Walk 259 Edinburgh's Literary Connections

On a dull day in Edinburgh 33 Strollers met at the Museum of Scotland in Chambers Street for a walk to St Giles guided by our Blue Badge Guides, Karen and Helen.

The basis of the walk was to celebrate Edinburgh’s link with writers and its status as the first Unesco City of Literature granted in 2004.

Chambers Street immediately gave a link to Chambers the publisher and past Lord Provost. From here we moved to behind the Bedlam Theatre to hear about the Bedlam Hospital and the poet Robert Ferguson who after a fall and head knock was sent to the hospital which was designated for the ‘mad’ people of Edinburgh. He died there at the age of 24 and his treatment there caused one of the doctors, Andrew Duncan, to petition parliament for money to start a hospital to properly care for these patients. The hospital he started is still going in Morningside. Burns was also a great fan of Ferguson and cited him as an influence in his poetry. 

It was then off to Greyfriars Kirkyard to remember the story of Greyfriars Bobby and the inspiration that JK Rowling got from the cemetery for her writing. We also remembered not to rub the statue for good luck!

From here we moved via the balcony on Victoria Street to James Court behind Gladstones Land to hear about David Hume and James Boswell who both lived in the square. We then went on to Lady Stairs Close to hear her story and to hear about the Writers Museum which is a museum in her old house.

From there we moved over to St Giles to remember other writers like Sir Walter Scott, Ian Rankin, Muriel Sparks, Eric Linklater and his son Magnus and Dorothy Dunnet.

We finished at the City Chambers where there is now a walk of fame where famous people linked with Edinburgh, like Alexander McCall Smith, set their handprints in concrete. Just like Hollywood! 

Our thanks to our Guides and we look forward to February and hope the weather stays as dry and mild as it did yesterday.

 

Walk 258 Strollers' Annual Christmas Lunch

 

Fifty four Strollers met up at the Royal Scots Club for Christmas Lunch. Tying in with Covid restrictions, we had fewer people at a table and because of the smaller number attending the tables were further apart.

There was no piping in this year, which is just as well as our piper had decided to try his forward roll technique while going out his back door. Unfortunately he failed to pull it off and damaged his hand so he couldn’t play. Hopefully he won’t try it again and be fit for next year.

There was also no entertainment by the Strolling Players but we had a quiz instead which led to a tie on 36 out of 40 points, so the prize was shared between 3 tables. The booby prize team were just a little behind, well maybe not so little, but enjoyed their prize.

The food and service was very good, with a minor quibble over when to clear tables, our Chairperson is willing to offer lessons!

Overall it was a very good day and a good opportunity for so many people who hadn’t met up for a while to catch up. 

Hopefully by next year we may be in a better position re Covid. 

Looking forward to walks in 2022 starting with the historical walks in January and February, Covid rules allowing.

Walk 257 Musselburgh Circle

 

On a bright sunny almost warm November day eighteen Strollers met up at Musselburgh Harbour for a stroll along the promenade to Levenhall and the Race Track.

Everyone had come dressed for the cold wind off the sea and so were feeling overdressed before going very far and jackets were being taken off. You just can’t predict Scottish weather.

Passing two newly sculpted figures which are supposed to represent fishermen working on their nets, we walked along the promenade to the River Esk. We followed this a short way back up to cross at the pedestrian bridge which is next to the electric bridge. It’s called that because it was built to carry the turbines being taken to Cockenzie Power Station.

From here we headed back down to the Forth and walked along the line of the Levenhall Lagoons. These were created to take the waste ash from the power station but part of it has been altered to create wildlife habitats. Work is ongoing to extend the extent of the reserve and we stopped off for a quick look at the wildlife on the lagoons after having had a break for a snack and to enjoy the sunshine.

We then walked along the side of Musselburgh Race Track which has been on the go since the early 1800s. It also has the Old Musselburgh golf course in the middle of it where the many of the first golf Opens were held and where the size of the hole was accepted as standard. Some of the notable golf clubs and courses around Edinburgh like Muirfield, Bruntsfield and Royal Burgess all played here at one time.

From here we made our way back to the harbour and the end of the walk.

Our thanks to Drew for arranging the walk and the weather.

 

Walk Number 256 Riccarton

On a warm sunny day thirteen Strollers met at the entrance to Oriam in Riccarton Campus for a walk round the grounds of Heriot Watt University.

