I visited my old Granny through the week & we always end up talking about her past, ( I love listenening to her tales ), I knew that she came from Leith in Einburgh but I asked her how she met my Grandad, she told me that she lived next door to him & his family at Pathhead where she was stationed during her time in the womens land army during WWII, Pathhead I said, I cycle up there all the time ! She then described her house that she lived in with 4 other land army girls & where my Grandad my Great Granny & Grandad & my Grandads brothers lived & what their jobs were on the farm, she also told me that my Great Granny & Grandad were buried at the village of Spott the very same church that I got married in. This was news to my ears, as I said I've cycled through Pathhead loads of times but it was just another farm on my cycle routes so now I had a purpose to go that way as I wanted to take some photos to show my Gran. So I set off from Innerwick...
Heading from Innerwick I headed for Thurston Manor holiday park as there is a nice little downhill section through the trees that leads you to the A1.
At the bottom of the hill I turned to head through a field which is better than cycling along the busy A1 road which I always try to avoid doing ! Crossing the Dry Burn & getting stung to bits by nettles, bad idea wearing 3/4 shorts !
The route of choice avoiding the A1.
Climbing the never ending straight hill on the road to Doonhill stopping for a quick photo of Dunbar through the hedge.
By passing the turn off for Doonhill, I joined onto the dirt track heading uphill to an old derelict house.
Welcome to the ruins of Pinkerton Hill Cottage, a stunning little cottage surrounded by trees, my ideal place no neighbours no people & nature all around perfect.
The views to the left & right of the cottage...
...& through the gate you've got the rolling Lammemuir hills.
Dragging myself away from the derelict cottage I turned of onto another track to climb further up the Brunt Hill to the highest point of my route with amazing views on a clear day.
Looking over the village of West Barns & further behind to Belhaven Bay with the river Tyne entering the Firth of Forth.
Trapain Law.
A fast & rocky downhill to Spott village.
Looking over Dunbar (top) & North Berwick Law (bottom)
3 Donkeys Hee-Hawin.
An old field entrance looking over 'Sunny Dunny'.
Spott pigeon doocot. I intend to do a post on all the doocots around my routes, lots of different styles to look at, as you can see pigeons still occupy this one some sunning themselves on the roof.
Spott doocot with Spott mill to the right of picture Dunbar in the background & photo below the sun shining on Doon Hill.
Spott church.
Some really old gravestones the top one is from 1687 !
The door entering the church & as I mentioned in a previous post the 'Jougs' under the light, Jougs are where people who had caused an offence were put for people to spit on & ridicule.
What I came to find at the church my Great Grandfolks grave. Hope I live longer than they did !
Strange shed in the middle of a field !?!
Loads of strong smells & colours around the countryside just now.
The Brock Burn.
An old sign pointing the way but not for me I'm heading over fields to get to Pathhead.
All horses & no Indians.
Pathhead farm cottages where my Gran & Grandad met, cycled down passed these cottages many a time oblivious this is the place of my origins !
The 4 pig styes one for each cottage although my Gran said that they weren't there during her time so they must of been built after the war.
Pathhead farm house.
Heading off now to show my Gran the pictures I took I have a final look back at Pathhead now in a different way.
Cycling down the farm road looking over to the Halls farm with the Lammermuir Hills in the background.
Goodbye Pathhead until the next time.
Behind me the Lammermuirs...
...& in front the coast, the Bass Rock in the sea & the Tyne estuary.
An old style public telephone box, not many of this style left nowadays.
Lots of graffiti carved into an old beech tree & I'm now in the grounds of the Biel estate.
My favourite old pigeon doocot in the grounds of Biel Estate although it's in bad shape but the surrounding scenery is stunning.
Lochend woods, once an estate itself many moons ago but in my lifetime it has been neglected & used as a dumping ground, but now there is a new housing scheme which surrounds the woods & the woods have been thinned out, cleaned up, new woodland footpaths & there is a community run woodland group who maintain it & now it's a great urban woodland addition to Dunbar. The swamp as we used to call it looks more Alabama than Dunbar !
Gorse bushes in full flower.
Almost home.
Just this wee hill to go & I'm there.
Visited my Gran en route with this cycle to show her the photos of Pathhead & the smile on her face made my day, she even dug out her box of photos to give me her one & only photo of my Great Gran & Grandad well chuffed :-)
Hope you enjoyed be back soon.
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