Musselburgh - Pinkie Cleugh Battlefield Walk

I’ve been battling a niggly flu bug through January and early February so my outdoor activities have been limited to gentle, local walks. This did give me the opportunity to do something I’ve been meaning to do for a wee while now and explore the Pinkie Cleugh battlefield site in nearby Musselburgh. I dragged Graham along too on a sunny late afternoon.

The battle of Pinkie Cleugh took place on 10 September 1547 and is said to be the last great battle between Scotland and England. It’s also notable for the first hand-held firearms being used alongside bows and arrows. We started our walk at the Roman Bridge in Musselburgh which crosses the River Esk. The bridge standing today is not Roman and dates from 700 years ago but it’s thought that there was an earlier crossing here in Roman times. We walked across its cobbled arches, imagining the soldiers’ feet that also passed this way hundreds of years before us as they crossed the river to do battle, leaving behind their Scottish camp to the southwest.

Our route briefly passed through modern Musselburgh before we were plunged back into the past on a delightful old lane that led up to St Michael’s Church. Its old stonework glowed golden in the late afternoon sunshine as its tall spire soared into the blue sky. At the top of the church steps, we turned right and walked along a grassy ridge known as Oliver’s Mount, once the site of an ancient fortification and the location for the English artillery during the battle. Despite living close by, I hadn’t stood here before and was quite blown away by the stunning view. Fife’s Lomond Hills stretched out to the north beyond the waters of the Firth of Forth which were a deep blue to match the sky. To the west Arthur’s Seat rose above the city and beyond that were the distant Ochil Hills, capped with snow.

We lingered a while over the view then dropped off the ridge and walked through the pretty village of Inveresk with its charming cottages and grand mansions. Beyond the last of the houses, the road became a track which continued to the battlefield site. The sun dipped lower, casting the last of its rays across the land and I squinted to look over the place. 

It was here that the Scottish army was defeated by the English who advanced from Wallyford to the east. 10,000 of them lost their lives that day which is hard to imagine. Ahead of us was a low ridge called St Mary’s Mount where 20 years after the battle of Pinkie Cleugh, Mary Queen of Scots gathered another 2000 troops who fought a similar-sized army of Confederate Lords. But she was defeated and surrendered, being imprisoned in Edinburgh and then Loch Leven.

The sun was setting now with a final flourish of gold, so we turned our backs on history and used the last of the day’s light to walk back down into modern Musselburgh where we re-crossed the River Esk on our bus home.

Fact File

Start: Roman Bridge, Musselburgh

Finish: Musselburgh High Street
Public transport: Lothian Buses 26 and 44 go to Musselburgh from Edinburgh city centre. Get off at the first stop after crossing the river and walk upstream to the Roman Bridge.

Route: Click this LINK for full route details and background info.