Oriam is Scotland's national performance centre for sport. Opened in 2016, it is used by the Scottish Rugby Union, the Scottish Football Association as well as Heart of Midlothian F.C. for first team training and to run their academy. It has also been used by several English Premiership clubs. The indoor pitch is the same size as the football pitch at Hampden and is open to other sports teams as well as students and members of the public.

The walk took us round the forest track past Lovers Loan on the way to the Millennium Garden, which was created using reclaimed project construction spoil.

From there, the walk continued on past the research area and looped back to the old gardens of Riccarton House. The front lawn, where the Henry Prais building now, stands, was used for croquet and once echoed to the cries of strutting peacocks. The present lawn was known as the Flower Garden, with flower beds designed and planted by the mid-18th century. It was extensively modelled during the 19th century by the Gibson-Craigs to include a summer house. The Velvet Walk is a garden terrace leading to the private burial ground of the Gibson-Craig family who owned the estate before it passed into the hands of the University.

The fire pond was constructed as a convenient source of water for use in the event of fire in the mansion-house, whilst the ornamental loch supported wildfowl and fish for use in the house kitchens.

From the gardens the walk continued back to Oriam and the end of the walk.

Our thanks to Alistair for arranging a very accessible and enjoyable walk.

Let’s hope the weather hold out for the November walk. 

19 August 2021 Outing to the Scottish Maritime Museum

 Our first outing since September 2019 was to the Maritime Museum in Irvine and we had 38 happy people on our tour bus.

After a short coffee stop we arrived at the Museum at 12.30 pm. One of our regular guests who lives in Glasgow was waiting for us there. We were met by the Manager, Chris, who gave us a brief history and suggested we go look around in groups of about 12 as were their first group visit. The Museum was really interesting showing many maritime relics and machinery. There were also other parts to the Museum: - the Harbour Stories Screening and Into the Maelstrom Exhibition. There was also a Puffer outside the Museum showing the history and photographs of the Puffer – that was really interesting.

At 4 o’clock we left for High Tea in Irvine which was very enjoyable (even though the fish and chips didn’t have the expected peas!) and everyone mixed well.

For Ronnie as a Marine Engineer it was magic as it brought back loads of memories.

Thanks to Isabel and Ronnie for arranging the trip and the good weather while we were there

Strollers Walk 255 - Colinton, Bonaly and Torphin Circle

Ten intrepid Strollers met at Colinton village to walk up the road to Bonaly, Torduff and Clubbidean reservoirs then back over the old Torphin Golf course. I say ten but one of the Strollers missed their bus and had to chase along to catch up at the Bonaly lower car park where we met one of the other Strollers who had decided to cut out some of the hill by parking there.

It was a lovely day for strolling past the field of Alpacas on the way to Torduff and on to Clubbidean. We sat on the wall there and enjoyed lunch in the sunshine, watching the fishermen out in boats and the fish jumping out of the water. The little house at the edge of Clubbidean now does takeaways from Friday to Sunday for anyone who wants to do that walk on their own.

From there we headed back over Torphin golf course which gave us tremendous views back over Torduff and the city. We then continued on to the highest point of Torphin passing the remnants of the golf course. There were markers behind where greens were so you knew where to hit the ball and steps that you could go up to see if it was clear to play. From the top we could see all the way out to West Lothian over Currie and Balerno and down East Lothian all the way to the Bass Rock and North Berwick Law.

Torphin used to host a ladies’ golf competition in memory of a great American lady golfer, Babe Zaharias, who won the British Ladies Amateur at Gullane in 1947, as well as being an Olympic Gold medallist. Her husband presented the trophy to be played for by Scottish Ladies in 1956 after she died at the age of 45.

From here we headed back down over the course past the old club house which is now part of Tiphereth Camphill, a charity for adults with learning difficulties and back to Colinton Village.

The next walk will be a lot flatter! 

Our thanks to Drew for arranging the walk on a lovely day.

Strollers Walk 254 - Penicuik Estate

 

Fourteen Strollers met outside Greggs in the centre of Penicuik to walk round the Penicuik Estate. The good news was that the forecast was good after all the heavy rain of the proceeding days and that more of the cafes in Penicuik were now open for the bacon rolls!

Setting off down the road to Penicuik South Kirk, we turned in and went onto the paths through the estate. The church was built in the Gothic style in 1863. We followed the path and walked over what was once the dumping site for the Valleyfield paper mill seeing evidence of this at the site of the 2007 landslip where the white chalk waste was visible.

Continuing on, we stopped at the ruins of Ravesneuk Castle which gave us views over to the flag tower which was also a doocot. Following the path down we came to the curling pond and walked up through the field which had cows in it. Unfortunately one of our group failed to navigate the trail left by the cows!

