Portobello (Central)

Edinburgh's main town beach in the Portobello district, a heavily used sandy beach with a promenade and pier, but with a recent history of contested E. coli/pollution incidents.

Beach & safety

Water quality: Sufficient

Hazards: Short-term pollution risk after heavy rainfall; MST analysis shows human, dog and gull as the three main pollution sources here.

Amenities: toilets · cafe · car-park

Dogs

Official source: View the rule at source →

Family

Recent pollution controversy is worth flagging for families.

Fishing

Clean sand and groynes support flounder, dab, bass, whiting and occasional codling, particularly outside busy daytime use.

Species reported: Flounder, Dab, Bass, Whiting, Codling

Crabbing

unknown

Access & parking

On-street and promenade parking along Portobello High Street/Promenade.