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.
