans for items in this year’s exhibition to be featured in a virtual tour, as a taster for the 2021 exhibition, which will appear on its website and other platforms soon.

There will also be a new booklet produced, which will include a North Berwick town walk.

The museum board said it was taking steps to meet the requirements for and current guidance around Covid-19, adding: “The health and safety of our volunteers is paramount.”

It is also discussing how it might address the possibility of a cashless society, since the museum is a charity that relies on grants and cash donations by visitors to survive.

The museum is run entirely by volunteers, from its board of 14 trustees to the volunteers who carry out front-of-house and behind-the-scenes tasks.

To get involved, email hello@coastalmuseum.org