A small hamlet on the Berwickshire coast of the NE Scottish Borders, Cove lies on the Southern Upland Way a half-mile (1 km) northeast of Cockburnspath. Situated to the north of the A1 trunk road, the settlement sits high on a cliff overlooking the picturesque Cove Harbour. This once supported a modest fishing fleet, which is now reduced to only a couple of small boats taking crab and lobster. The natural harbour was improved by Lady Hall of Dunglass with the building of a breakwater in 1831 and access is via an unusual tunnel which was excavated through the headland in the 18th century. This tunnel was excavated using gunpowder and is one of the earliest tunnels in Britain unconnected to mining.
Today Cove is probably the least-spoiled harbour in SE Scotland and is privately-owned by Edinburgh-based architect Ben Tindall who has created the Cove Harbour Trust to manage and conserve the area.
Half of the fishermen of Cove lost their lives in the East Coast Fishing Disaster of 1881, and event commemorated by a memorial at the top of the cliffs.
