We start by heading down to the estuary (Tyninghame Beach where the river Tyne enters the Firth of Forth) where all was quiet, peaceful and fairly sheltered. We disturbed a large group of oyster catchers and a lone curlew and found lots of treasures*. Our favourite was a wee piece of soft coral (I need to do a bit of research on this, as I'm not certain that is what it is).
But as we started walking round the headland - wonderfully named 'St Baldred's Cradle'** - and out of the shelter of the estuary, the wind picked up, the temperature dropped and all of a sudden the sea became quite stormy. The Bass Rock came into sight and we continued west onto Ravensheugh Sands walking towards Edinburgh.
From there it was a sheltered walk through the beautiful plantation beech woods back to the car. The car park has the added attraction of some wonderful old gnarled beech which are perfect for climbing. I seem to remember that they were pretty good thirty years ago!
*We have signed up to take part in the Mud Puddles to Meteors Nature Exchange. Finding natural treasures for the exchange has provided an exciting focus for our walks this last week. There has been a lot of speculation about who our partners will be and where they live.
**Ravensheugh Sands was the first place that the monk St Baldred landed from Northumberland in the 8th Century. He established a monastery at Tyninghame and also a small chapel on the Bass Rock.
