Shortest, hottest, but best day of hiking this section of coast.
Despite today being the shortest and hottest day on this section of coast, it was easily our favourite by far. Eve had ice cream, enjoyed loads of beach walking, and finished early. We even had a meal deal from Tesco in North Berwick for lunch!
Last night's wild camping on Seacliff beach
We had a fantastic night and slept like babies, not waking until dawn. As we exited the tent, the sun was high and hot already, and we could see the light streaking over the ocean and bathing us in its early morning rays. Today was going to be a good day.
After a quick breakfast, coffee and mocha we dropped the tent headed off towards North Berwick.
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Leaving Seacliff beach
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Inevitable road walking... but not for long!
We left Seacliff via the second car park and walked a long, pristine road. It was down here that I realised Seacliff was part of a bigger estate, and I worried that we shouldn't have camped on the beach.
I hoped that 'leaving no trace' would be okay and that I hadn't offended anybody by our presence, though I don't think anyone saw us camping in any case!
We passed by the entrance to Tantallon Castle along the A198 for a quick rest. Tantallon Castle looked amazing, and we would love to return someday with Sarah to look around. Historic Scotland owns Tantallon Castle. We paused on the short grass beside the sign for a quick break and deposited our rubbish from the night before in the bins provided. We stopped for much longer than we should, just resting and talking about things I can't now recall!
Walking away from Seacliff with Tantalleon Castle and Bass Rock giving us the most amazing views
Horseshoe Point beach
Walking along the busy A198, we were relieved to see a small gateway and path leading down onto the beach at Horseshoe Point. Without conversation or thinking twice, we headed off the path and descended a rough, steep, but short track onto the beach. Being off the road and feeling the soft earth and sand under our feet was lovely! Road walking, although easy, takes a severe toll on our bodies, especially with the burden of heavy backpacks weighing us down!
As soon as we were on the beach, Eve ran—literally sprinted!
I have no idea where or why this sudden burst of energy came from, but wow... I could not keep up, and at one point, I had to shout as loud as I could to stop her and ask her to wait to prevent her from going too far and out of my sight!
She could sense North Berwick ahead and smell the ice cream shop, but I have no evidence for that, although I think it's a good a'theory as any!
The Horseshoe Point beach soon ended, leading us onto a short rocky scramble, eventually putting us beside the inevitable coastal golf course!
Descending into Horseshoe Point Beach
Another golf course and heading into North Berwick
Humm... another golf course. It's a blight on the British coastline. But hey, loads of people enjoy golf, so maybe I am the one who's wrong!
In all honesty, the gold course wasn't that bad. We didn't see much of it, as the trail kept us slightly below it on a rougher but more undulating path, with rocks and gentle waves below.
On one small section of the golf course, a group of elderly gentlemen even stopped their game to talk to us, asking where we had come from and where we were going!
We passed a few walkers, Eve petted a few dogs, and before long, we were on the sandy shore with North Berwick in front of us. So far today has been good, although it is going to get a lot better as we will soon find out.
The golf course and coast leading from Horseshoe Point towards North Berwick
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North Berwick
North Berwick was hot and busy, but it had an ice cream shop! But first, we had a few things to do there. First was to get some lunch.
On our normal hiking day, our food consists mainly of snack items: nuts, biscuits, dried fruit, etc.... You get the idea. So when the opportunity arrives for a lunch that isn't so, well, dry... it always gets us excited!
So off to the co-op we trotted, trying desperately not to hit people with our backpacks. After purchasing a meal, we headed back to the ice cream shop.
Eve didn't want chocolate ice cream this time, opting for Strawverry because she thought it would be more refreshing on such a hot day. I couldn't agree more. We got her an ice cream and sat in the gardens opposite the ice cream shop.
We timed it just right. As we entered the gardens, a family vacated a bench that we had sat on. However, we soon realised that we had been hiking too much and found sitting on the grass more comfortable. We offered our bench to an elderly person looking for somewhere to rest.
Eve enjoyed her ice cream and I drank a pint of milk I had brought from the co-op! I don't know why, but whenever we are backpacking, I crave milk! Odd really, but there you have it.
From here, we started to make our way out of North Berwick, pausing briefly on a bench to eat our lunch, even though Eve had just eaten an ice cream.
By the time we finished our lunch, it was early afternoon, and we were already starting to think about where we might stop for the night. We sat studying the maps, trying to find a location to wild camp.
We identified a location, but didn't know how good it would be!
Photos and videos
As I am sure you have noticed, I didn't take many pictures in North Berwick. It was busy and we were getting a little flustered, so taking photographs wasn't particularly high on my priority list. My apologies to you.
Another thank you!
Thank you again for your donations to Buy Me a Coffee. You are truly some of the kindest and most wonderful people we know. Without your love and support, we wouldn't be able to have these wee treats of ice cream and milk! Thank you...
North Berwick and ice cream... thank you.
Leaving North Berwick and Broadsands
As nice as North Berwick is, leaving these urban locations gives me such a sense of relief. It's like that Friday feeling, but magnified 10 times over. It's genuine decompression, feeling stress and anxiety exit my body like pouring a bottle of water down the kitchen sink. This is how I feel, and watching the conversation in Eve, it appears she is experiencing a similar wave of feelings and emotions.
Broadsands
Broadsands is one of these beaches that gets better and better the further you walk along it. It was never quiet or remote, but the feeling of happiness and freedom grew inside us like a flower bursting into bloom. We were bursting into bloom, becoming free to the wind and sky, flying high with birds as we floated down the beach, without a care or concern in the world!
The beach was wide and golden, baked under the relentless heat of the afternoon summer, sitting high in the sky. We spoke, played, and enjoyed this time together, knowing it wouldn't last forever.
Wild Camping overlooking the island of Fidra
We walked past a small section of beach that was the busiest we had seen since leaving North Berwick and rounded the corner to see an empty section of beach and a perfectly flat area in the dunes tucked just off the main beach.
With a row of pine trees behind us and the beach in front of us, we instinctively knew what each other was thinking. This was home for the night, and it was only 4 p.m. in the afternoon! This was the easiest we had finished walking all week by at least two glorious hours!
The temperature was unbearable, and although we both wanted to sit on the beach, we immediately erected the tent to create an area of shade and escape the sun's heat.
There was little breeze, but oh, how it felt glorious to sit, watch, and observe the world and people passing by.
We sat still for several hours, slowly sipping our water to prevent dehydration. We even chose to skip dinner, opting instead to snack on nuts, biscuits, and a few other items we had stashed in our food bag. Cooking and eating a hot meal was not appealing, nor were we feeling hungry!
As the day slowly turned to night and the sun dropped lower, a gentle breeze picked up, and we started to wander the shore not far from the tent in search of unknown treasures. We found plenty of treasures, just none of monetary value—a few shells and rocks in the most interesting shapes!
Without being all spiritual, have you ever stopped and looked? I mean, really studied the rocks and pebbles on a beach?
I'm no geologist, but they are masterpieces like nothing a human could ever create. We looked and studied the patterns, formations and intricate formations on these little stones, lost in our world, disconnected from the world around us until it was time to retreat to our tent, readying our minds and bodies for the next day. How I wished this evening would never end!
Camping spot overlooking the island of Fidra
I feel particularly impressed with this picture taken with an iPhone 13
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Ian Alderman
Day 5 - Broadsands, North Berwick to Ferny Ness, Longniddry
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