Port Edgar Marina

Port Edgar’s name comes from the suggestion that in 1068, King Edgar Aetheling, while fleeing the English Normans, landed here to seek refuge in the court of Malcolm III. He came with his sister, Princess Margaret, who later married the Scottish king. In 1810 a port was erected at Port Edgar and began to function as a fishing and ferry port. King George IV embarked in the ports in 1822 on a visit to the Earl of Hopetoun. The Admiralty acquired Port Edgar in 1916 and commissioned it as HMS Columbine, establishing it as a base for destroyers. This ended in 1928, and the site’s buildings were temporarily used as a vacation camp during the 1930s for unemployed families from Edinburgh and Glasgow. With the advent of World War II, the Royal Navy returned to Port Edgar in 1939, commissioning it as HMS Lochinvar, a mining facility. In preparation for D-Day, a combined operational training center was established in 1943 to prepare the landing craft and their crews. After the war, it continued as a mine digger training center, hosting several mine warfare ships and testing the latest dredging equipment until its closure in 1975. In 1978, Port Edgar was acquired by the former Lothian Regional Council, which developed the site into a marina and sailing school.