Outing to Lindisfarne, Tuesday 23rd August 2016

The fourth outing of 2016 took place on Tuesday 23 August, when we had a full day trip to Lindisfarne (Holy Island). We needed two coaches, as 86 people had booked for this trip. We left Waterloo Place at 09:30 and headed down the A1. One coach stopped at East Ord Garden Centre at Berwick for morning coffee, but the second coach went on to Beale for its stop. We all met up again on Lindisfarne, by which time the sun was well out. The island was very busy and we walked and climbed to the castle, run by National Trust where we had the chance to view the many rooms and admire the coastal views.
We then had some free time to wander more of the town before boarding our buses to head for the Tankerville Arms at Wooler and high tea. Given the large numbers, service took a while, especially the battered cod which was massive and took too long to cook and serve.
We were back in Edinburgh shortly after 8pm after a good day out.

Many thanks Barabra for organising this trip, to Carole and Moira for handling all the bookings and cheques, also to Ronnie, Joan and others who helped out on the day distributing forms, refunds, etc.

Strollers Walk No. 207 - Tuesday 19th July 2016, Haddington and River Tyne

Walk No. 207:    Haddington and River Tyne
Date:                 Tuesday 19th July 2016
Distance:           6 miles
Start at:             Court Street, Haddington
On a hot balmy day twenty two strollers met up for a leisurely stroll round Haddington. Actuall there were twenty three, but two more missed the bus to Haddimngton, so one decided to wait for them. Given the heat, somewhere around 27ºc, a leisurely stroll was the order of the day. We left the town centre to go down Meadowpark past Knox School and the Long Cram to join the River Tyne and follow the path, passing trees planted for the coronation of Queen Victoria and George the V and his wife Mary, round to St Mary’s Church where we stopped for lunch, and where the late arrivals caught up with us. We sat the shadow of the church which started off the career of John Knox and the Nungate Bridge where executions were held in earlier centuries.
Crossing the bridge we moved on to Haddington Golf course which is in the ground that once was part of the Amisfield estate owned by the Earl of Wemyss. The area at the start of the estate also housed a prisoner of war camp, and then a refugee camp from 1944 to 1949. The clubhouse now stands on the site of the former house which was demolished in 1928. Nearby are the ruins of a summer house in front of which was a bowling green. From there we went into Amisfield walled garden, which is the largest walled garden in Scotland. It used to provide the fruit and vegetables for the house and due to its size acted as a showpiece garden for the estate. It is now run as a community garden and is open to the public.
It was time to make our way back along the river to Haddington and find a long cool cold drink.
Thanks to Drew for guiding us round this lovely walk. Hopefully the August walk will find a medium between the heat of Tuesday and the rain of the June walk! Hope to see you all then.