Side Trip to East Lothian

Side Trip to East Lothian

Upmarket East Lothian draws visitors with golf courses of world rank, most notably Muirfield, along with a scattering of stately homes and interesting hotels. Red-pantiled and decidedly middle class, it is an area of glowing grain fields in summer and quite a few discreetly polite strictly private" signs at the end of driveways. Still, it has plenty of interest, including photogenic villages, active fishing harbors, and vistas of pastoral Lowland Scotland, seemingly a world away (but much less than an hour by car) from bustling Edinburgh.

Gifford

With its 18th-century kirk and Mercat Cross, Gifford is a good example of a tweedily respectable, well-scrubbed, red-pantile-roofed East Lothian village. John Witherspoon (1723-94), a signatory of the U.S. Declaration of Independence, was born here. A narrow road from Gifford leads up into the Lammermuir Hills and down into Berwickshire, passing the Whiteadder Reservoir.

Dunbar

In the days before tour companies started offering package deals to the Mediterranean, Dunbar was a popular holiday beach resort. Now a bit faded, the town is still lovely for its spacious Georgian-style properties, characterized by the astragals, or fan-shape windows, above the doors; the symmetry of the house fronts; and the parapeted roof lines. Though not the popular seaside playground it once was, Dunbar has an attractive beach and a picturesque harbor.

John Muir Country Park

Taking in the estuary of the River Tyne winding down from the Moorfoot Hills, the John Muir Country Park encompasses varied coastal scenery: rocky shoreline, golden sands, and the mixed woodlands of Tyninghame, teeming with wildlife. Dunbar-born conservationist John Muir (1838-1914), whose family emigrated to the United States when he was a child, helped found Yosemite and Sequoia national parks in California.

Off A1087, 2 mi west of Dunbar.

St. Mary's Parish Church

The unmistakable red-sandstone St. Mary's Parish Church, with its Norman tower, stands on a site occupied since the 6th century. It was a place of pilgrimage in medieval times because of its healing well. Behind the kirk, in a field, stands a tithe barn. Tithe barns originated with the practice of giving to the church a portion of local produce, which then required storage space. In the 15th century, the church was visited by a young Italian nobleman, Aeneas Sylvius Piccolomini, after he was shipwrecked off the East Lothian coast. Twenty years later, Piccolomini became Pope Pius II. At one end of the barn stands a 16th-century tower house, which at one point in its history accommodated visiting pilgrims. The large three-story barn was added to the tower house in the 17th century.

A198, Whitekirk. Free. Daily 9 AM-dusk.

Tantallon Castle

Rising on a cliff beyond the flat fields east of North Berwick, Tantallon Castle is a substantial ruin defending a headland with the sea on three sides. The red sandstone is pitted and eaten by time and sea spray, with the earliest surviving stonework dating from the late 14th century. The fortress was besieged in 1529 by the cannons of King James V (1512-42). Rather inconveniently, the besieging forces ran out of gunpowder. Cannons were used again, to deadlier effect, in a later siege during the Civil War in 1651. Twelve days of battering with the heavy guns of Cromwell's General Monk greatly damaged the flanking towers. Fortunately much of the curtain wall of this former Douglas stronghold, now cared for by Historic Scotland, survives.

A198, 3 mi east of North Berwick. 01620/892727. www.historic-scotland.gov.uk. £3.30. Apr.-Sept., daily 9:30-6:30; Oct.-Mar., Sat.-Wed. 9:30-4:30; last admission half hr before closing.

North Berwick

The pleasant little seaside resort of North Berwick manages to retain a small-town personality even when it's thronged with city visitors on warm summer Sunday afternoons. Eating ice cream, the city folk stroll on the beach and in the narrow streets or gaze at the sailing craft in the small harbor.

An observation deck, exhibits, and films at the Scottish Seabird Centre provide a good introduction to the world of the gannets and puffins that nest on nearby Bass Rock. Live interactive cameras let you take an even closer look at the bird. The Harbour. 01620/890202. www.seabird.org. £6.95. Apr.-Oct., daily 10-6; Nov.-Jan., weekdays 10-4, weekends 10-5:30

Dirleton

In the center of this small village sits the 12th-century Dirleton Castle,surrounded by a high outer wall. Within the wall you'll find a 17th-century bowling green, set in the shade of yew trees and surrounded by a herbaceous flower border that blazes with color in high summer. Dirleton Castle, now in Historic Scotland's care, was occupied in 1298 by King Edward I of England as part of his campaign for the continued subjugation of the unruly Scots. On A198, 2 mi west of North Berwick. 01620/850330. www.historic-scotland.gov.uk. £3.30. Apr.-Sept., daily 9:30-6; Oct.-Mar., daily 9:30-4

Gullane

Very noticeable along this coastline are the golf courses of East Lothian, laid out wherever there is available links space. Ultrarespectable Gullane is surrounded by them, and its inhabitants are typically clad in expensive golfing sweaters. Muirfield,a course that hosts the British Open championship, is to the north of the village. Greywalls, now a hotel, was originally a private house, designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens (1869-1944). Apart from golf, you can enjoy restful summer evening strolls at Gullane's beach, well within driving distance of the village.

Haddington

One of the best-preserved medieval street plans in the country can be explored in Haddington. Among the many buildings of architectural or historical interest is the Town House, designed by William Adam in 1748 and enlarged in 1830. A wall plaque at the Sidegate recalls the great heights of floods from the River Tyne. Beyond is the medieval Nungate footbridge, with the Church of St. Mary a little way upstream.

Just to the south of Haddington stands Lennoxlove House,the grand ancestral home of the very grand dukes of Hamilton since 1947 and the the Baird family before them. A turreted country house, part of it dating from the 15th century, Lennoxlove is a cheerful mix of family life and Scottish history. The beautifully decorated rooms house portraits, furniture, porcelain, and items associated with Mary, Queen of Scots, including her supposed death mask. The house is closed until mid-2007; call for an update. B6369, 1 mi south of Haddington. 01620/823720. www.lennoxlove.com

Newhailes

This fine late 17th-century house (with 18th-century additions), owned and run by the National Trust for Scotland, was designed by Scottish architect James Smith (circa 1645-1731) in 1686 as his own home. He later sold it to Lord Bellendon, and in 1707 it was bought by Sir David Dalrymple (?-1721), first baronet of Hailes, who improved and extended the house, adding one of the finest rococo interiors in Scotland. The library played host to many famous figures from the Scottish Enlightenment, including inveterate Scot-basher Dr. Samuel Johnson, who dubbed the library "the most learned room in Europe." Most of the original interiors and furnishings remain intact, creating great authenticity.

Newhailes Rd., Musselburgh, EH21 6RY. 0131/665-1546. www.nts.org.uk. House £10, grounds free. House May-Oct., Thurs.-Mon. noon-5; grounds daily year-round.

East Lothian by Rail

In East Lothian, the towns of North Berwick, Drem, and Dunbar have train stations with regular service from Edinburgh.