Monday 16 June 2014
Sunday 15 June 2014
JOHN MUIR WAY: DAY 9 ABERLADY to DUNBAR
Friday 6 June.
The weather forecast was looking very promising for today. We were ready early and left the house at 7am, Moira was going to drive all the way through to Aberlady where we finished our walk on Sunday. We were making good time when all of a sudden we came to a standstill on the M8 motorway to Edinburgh. The traffic was stopped for about 15 minutes then all of sudden we were moving again and at a good speed. There was no sign of what had caused the holdup, no accidents or breakdowns, it was a complete mystery. ( Later Suzy told us that she heard about the traffic jam on the news and it was a demonstrator wearing nothing but tartan shorts who had got on to the motorway and stopped the traffic. The police arrested him)
Moira drove round the city by-pass to the A1 and exited at the junction for Tranent where we picked up the A198 to Aberlady. We looked for a car park on the river side coming into the town but there was nothing convenient. We ended up leaving the car at a spot in a housing estate just out of town. It was only a short walk to the town centre where we picked up the signs for the 'John Muir Way'. The section after the town wasn't very pleasant, running alongside the busy A198 for a couple of kilometres. Soon things became better as we left the road and followed a track running beside the Luffness Golf Course.
It was now very nice between the golf course and the hedgerows while to our right was the towering pointed hill that we had taken for Bass Rock the other day. Moira still maintained it was that rock but later we discovered it was North Berwick Law, the high ancient extinct volcano that dominates North Berwick. Another point of interesting was the ruins of Saltcoats Castle but the path turned to the left and into Gullane before we reached it for a closer inspection. The route took us along the main street of Gullane and as we left the town it was on a narrow grassy path at the side of the A198 again. The reason we were kept far from the Firth was that the famous golf course, Muirfield, ran along the coast; this course is the home of The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers and the venue for last year's Open Championship.
After about a kilometre on the roadside the route turned left into Archerfield Estate on a path through the trees and over fields. After 800 metres we crossed the village green to Dirleton Castle which dates from the 13th century. The route then went up Manse Road to the war memorial and the church. Once out of the village we were turned onto a confusion of daisy covered paths with no signs indicating which to take. We kept to what looked like the main one and ended up at the 10thtee of the North Berwick West Links. There was a bench handy at the tee where we had a break for a cup of coffee from our flask while four women drove their golf balls up the 10th fairway. I consulted the guide book and it said that there was an alternative way to reach North Berwick by taking to the beach at low tide. As we had obviously lost the waymarked route we made for the sandy option. We made our way along the beach and now had a view of the islands; Fidra, Lamb, Craigleith and at last, definitely, Bass Rock. The island of Fidra, off the rocky headland of Longskelly Point, is a RSPB reserve and reportedly the inspiration for RL Stevenson's 'Treasure Island'. The lighthouse on the point was certainly built by his cousin, David Stevenson in 1885.
Once we got nearer the shoreline the sand became hard packed, easy for walking and we made good time. We reached a stream with a bridge near some houses which we thought was the town but when we asked some dog walkers we were told to keep to the beach around the next point and we would then see North Berwick proper. It was another 20 minutes before we saw the actual town but had to cross the golf course to reach the road leading into the centre. It was a lovely town with quaint shops and a beautiful beach; an old fashioned holiday resort. We now picked up the waymarks, the route we had missed ran up the other side of the golf course but our alternative rewarded up with beautiful views of the Firth and the islands.
SCOTTISH SEABIRD CENTRE
The Firth of Forth is a key seabird breeding area and this is an ideal location for viewing and learning. Opened in 2000, the award winning attraction houses a Discovery Centre (entry fee) with Wildlife Theatre, Flyway Tunnel (simulation of migratory birds), Environment Zone and Scope Deck. It also has gift shop and cafe. Seasonal boat trips to Bass Rock and the Isle of May are available. See: www.seabird.org.
As we left the town centre the route became a bit confusing again and we couldn't figure out where the arrow on the signpost was pointing. While standing scratching our heads a woman asked if we were doing the 'John Muir' and then directed us through the gates to what we thought were to the gardens of a large white mansion. This was the entrance to the restored Lodge Grounds. It was a pleasant walk through the grounds and when we exited, towering in front of us was, North Berwick Law, the pointed hill we had been seeing for some time and mistaken for Bass Rock. The side facing us was very steep but as we rounded the hill the other side was a bit more of a gentle climb and the route to the top was marked from a small car park. It was an hour's round trip to the summit but that was left for another day. As we made our way further round the Law, the summit path twisted its way above some steep rocky cliffs. In other direction to our right we could still see the other major hill we passed a few days ago, Arthur's Seat.
NORTH BERWICK LAW
The remnant of an ancient volcano, this lava plug was exposed during the last Ice Age. Its prominence belies its modest height (187m/613ft), and for centuries it has served as a lookout. Its summit has ruins of a very old stone watch-house and intact World War 2 brick lookout, along with a fibreglass arch that in 2008 replaced the traditional whalebone one. The summit panorama is amazing: the Forth Bridges in the west, over North Berwick and across the Firth to Fife in the north, out to the North Sea in the east and south to the Lammermuir Hills. See: www.northberwick.org.uk.
