Musselburgh is a town of 21,000 on the east side of Edinburgh, beyond the city boundaries, and is the largest settlement in East Lothian.
To reach it from the north-east, you have to travel into Edinburgh on the express train from Newcastle, and then take the local train towards North Berwick retracing your route to the first stop at Musselburgh, where the station is on the south side of town.
As a result, fares to Musselburgh are slightly higher than for Edinburgh, even though it is a shorter distance.
I started my overnight visit by walking through the housing estate to Newhailes, a National Trust for Scotland site where the café is open through the winter even those the main house is closed. I had a walk through the grounds after a warming coffee and was surprised to find the house front door open, even though it was closed to the public.
Before long I realised this was a dwelling place for Santa’s grotto, it being a weekend in the month of December! It is normally noted as a Palladian house that played a prominent role in the Scottish Enlightenment, but it also has a superb childrens’ play area called Weehailes which is a play village that would re many an imagination, but is closed until April.
I made my first acquaintance with bus route 30 to ride into the town. There’s a choice on Lothian Buses of a single for £1.80 or a Day Ticket for £4.50. For three or more trips a day, the Day Ticket is a good deal, especially since I was planning an evening trip into Auld Reekie (Edinburgh) for the evening service at Old St. Paul’s.
I passed the Ravelston House Hotel where I was staying for the night, and should have got o to leave my overnight bag, but carried on to maximise the time I could spend at Prestongrange Museum. It supposedly closed at 15:30, and I was worried I would not have time to look around, but fortuitously it is just the Visitor Centre and exhibition that closes then, and the site itself is open to wander around, which I did until nightfall.
For over 400 years Prestongrange was a focus of industry. A harbour, glass works, pottery, colliery and brickworks have all left their marks on the landscape including winding gear, a vast brick kiln and a Cornish beam engine. Cradled by woodland the site is now a haven for wildlife where you can explore these monumental relics of Scotland’s industrial heritage.
I had left bus 26 at the signposted entrance which was a long walk to the Visitor Centre, but a quick exit by footpath to the main road had me delivered to a convenient bus stop and picked up in less than a minute. e Ravelston House was comfortable. Day two was on foot around the town. First to Fisherrow, the harbour, and up the hill to Inveresk which is an NTS garden.
I admired some of the architecture of Loretto, the independent school. Astonishingly (!) There was horse racing at the racecourse for the afternoon, a seven race card. But no winners that afternoon. After picking up my bag from the hotel there was still time to explore the Queen Margaret University campus adjacent to Musselburgh station and a brief period of relaxation in the first class lounge at Waverley station before my fast LNER express back to Newcastle.
