Day 92  Dunbar to Edinburgh

 

 Date: Sunday 28^th August  2011   Distance: 38.32 Miles

 

After a good sleep we had a breakfast half the size of yesterday which was plenty. The lady at the B and B was concerned for our safety because of the very strong winds. I decided against shorts today as it seemed really cold. Car parked in the same spot as before at Dunbar Station we left, making slow progress against the gale in our faces.

Cycle route 76 took us along an A road for several miles past John Muir Country Park and the family Park with its dazzling blue Fort. We turned off the road towards North Berwick then diverted to the road to Preston Mill. Although it wasn’t open until 12.30pm it was still worth looking round. It makes a lovely photograph with its slightly twisted conical roofed kiln and red- tiled buildings. The present mill dates from the 18th century and uses the nearby River Tyne. It was worked commercially till 1959. We were a bit worried to see a pile of men’s clothes near the mill pond but a cursory look didn’t reveal any- thing untoward. Perhaps the wind had blown them there?! Nearby was  Phantassie Doocot that once housed  500  doves (for food) and we saw several dovecots like this after seeing the illustration on the information board.

 

A Garden Nursery up the road could have provided refreshments but it was quite a way up a hilly lane and we were not sure that it was open. We had only cycled 5 miles but it was so hard with the wind that we were weary already.

 

We hacked our way through lanes then down a steep hill to North Berwick with views of small drumlin ( whale shaped hills or “crag and tails” formed as a result of glacial erosion) and tantalising glimpses of Bass Rock. The countryside is lovely as we passed the 613 feet protrusion that is North Berwick Law. On the top of the Law we could see the Napoleonic era signal station and whale jaw bone that is now a fibreglass replacement. It looked a much bigger hill from the town side.

 

 

Despite it being Sunday North Berwick was open for trade and recreation. We found a nice cafe-No. 12 Quality Street- which also had accommodation. There was a craft shop with people inside “crafting”, bakers, gift, butchers.... On the promenade is an award-winning , Seabird Centre and just in front of this St. Andrew’s Kirk- an interesting ancient relic. A red granite Celtic Cross stands on Anchor Green, erected in 1889 in memory of the 19 year old girl who lost her own life saving a boy from drowning.

 

After leaving N. Berwick we took an A road through Dirleton with its Castle, village green and lovely old houses and pubs. Then it was Gulane and its golf courses on either side of the road. How could so many people be playing golf in such wild weather?

 

7 miles on from N Berwick we reached Aberlady and had lunch in the Aberlady Inn. Peddling against the wind had exhausted me and I couldn’t eat for some time. I had made the mistake of wearing too tight trousers which didn’t help. Bob had his sought for Sunday lunch and I had a gentle vegetable risotto which, slowly, I did enjoy.  After changing into shorts and despite being told the rooms there had jaccuzzis ( very tempting) we soldiered on the last 15 miles. The wind seemed to have dropped a bit luckily but it was wetter.

 

 

 

There were 3 different car parks for people walking near the sea’s edge and on a nice day there would be many people with bird watching equipment all along here. At Port Seton and Cockenzie we went down to the prom and watched lots of eider ducks bobbing around on the choppy water.

 

At Prestonpans we were cheered by the many murals dotted about on buildings and billboards through the town, depicting the town’s history. Later there is a Mine Museum with free entry and set beside the main road. It looked like it might have been interesting.

 

At Musselburgh we went over the bridge and looked down into a park. It had some big shops and interesting buildings. It was raining hard now and very cold- at best 8 degrees.

 

We passed Portobelo, the seaside part of Edinburgh, which looked really nice with pastel coloured houses facing a groined beach. It was quite a bit further, past the Port of Leith way over to our right, before we got to the heart of the city.

 

We followed signs for the station but they seemed to be taking us up all the time which didn’t seem likely. We caught a glimpse of railway lines down so we headed there, our brains being almost as numb as the rest of us. We went up the main street after passing Holyrood House and beside the New Parliament buildings- modern , with much glass and extremely close to the road side. The old buildings here are impressive being 6 or 7 storied and we passed museums, cafes and bars as we walked up the street full of tourists bravely sitting in open double decker tour buses.

 

At last we found the back entrance to the station- right at the next traffic lights as someone had promised us. We had to carry the bike up and down stairs. The train was in and we put the bike on intact but it blocked the door. Bob’s hands were so numb with cold that he couldn’t unscrew the cables to disconnect the bike. A young knight in shining armour- walking gear- came to our rescue after using a sock for gripping it. It was tight, probably due to contraction with the cold! Bob vowed to always take gloves in the future even in the Summer.

 

It took 20 minutes to get back to Dunbar where we changed into dry clothes for the long car journey home, arriving  several degrees warmer at past 10 oclock.