Surfing in Edinburgh? How to catch a wave in the Scottish capital

Watching the waves roll in from a timber-framed deck is never a bad way to spend a morning. Especially when there are surfers paddling in the swells, locals chatting as they strip out of wetsuits for waterside sauna sessions, and skateboarders gliding past your doorstep. But to experience all this at a resort on the edge of Edinburgh is, to say the least, unexpected.

Lost Shore opened in 2024, taking over a disused quarry to the west of the capital. It’s home to Europe’s largest wave pool, which produces predictable, perfect breaks — ideal for beginners and kids, who can take lessons here year-round. Skirting the pool’s edges, lodges and pods for overnight stays have been added over time, sprouting like mushrooms.

The emphasis on laid-back fun explains its popularity with families. There are communal skateboards to grab outside the on-site restaurant, Lost Kitchen, which dishes out pizzas from Edinburgh chain Civerinos, plus hot chocolate and pastries to fend off post-surf chills. Guests can book discounted sessions, and after time in the water hop on the electric shuttle bus for the 30-minute ride into the city centre. It’s the perfect combination of space, fresh air and culture for travellers who want to see Edinburgh but stay somewhere more affordable, and calmer, than the Old Town.

Lost Shore offers a Zen place to retreat to, with a small spa focused on surf-inspired treatments, plus the wood-fired Spear Sauna, where a glass wall trains the eye on the waves as you sweat. The lodges are made of sustainably sourced Accoya timber, their wave-like curved walls giving them a look of chic, Scandinavian cabins crossed with British beach huts: a fitting aesthetic for a retreat whose rhythms are shaped by the water.

Three more ways to see Edinburgh outdoors

1. Climb Arthur's Seat

Some of the city’s best views are from this hike through Holyrood Park to the summit of Arthur’s Seat. Starting at Holyrood Palace, it takes an hour or so to climb the rocky escarpment of the 251-metre-high extinct volcano. From the top, 360-degree views take in Edinburgh Castle and the city’s church spires.

2. Hike to Leith

This 13-mile hike follows the Water of Leith Walkway, an Urban Wildlife Site that starts at Balerno Village on the southwest fringe of Edinburgh. It passes the historical water-milling Dean Village, the Royal Botanic Garden, plus the Modern gallery, and ends at the Firth of Forth on Leith’s shore.

3. Tour an outdoor gallery

Orbiting the Jacobean-era Bonnington House, a five-minute drive from Lost Shore, is the 120-acre Jupiter Artland sculpture park. Cross meadows and follow woodland paths to find works by artists including Tracey Emin, Antony Gormley and Anish Kapoor.