A CELEBRATION of the sea and its connection to Dunbar gets under way this weekend.

Sea shanties, family fun and fishing tales of old are all promised at ‘Tide and Time’.

The festival, which runs for a week from Sunday, offers people the chance to step back in time and enjoy a bygone era, while also looking at what the future holds for the popular harbour.

Yvonne Wemyss, director of Dunbar Harbour Trust, has been heavily involved in organising the event and was hoping for some decent weather.

She said: “It has been three years in the making.

“It has been cancelled twice due to Covid and to see it happening is quite surreal.

“I’m just really excited – and exhausted, it has been so busy.”

'A real focal tourist point'

The Dunbar Harbour Trust director highlighted that the harbour was “a real focal tourist point” and that it had been around for hundreds of years.

On Sunday, there is a sponsored walk across part of the Herring Trail, which dates back to the 18th and 19th centuries, when the herring industry was strong.

Walkers can cover 13 kilometres over the rugged land, with the route mirroring the path taken by people bringing stocks of salted herring home for winter use and by fishwives, who carried huge creels of herring to the markets in Lauder.

Then, from Tuesday to next Saturday (June 4), Dunbar Town House hosts an exhibition ‘A celebration of Dunbar Fishing’, alongside an art and photography competition.

Between Tuesday and next Thursday (June 2), talks and presentations will also be given at the High Street venue, 7-8pm each evening.

Next Thursday, a beacon will be lit at Dunbar Battery to commemorate the Queen’s platinum jubilee.

Boat trips

Finally, next weekend, cooking demonstrations, educational stalls and boat trips are on offer from 11am to 5pm at the harbour.

Yvonne stressed that the harbour’s connection to the town was not simply rooted in the past but would be a key feature for years to come.

She said: “It is obviously changing and has changed enormously over the years in terms of what they catch, the boats are different and people having to adapt to new rules and regulations, but it is still there and thriving.

“It is really busy.

“We have got about 30 boats, 30 active fishing boats, there going in and out.

“It is a busy, thriving little harbour.”

Go to dunbarharbourtrust.co.uk for more information.