We stopped for lunch at the house and admired the stables where the Clerk family moved into after the fire of 1899 which destroyed the house. Leaving the house, we went towards the focal point of the view from the house. It is an obelisk erected by Sir John Clerk after the death of the poet Alan Ramsay in 1758.

From there we went down the path to the right and the ‘Roman’ bridge which was built in 1738. We then followed the path back along the side of the Esk and into Penicuik once more. 

Our thanks to Drew for arranging the walk on a dry day.

Strollers Walk 252 Holyrood Park Circle Wednesday 14 July 2021

On a gloriously sunny and warm day fourteen Strollers met at the Commonwealth Pool for a walk round Holyrood Park.  There were actually thirteen as Moira was coming towards us and the coordinator’s phone obviously had an ignore Moira setting as he didn’t notice the messages until the walk started. It was good to be back out again meeting up with people even while observing distancing measures.

Taking a slow stroll up the road into the park we followed the Queen’s Drive round to Dunsapie Loch we stopped to look at the views over Prestonfield Golf Course out to Midlothian and the Pentlands and also to the less scenic view of the new Millerhill Energy Centre where some of our recycling is used to create electricity and heat.

Arriving at Dunsapie Loch the walk disintegrated as an ice-cream van was spotted and cones became the number one priority. Strangely no-one took up the option to quickly go up Arthur’s Seat! From here the walk progressed down the drive with lovely views down the coast to Berwick Law before arriving at St Margaret’s Loch. There was a frenzy of swans at the pond as they were fed by some children who were in danger of being snaffled as well.  Dunsapie and St Margaret’s Lochs, as well as the Queen’s Drive, were designed by Prince Albert for Queen Victoria to enjoy the park.

From there the walk continued up past St Anthony’s Chapel into Hunter’s Bog, named after John Hunter who received it in the 16th century for draining a bog where Dynamic Earth resides, and not because they used to go hunting there. We followed  the path called The Dasses and continued up to the edge of Salisbury Crags where the walk continued down the road back to finish at the Commonwealth Pool and time

For tea and a scone. 

Our thanks to Drew for arranging a walk on a very hot day.

  

2021 Outings

 Assuming that we are allowed to travel in numbers, we have planned the following outings:-

21 July - Scone Palace & Gardens

19 August - Scottish Maritime Museum, Irvine

17 September - Jim Clark Museum & Glenkinchie Distillery

Strollers 2021 Dates

 

Date	Day	No	Where	Coordinator
January			No  Walk –
February			No  Walk –
17 March	Wednesday		No  Walk –
13 April	Tuesday		No  Walk –
13 May	Thursday	252
14 June	Monday	253
14 July	Wednesday	254
12 August	Thursday	255
7 September	Tuesday	256
13 October	Wednesday	257
11 November	Thursday	258
9  December	Thursday	259	Strollers Lunch	Drew Young

Walk 251 Pinkie Cleugh Circle

Following best advice and keeping well apart on the walk, eleven Strollers met at Musselburgh harbour for a walk round Pinkie Cleugh in March. They were joined by ‘muddy’ Moira who came dashing along behind them so she could justify her visit to Luca’s ice cream shop at the end of the walk.

Breathing in the very fresh air they made their way along to Musselburgh High Street, past the Mercat Cross and up Newbigging to Lewisvale Park where the sound of the birds in the aviary mixed with the cries of ‘out’ from the tennis courts. We then walked up past the cricket pitch and the marker to show where the Duke of Somerset’s English troops camped at the time of the battle of Pinkie, coming out opposite Inveresk Lodge Gardens.

The village itself has an open day, usually in June, when you can visit gardens of several of the houses. We followed Crookston Road between the fields where the Battle of Pinkie took place up to the monument for the battle.

From there we went along to Wallyford noting all the new housing that is being built there together with a new school. Next we went into Wallyford itself with its skyline marked by the skeleton of the stand at the greyhound stadium then down to walk along by the railway line and past more new housing into Pinkie.

Next we strolled from there through the grounds of Pinkie St Peters Primary School back to the High Street. We finished the walk at the columns that marked the edge of Musselburgh and allowing Moira to stop off for her ice-cream.

Given the restrictions in place with the Corona Virus and cutting back in transport links this will probably be the last Strollers’ walk for a while. 

All the best for the coming months and hope to see everyone on a walk in the not too distant future.

