If you wanted a nice relaxed bike ride out to North Berwick over Easter with your new boyfriend who will be on a hired bike and muttering about not having his campagnolo bling, which way would you go?
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Leisure
Best route to North Berwick
(57 posts)-
Posted 13 years ago #
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"If you wanted a nice relaxed bike ride ... and muttering about not having his campagnolo bling, ..."
Perhaps one of you should get the train...
Innocent to Brunstane Station then Newcraighall (not faithfully following Sustrans route) then QMU and onto the Esk path into M. (Everytrail trip showing coming back that way.)
OR
B St to Joppa via B Burn Path then a short stretch of main road. (Everytrail failed to upload the route details for this one) - but the photos are entertaining.
Tour the sea side of M then on to the lagoons (for birdwatching). Stop at Sam Burns' yard and/or the (bit neglected) Prestongrange Museum.
Lunch at the Goth.
After that the choice is the coast road - Aberlady - Gullane etc. or more minor roads from Aberlady or Longniddry. (I'm sure others here will have sampled these more recently than I have.)
Posted 13 years ago # -
I might go;
Innocent to Musselburgh station > NCN76/1 along Esk to Eskmills.
The "official" 76 route goes around the ash lagoons. The surface quality is pretty rubbish and to be honest I've no problem in following the main road along past Musselburgh Race Course > Prestonpans > Cockenzie > Luffness (stop for optional trip to beach / birdwatching) > Aberlady (stop for optional chips) > Gullane (stop for obligatory cake at Falko's) > Dirleton (take route through village) then back onto main road into NB. I think it's possible to head North out of Dirleton onto the John Muir Way path and along top of beach into NB, but I've no idea how suitable it is for bikes.
A longer route avoiding the main road would be to take the Haddington Railway path (NCN76) from Longniddry, follow through Haddington and approach NB on the backroads from the South. It's a much hillier option though as you've got to get over the Traprain ridge.
Posted 13 years ago # -
Kirst "which way would you go?"
chdot
"lagoons (for birdwatching)"
"Stop at Sam Burns' yard"
"Lunch at the Goth"Going a bit beyond your remit? ;)
Posted 13 years ago # -
"(stop for optional chips) "
Think that the chip shop is now closed.
Posted 13 years ago # -
"Going a bit beyond your remit?"
Certainly not!
Kirst wants a "nice relaxed bike ride". Visiting places (not necessarily those ones) is part of the point of cycling (for most people)!
Posted 13 years ago # -
After Musselburgh, there aren't too many alternatives without introducing extra distance and hills.
One nice lane starts at the level crossing off the dual carriageway near Seton Mains. You can then wriggle up fairly gently to the top of the Yak for superb views. Then along to Athelstaneford and find your way along lanes to NB. You'll need a map!
Posted 13 years ago # -
"Think that the chip shop is now closed."
Might have re-opened (or am I confusing that with the pub that was threatening to shut too??)
Posted 13 years ago # -
I think the chip shop opened but I think it is now closed. Mind you I have to avert my eyes in case of temptation.
Posted 13 years ago # -
But Falko is definitely still open and definitely worth stopping into.
Posted 13 years ago # -
"But Falko is definitely still open and definitely worth stopping into"
But you don't have to go that far...
Posted 13 years ago # -
But they bake the stuff in Gullane I think, so you can look up on it as low-carbon Falko
Posted 13 years ago # -
I prefer the cafe at the farm shop on the right before you get to Aberlady. Plus points: not next to a road, reasonable prices, proper cake.
Posted 13 years ago # -
There's a really nice little cafe at Fenton Barns. I think it won the east Lothian award a year or two ago. Lots of cakes too and a farm shop and other retail stuff. Just a short ride from Drem station so you could ride out to there and get the train home from Drem.
amir - where is the Yak? I've seen it mentioned a few times on the ERC forum.Posted 13 years ago # -
This?
