Coldstream to Edinburgh
Old world and new combine on this grand, heritage-filled tour
Follow the route – Coldstream to Edinburgh
> Leave Coldstream on the A6112 to Duns, then take the A6105 signed to Earlston. After leaving Duns, watch for the right turn to Gifford. Turn right to Haddington on the B6355, B6369 and B6368.
Haddington, Lothian
Haddington is famous for the dozens of listed buildings along its streets, lanes and riverside walks. St Mary’s Church contains the Lauderdale Aisle, scene of an annual ecumenical pilgrimage. Nearby, St Mary’s Pleasance is a garden laid out in an old Scottish style.
Features to look for in Haddington include the town history display in Lady Kitty’s Doocot (dovecote); Jane Welsh Carlyle’s House, with its memories of the Victorian writer Thomas Carlyle; the Nungate Bridge; and the statue of two goats fighting. A goat eating grapes is Haddington’s unusual coat of arms.
Places to stay in Haddington
Aberlady to Edinburgh
>Leave Haddington on the A6137 for Aberlady.
Aberlady, Lothian
Once the trading seaport for Haddington, Aberlady is now a residential village with carefully preserved buildings, including a medieval parish church with fine stained-glass windows, and attractive 18th- and 19th-century houses in the High Street.
Aberlady’s golf-course, Kilspindie, shared the ground with a rifle range when it was opened in 1898; hence the names of holes such as the Target and the Magazine. West of the village, Gosford House is the home of the Earl of Wemyss. The magnificent entrance hall houses Gosford’s imposing portrait gallery.
Places to stay in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
> Leave Aberlady on the A198, signed to Edinburgh, then straight ahead on the B1348. Turn left on the A199 then right on the A6094 through Dalkeith. Turn right on the A772 and return to Edinburgh.
Edinburgh is unquestionably one of Britain’s most spectacular cities. Its heart, the Old Town, is a treasury of architecture stretching back to medieval times.
While the Old Town is an unplanned, higgledy-piggledy labyrinth of narrow lanes (called wynds or closes), Edinburgh’s New Town – new only by contrast – is a restrained but splendid district of squares, crescents and gardens surrounded by enviable Georgian town houses.
Both Old Town and New Town have UNESCO World Heritage status.