Strollers Walk 250 - Edinburgh and the Enlightenment

Fifty-five Strollers met at the Old Quad of Edinburgh University for a walk round some of the sites relating to the Enlightenment period in Edinburgh.  
Led by our Blue Badge Guides, Karen and Helen, we heard about the background to the Old Quad itself which is now the centre for Law at the University. We moved up to Surgeons Hall to hear about its beginnings and then through it thanks to Karen’s way of managing to talk us into places without paying!

From there, we went down to the ‘old’ infirmary. The infirmary had been founded in 1729 in Robertson’s Close, but with only 4 beds. In 1736 it received a Royal Charter and a new Infirmary was built in Infirmary Street with 228 beds. It then moved to Lauriston Place in 1879 as Edinburgh expanded and needed more hospital space. It is now at Little France.

From here we went down to the Old School Yards, (not the Cat Stevens song!) site of the first High School before it moved to Calton Hill. It was attended by Sir Walter Scott and by James Pillans who invented the blackboard and coloured chalk there. The building then became part of the hospital and later the University. It now houses the Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Innovation. The Flodden Wall also backs onto this site.

We headed up to Chambers Street to hear about squares that used to exist where the Heriot Watt University, Adam House and the Museum of Scotland all now stand. We also heard about the goings on of Burke and Hare as well as brief notes on many of the other luminaries who were in Edinburgh at the time of the Enlightenment.

We finished up at St Giles Cathedral hearing about John Knox’s influence on education and who the other statues commemorated.

As with the January walk we couldn’t have had a better day for a walk - particularly as our guides had got their dates wrong and had turned up the week before when the weather was really bad! Still it gave them an opportunity to walk the walk!  

Our thanks again to Karen and Helen for providing a very interesting walk and Karen has taken note of suggestions for next year. 

Strollers Walk 249 - Newhaven

On what turned out to be a calm and balmy January day, 34 Strollers met at Newhaven for a tour of the historic village led by our Blue Badge Guides Karen and Helen. Given the weather of the previous days, it turned out to be a really nice day for the walk. Hopefully the rest of this year’s walks will be as calm! 

We met up outside the Brewers Fayre and walked past the fish market and Loch Fyne Restaurant on our way to Newhaven village, on what is reclaimed land. The River Forth used to go all the way up to the village. At one time the Forth was called the Frisian Sea. This is said to be due to the link with the Frisian Islands and settlers from there.

People from Newhaven have the nickname of BowTows. Thanks to Ann P for passing on the source of this nickname. It’s from the buoys and tow ropes. The men from Newhaven used to be the pilots for access to this part of the Forth as well as fisherman.

Newhaven fishwives were famous throughout the country for their brightly coloured traditional outfits, quick wits and for their sharp tongues, which gave rise to the Scots’ expression ‘a tongue like a fishwife’. In the 19th Century they became an attraction for the new art of photography.

Newhaven was redeveloped in the 1960s. The buildings more in keeping with how the village used to look were the work of the eminent Scottish modern architect Sir Basil Spence. He incorporated the ‘sets’ from the road into his designs and used them as bricks in the newly built houses. Everyone was moved out whilst this work was being done and it led to the loss of quite a few of the shops and pubs which had been in the village.

Andrew Wood Square is named after Sir Andrew Wood, a sea captain who traded with the Netherlands but also acted as a privateer for James III preying on English ships. His ship the Caravel also acted as the Britannia of its day for the king and his wife. He also commanded the Great Michael when it was built and launched at Newhaven before becoming ambassador to France and then Regent for the young James V. He was granted lands at Largo in Fife and built a canal to get to church.

The Society of Free Fishermen of Newhaven, dating from at least 1572, was one of the oldest Friendly Societies in Scotland. It survived until 1989.

We finished at St Andrew’s Free Church which was founded in 1843 when the Church of Scotland split in the Disruption. It re-joined in 1929 and the congregation moved in 1974 to the older Newhaven Parish Church.

It was then time to head off for the obligatory plate of soup or scone!  

Our thanks to Helen and Karen for a very interesting walk.

Strollers 2020 Dates

Date	Day	No	Where	Coordinator
16 January	Thursday	248	Historic Walk –  Newhaven	Karen MacCormick
25 February	Tuesday	249	Historic Walk –   Princes St East	Karen MacCormick
18 March	Wednesday	250
16 April	Thursday	251
19 May	Tuesday	252
17 June	Wednesday	253
14 July	Tuesday	254
20 August	Thursday	255
22 September	Tuesday	256
14 October	Wednesday	257
19 November	Thursday	258
3 December	Thursday	259	Christmas Lunch	Drew Young