Our path now made its way round cultivated fields, on at times no more than overgrown tractor tracks. Soon we entered East Wood with an easier-walking-gravel path and the cool shelter of the trees. After a short break along the roadside it was into Craigmoor Wood with an undulating path. The ups and downs of this section made a change from the continuous flat walking and we were able to stride out using a different set of muscles. We were looking for a bench or a nice place to stop for lunch but when you are looking for a convenient spot nothing appears. We crossed a minor road and down a tarred lane to Stonelaws, a group of farm buildings, hoping for at least a wall to sit on. We ended up on the grass with our backs to a gate for our break and picnic.
At the end of the lane we were again in open country and on overgrown paths through fields. A signpost said 'East Linton 2 miles' but there was no sign of any habitation. There was a hill in front and once we crested it we could see the houses of the village down the other side. This was to be the end of our walk for the day and we headed for the centre of the village to find a bus stop. It was only about 12km from here to the finish at Dunbar and our plan was to drive through early, do the last part then visit Hector and Fiona in Ayton just a short drive away. When we found a bus stop and consulted the time table our plans had to be amended. The next bus from here to North Berwick wasn’t for another 1½ hours and the first bus in the morning from Dunbar to here was at 7:45am; we would have to leave at about 5:30am to catch that one and the one after it wasn't until 10am, too late! We were a bit tired and our feet were getting sore but we decided to carry on and make it to Dunbar and the finish today.
The route out of the village took us past Preston Kirk then over the River Tyne by a footbridge to Preston Mill.
East Lothian's most picturesque landmark is a 17th century water mill still in working order. It is now maintained as a museum by the National Trust for Scotland and makes a great visit in summer but opening times are very limited: from 12:30 to 17:00 Thursdays to Mondays, for guided tours only. See: www.nts.org.uk.
The way now followed the River Tyne, not the English one that meets the sea at Newcastle, but the borders river that rises in the Moorfoot Hills in Midlothian near Tynehead to the south of Edinburgh. It continues for approx. 30 miles in a north-eastern direction, and it empties into the North Sea near Belhaven.
The path criss-crossed the river a number of times by delightful old stone bridges and the river was fast flowing in places. It eventually crosses a broad timbered foot bridge near a farm shop to a road that took us to Buist’s Embankment. This embankment was built in the 19th century to reclaim land for farming. The narrow-overgrown-undulating track ran down the side of the wide estuary of the Tyne, the river now a narrow channel meandering over extensive mud flats.
We now reached the ‘John Muir Country Park’:
The Way enters the Park at Tyninghame and remains within it until the finish in Dunbar. Nearly 2000 acres of land between Tyninghame and Belhaven was set aside in 1976 with varied habitats – salt marsh, coast, grassland and woodland. More than 400 plant species have been recorded, notably thrift on the marsh and bird’s foot trefoil in the dunes. Among the birds present are eider, shelduck, gannet, skylark and ringed plover. The Clifftop Trail provides an excellent introduction to the Park. See: www.eastlothian.gov.uk/info.
After leaving the estuary the route passed the East Links Family Park where saw llamas grazing then after the Country Park car park there was confusion again with which route to take; we settled on the beach option, round the glorious sands of Belhaven Bay, as the tide was still low. At the end of the beach a footbridge took us over Biel Water where it enters the sea. From there the Clifftop Trail shirted around the perimeter of the Winterfield Golf Course. The route by the cliffs seemed a long way to go when we could see the Dunbar and the finish straight ahead of us. We found a path that ‘cut the corner’ and crossed the fairways. We still had outstanding views of the North Sea and in the distance the isle of May. Fortunately it was only 5:30pm and the evening golfers weren’t out yet and no golf balls flying about our heads.
When we reached the road it was now only a short distance to the town centre. We passed a rugged coastline with Dunbar Castle on one promontory then reached where the Clifftop Trail entered the town. We headed for the High St in search of a bus stop and found the statue of John Muir in the middle of the town.
At the bus stop we found that the Edinburgh bus didn’t go through Aberlady so we waited for the local bus to North Berwick. ‘Traveline’ told us to get off at Tesco shopping centre in North Berwick for our connection to Aberlady. We had another 30 minute wait there and it was now getting quite cold. We spent the time in the supermarket to keep warm but had to avoid the area with the fridges! When we got to Aberlady the little town was very busy with some function and the centre was jammed with parked cars. When we got going Moira took the Haddington road which avoided the town centre and took us to the A1 by a back road. Once on the motorway there were no hold ups and we were home in another 2hours.
At Port Glasgow we got fish suppers in the town centre for our dinner. It was 9:30pm when we got in and after our fish and chips it was time for bed. It had been a long day having walked nearly 40km, we were both very tired.