East Lothian - Tranent wagonway

Living on the Portobello side of Edinburgh, I’ve got rich pickings for cycling in lockdown just over the county line in East Lothian. One of the routes, which I also run and walk in normal times, is a wee tour based around Tranent. On the way round, there are some fascinating snippets of Scottish history and great views from the higher parts of the ride. I’d probably say it is my favourite local lockdown loop.

On the bike, my trip starts by cycling south out of Portobello and joining the River Esk walkway to Whitecraig. But if I’m walking or running in normal times, I take the bus to Wallyford. It puts me out at the last stop right beside the Miners’ Stone. The carved stone commemorates the 38 miners who died working in the town’s coal mines and depicts mining scenes. Plaques nearby list the names of the deceased miners with dates ranging from 1857 to 1929. The mine here operated from 1840 until 1972, eventually closing due to the adverse economics of the day.

Whether on foot or on the bike, it’s now a stiff climb up the steep, northerly slope of Falside Hill to the charming Fa’side Castle.  Sitting right on top of the hill, it has a commanding view over the Firth of Forth. The castle dates from 1189 when the monks of Newbattle Abbey to the south of Edinburgh granted land to the 1st Earl of Winchester. However, the earliest part of the present building was constructed by the Fawsydes in the 15th-century. The castle was burned by the English before the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh, which was fought nearby on 10 September 1547 and Mary, Queen of Scots stayed at Fa'side Castle the night before the Battle of Carberry Hill on 15 June 1567. It is said she left behind a chest containing her finest clothes - a black dress sewn with grains of jet, a crimson coat and cloak, and her gold and silver embroidered hat. I wonder if that chest was ever found when the castle was being extensively renovated to its present state in the 1980s.

Moving on from the castle, I’m now cycling on the skinny road that travels east along the ridge of Falside Hill. I love this high road because once the climb is done, it’s a wonderful flat ride along the top, usually with a tailwind. The view really opens up here. To the north, I can look over the Firth of Forth to Fife and its Lomond Hills; to the west I look back to Edinburgh with its own hills, the Pentlands; and on my right the Lammermuirs form the undulating, southern border of East Lothian. The top of Falside Hill is only 144m high but with nothing else crowding in, there’s a wonderful sense of space up here.

All too quickly, the high road drops down to Tranent. I like to detour into Tranent’s centre to visit another poignant memorial. The sculpture of Jackie Crookston commemorates those who died in the Massacre of Tranent on 29 August 1797. The day before the massacre, a proclamation had been drawn up by local people to object to the conscription of Scots into the British Militia. On 29 August, it was handed to Major Wight, the commanding officer of the recruitment squad. It was ignored initially until a contingent from the local colliery communities, led by Crookston, confronted the troops. Their response was brutal and several of the protesters, including Crookston, were shot dead.  Her larger than life sculpture looks over the main street and depicts her rallying fellow protesters.

I cycle back on myself a little now to pick up the next section of my ride which is hidden behind the houses and passes under the main road to descend through the woods. This is the disused route of the Tranent Wagonway. 

Running from Tranent to Cockenzie, the wagonway was opened in 1722. It was the first of its kind in Scotland and operated with wooden tracks and horse-drawn wagons. At two and a half miles long, it connected coal pits at Tranent with the harbour at Cockenzie on the East Lothian coast. Before the eighteenth century, salt production on the shore of the Firth of Forth was a significant activity and salt water was evaporated in salt pans. This required a lot of coal so when local deposits were used up, the wagonway was built to bring in coal from further away.

The Battle of Prestonpans in 1745 was fought across the wagonway and my cycling route today passes right beside the battlefield viewpoint and interpretation signs. Placed on top of a manmade mound, a bit like an Egyptian pyramid, it’s a stiff push to get up there with the bike. The battle was fought during the Jacobite uprising of 1745 when the forces of Bonnie Prince Charlie were advancing southwards, and the opposing forces of Sir John Cope brought them to battle. On 20 September 1745 Cope's troops and artillery ranged along the wagonway and used its embankment as cover. Nonetheless they were defeated by Bonnie Prince Charlie and sent packing. 

Further along, the wagonway is now a gravel track and passes right over the battlefield. There are two stone memorials, one for each army.

The wagonway is descending now to the harbour at Cockenzie, although the latter part of the line has been lost to the village’s expansion. I pop out of the woods and onto the road. Cockenzie was a centre for salt production itself but the harbour also provided a means to export the local coal by boat. The old harbour walls are made of large stones expertly placed together that always make me think of the big stone walls of Machu Picchu in Peru. With its colourful boats, the harbour still has some old world charm. It’s also a pleasant place to sit for a while, looking out over the sea.

Cockenzie is the last stop on my ride before I cycle home using a mixture of the coast road and gravel tracks.  By the time I arrive back at my front door, I’ve only cycled an 18-mile loop but I’m always amazed at how much I’ve seen along the way.

Fact File

Start/finish: Portobello, Edinburgh

Public transport if walking the route: Lothian Buses No. 44 drops you at the Miners' Stone in Wallyford. For the start, walk back on yourself to the first right, walk up past the industrial estate and continue on the path as it passes over the A1 and climbs the hill to pop out right beside the castle. Buses 26 or 124 return from Cockenzie to Portobello and Edinburgh.

My cycle route: Cycling south out of Portobello, I pick NCN1 at Brunstane and follow it to Whitecraig. Continue to the roundabout at the far end of the village and go straight over. Next right is the tough climb up Falside Hill. Follow this road towards Tranent and take the first road to the right into Tranent. Where this road junctions with another, turn right and the start of the wagonway is behind the Brig Inn. For the Massacre memorial, pass in front of the Brig Inn and where this road junctions with the main street in Tranent, turn right. Statue is on the right hand side of the street. Back to the wagonway, follow it downhill to the battlefield viewpoint which is clearly signed. Drop down the other side of the viewpoint, cross the pedestrian bridge over the railway line and turn right up this road. In a couple of hundred metres, the wagonway is signed to the left. Follow this gravel track and where it ends, join the road into Cockenzie. Where it junctions with the main coast road, go straight over for the harbour. 

Info: Fa'side Castle is currently for sale for £1.7m.