Day 366: North Berwick to Dunbar – Bass Rock, Tantallon Castle & a tiny harbour

Date of walk: 6/12/19

Bass Rock at dawn from Milsey Bay, North Bewick, East Lothian, Scotland.

Coastal Path with Berwick Law, East Lothian, Scotland.

Tantallon Castle built in 1350 and consisting of one massive wall blocking off the headland. Tantallon was left in ruins after a siege during Oliver Cromwell’s invasion of Scotland in 1651 which led to 10 years of English occupation and rule. Cromwell’s Parliamentarian forces invaded Scotland, taking control of the south of the country after their victory at Dunbar in September 1650. In February 1651, Cromwell found his lines of communication under attack from a small group of 91 Royalists based at Tantallon. Cromwell’s retaliation was to send 2,000 to 3,000 troops under General Monck, together with much of the artillery he had in Scotland, and lay siege to Tantallon. After twelve days of bombardment with cannon a breach was made in the Douglas Tower. The defenders were compelled to surrender, but only after quarter had been granted to them in recognition of their bravery. East Lothian, Scotland.

The outer wall and ditch of Tantallon Castle with the remnants of Douglas tower destroyed in Oliver Cromwell’s siege of 1651, East Lothian, Scotland.

Inside Tantallon Castle walls looking towards Dunbar, East Lothian, Scotland.

Behind the wall of Tantallon Castle, East Lothian, Scotland.

Gin Head WWII Admiralty signals base and radar station built in 1943, East Lothian, Scotland.

Bass Rock, a volcanic plug in the North Sea that has variously housed a hermitage, chapel, castle, prison and lighthouse, East Lothian, Scotland.

Bass rock lighthouse, East Lothian, Scotland.

Seacliff, the UK’s smallest harbour, East Lothian, Scotland.

Seacliff Harbour with Bass Rock, East Lothian, Scotland.

Auldhame Castle, built in the 16th century, Seacliff, East Lothian, Scotland.

Seacliff, the UK’s smallest harbour, with Tantallon Castle, East Lothian, Scotland. Measuring no more than 12 metres along its longest side, and an entrance barely two metres across, this is the original one-person, one-boat harbour. It was built in 1890 by Andrew Laidley, the then owner of the Seacliff Estate, by using a steam engine and compressed air to cut the stone.

Bass Rock from the Gegan, Seacliff, East Lothian, Scotland.

Ravensheugh Sands, East Lothian, Scotland.

Bass Rock from Peffer Sands, East Lothian, Scotland.

Where the burn meets the sea, Peffer Sands, East Lothian, Scotland.

Where the burn meets the sea with Bass Rock, Peffer Sands, East Lothian, Scotland.

Cloudscape, Peffer Sands, East Lothian, Scotland.

Rock, Cloud, Sea. Bass Rock, East Lothian, Scotland.

Stone Bench at St. Baldred’s Cradle with Dunbar beyond, East Lothian, Scotland.

Low tide at Tyne Sands near Dunbar, East Lothian, Scotland.

Tyne Mouth and Dunbar, East Lothian, Scotland.

Moon shadow, Hedderwick Sands, East Lothian, Scotland.

A clear night at Hedderwick Sands, East Lothian, Scotland.

The Plough above Hedderwick Sands, East Lothian, Scotland.

By Hedderwick Sands, East Lothian, Scotland.

Belhaven Bridge under a starry sky. Also known as the ‘Bridge to Nowhere’ as the bridge sits like an island surrounded by an expanse of sea at high tide. Dunbar, East Lothian, Scotland.