A little wooded gorge, some quarter-mile (0.5 km) in length, Seton Dean descends from Seton Mains in East Lothian to Seton Sands, midway between Longniddry and Port Seton. The Dean represents an area of relict ancient woodland in a landscape otherwise cleared for agriculture. However this woodland has been badly depleted through Dutch Elm Disease, with a few mature ash, sycamore, lime, horse chestnut and beech trees remaining, together with four old yews. Some planting of oak and ash has been undertaken to replace the lost stock.
The land is owned by Seton Sands Holiday Centre, but the Woodland Trust took a 199 year lease on the site in 1996.