"The cafe is open from 9.30-4.30pm every day"
http://www.gosfordfarmshop.co.uk/cafe.html
And this -
http://glenfinlas.com/cafes/fenton-barns-cafe (10:00am–4:00pm)
Posted 13 years ago # -
The Yak is the hill between Haddington and Aberlady
http://maps.google.co.uk/?ie=UTF8&ll=55.973774,-2.801449&spn=0.007865,0.01929&z=16
The chimney-like monument on the top of the hill there is definitely worth climbing. You'll need a torch - the steps are a bit dodgy.
Posted 13 years ago # -
The chimney-like monument on the top of the hill there is definitely worth climbing. You'll need a torch - the steps are a bit dodgy.
Yes, you can simultaneously feel a fear of the dark, of heights and of confined spaces. I've ridden over that hill for years; my first ERC ride went over there with Phil Darby. But I never heard it called that until now.
Posted 13 years ago # -
The chimney-like monument on the top of the hill there is definitely worth climbing.
Hopetoun Monument.
@Kirst - from above you will see that East Lothian is definitely the place to be for cake. That's got to be a good thing for a cycl-o-date!
Posted 13 years ago # -
Fffffffft, my flat has better cake than the whole of East Lothian put together. And I say that as the daughter of a Dunbar woman!
I think really we were just wanting a relaxed trip out to NB, a scoot around the beach, maybe a trip out on the Sula (my mum used to go out with that man who has the Sula many years ago, cake, and a train back. We don't want scary chimneys. :-0 ;-)
Posted 13 years ago # -
Posted 13 years ago #
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Getting slightly off topic, but there is a sister Hopetoun Monument in Fife too. You can't climb it, although it's a nice walk up the hill.
Posted 13 years ago # -
If you get fed up of the coast road, you can take a right just on the bend after the Aberlady reserve car park, then a quick left. You then go more or less straight through West Fenton to Kingston, then follow the road left to NB.
Posted 13 years ago # -
I'd avoid the road between Mussleburgh and Longniddrie. I did it on the Tour of East Lothian, and its the pits! Bumpy as hell, as the tarmac is crumbling. I'd suggest a trip out to NB on the train and then a nice wonder round on Foot. You can hire bikes (call before hand) in the centre of NB.
http://www.lawcycles.co.uk/hire/index.html
Ignore the bit about 2003. The shop is on the junction of Law road and the High Street.
(Plus how fit is he - if your having to hire a bike? You don't want him Sh*gged out before you ... well you get the picture...)
Posted 13 years ago # -
Bumpy as hell, as the tarmac is crumbling.
That's the bit along past Preston Grange. It's a really bad tyre trap on skinny-wheeled bikes, regular puncture fest whenever I've been that way with ERC.
I've always assumed it's because the substrate there is quite soft - until they built the ash lagoons in the 60s the road was on the old raised beach above the seafront and mudflats beyond. Of course it still is on raised beach, except they've moved the shoreline north by a few hundred metres.
It's also riddled with old shallow mineworkings ("room and stoop" type, which are prone to collapse). Or a combination of both of the above and overuse by vehicles and lack of repairs...
Posted 13 years ago # -
An Aberlady resident writes -
"The chippy is dormant and up for lease, the pub has new proprietor and is active."
Posted 13 years ago # -
the pub has new proprietor and is active."
anyone have a recent report on the pub by the castle in dirleton that used to be fab and then had new owner and was crap?
Posted 13 years ago # -
He's fitter than me. The only reason we'll have to hire him a bike is because he lives in Essex and he's coming up on the bus and going back by plane.
Posted 13 years ago # -
He's coming up by bus!?! He must be keen!
Posted 13 years ago # -
I'm very wonderful. And he can sleep anywhere so he's getting the sleeper bus cos it's cheap.
Posted 13 years ago # -
if its the weekend go inland at longniddry, the coast road get heaving.
Posted 13 years ago #
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