The diversion of the John Muir Way national footpath, which has been in place around the landfall site of the Inch Cape Offshore Wind Farm, is being removed this week. The popular Cockenzie seafront section of the trail is scheduled to fully re-open to the public from Saturday, 17 January.

Engineering Milestones at Landfall

The footpath was temporarily rerouted in late 2024 to accommodate critical engineering works adjacent to the main substation construction site. During this period, teams successfully removed and restored a 35-metre section of the seawall and installed the necessary ducts for the project’s two primary export cables.

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These cables serve as the vital link for the 1.1GW wind farm, carrying green energy from the offshore turbines to the new substation. At the facility, the power is converted before being transmitted beneath Edinburgh Road to the Scottish Power Energy Networks 275kV substation and finally into the national grid.

Project Timeline and Future Access

While the first export cable was successfully pulled into the site in September, the second is scheduled to arrive in early summer 2026. This upcoming phase will require another temporary closure of the path, though the project team anticipates this will last only a few days.

A spokesperson for the project noted that while the new permanent footpath created next to the substation will remain, there may still be occasional, brief closures for safety during final landscaping works toward the end of the project. The Inch Cape team has committed to providing the community with advance notice of any such interruptions.

"Inch Cape and its contractors have appreciated the patience and cooperation from the local community during the diversion and throughout the ongoing construction activity at the substation site," the project team stated.