Salt Marsh and rock hopping ride...

 100 years ago here in East Lothian there was a cast iron bridge over the Peffer Burn at Aberlady Bay to the North of Luffness House, Home of the Hope Family... Lady Hope would use the bridge to cross the Peffer Burn to Horse ride on what is now Aberlady Nature Reserve...

50 Years ago the Scouts canoed here passing under what had become an old bridge...

As kids in the 1980s we would carefully cross the old rusty spans when here with our dad when he was the County ranger. Today the Bridge has collapsed into the Burn, now it is just a memory and can only be looked at in  pictures...

But were still here enjoying this part of coastline, and now with fat bikes we can cycle along here leaving a minimum foot print.
Today's ride was the slowest ever with over 2 hours on the Granny ring (smallest front chain ring) and an average 3 mph!, sound boringly slow?, well it was slow but fun too...
With weather overcast and dull it was not the best conditions for photos, but our eyes were mostly on the ground today as we rode slowly through the salt marshes, looked for grip on the greasy mud flats, and picked lines through the rocks along the coast.
Today was a day where fat bikes come into there own...
Used to be a path through these reeds, it has disappeared, and was a bit of a giggle trying to cycle through here...

We eventually gave up and dropped down into the Peffer burn, very greasy at the sides it was ride able in the water where more stones gave grip and the water cleaned our tyres enabling continued grip...

Big grins from Jason!...

Under The bridge to the Nature Reserve...

And across the salt marsh towards Aberlady village...

Past the old ancient crossing that i recently blogged...

Surrounded by bird life on the shore...

There is a stone here which you can read about on friend Gary`s informative website ancient stones

At the Sea Green shoreline at Aberlady there is a lot of broken pottery and glass, there must have been a lot of stuff dumped along the coastline here a long time ago...

On towards Kilspindie, once the Port of Haddington, 5 miles inland, the principle town of East Lothian...

Today you can see the remains of wooden ships in the bay...

100 years ago the view looked like this...

I have an old AA Road Book Guide...

Here is the description of Aberlady...

It says `a sandy beach, bathing` but where today?,

This view here was a bit different over 100 years ago when the Victorians came here...

It looked like this...

Meanwhile Jason had been spinning away across the bay slowly but surely making his way out to the boat wrecks, so i headed out too, the rut left will disappear with the next tide as not deep...

Not a lot remains of the boats now, you can see the ballast stones that once sat in the ships hulls...

As i rode further out to look at other wrecks it got even slicker and i sat spinning away but still upright moving very slowly forwards...

I could never cycle the Pugsley out here as far, the Moonlander just kept going!. I must be the first person to cycle out as far as here - unless it has been done when frozen, but thats cheating!,
I only spun to a halt at a small bit of running water in the top left of the picture below. Cross it at 90 degrees and it would be all rideable. The bike would grip more with Surly`s gnarly tyre - the Nate , how ever i would not want to cut a deeper rut across here which may leave a scar, i can get across on the `Big Fat Larry` tyres with less damage...

Jason's bike had dug in more and the dragging mech had caked his drive chain...

Check out his front larger ring!, it has disappeared in mud!...

The Moonlander fared better and still had tyre clearance...

But only just!, look at the chains!...

Jason's mech was a picture -:) ...

As you can see only the lower gears have been used!...

Submerged in the incoming tide at Kilspindie are the remains of an old cart chassis, the wheel rims sit upright in the thick mud...

Other wheels in the distance... 

Quickest way to clean the drive chain is a quick dip...

Along over the shoreline rocks of Kilspindie...

Past the natural rock called Kings Kist...

Old brick from `Auld Reekie`...

Soon we ran out of ride able rocks and climbed up over the headland into Shell Bay...

Shell Bay and around to Gosford Bay is one of my favourites rides. As i grew up here at Craigielaw and we were always down on the coast.
A calm autumn evening before sunset here is fantastic,  as the geese come in and slowly across the flat water the lights of Edinburgh come on.
I do not watch many of the films i make once there online but i often watch this one as it is so warming.

Here it is for those who need to chill... -:)



Back to today and out onto the Green Craig Island at Shell Bay, Jason demonstrates `Drift wood baseball`...

Around to Gosford Bay and a play on the old sea wall... Jason has Moonlander lust now -:)...

Then hot chocolate and cake at Gosford Bothy Cafe ...

Then we rode through some of the woods.
A lot of the old Beech trees here once had white arrows painted on them through the Estate, for Soldiers posted at Gosford POW Camp to follow through the woods to get back from the pubs in Aberlady during WW2...
The painted arrows have long gone but the soldiers carvings on some trees remain, see the date, 1945...

Left by a young soldier in love...

And see here the lower heart has a dagger through it?, is it a Regiments badge?...

Because here on a wall in a Guards room at the POW camp is a similar picture...

A teenager who grew up on the estate added his initials too here about 27 years ago, ahem... -:) ...

Progress was slow through the woods as there are so many trees blown down...

Some in the recent Storms this winter...

Some have been down for a while...

Cutting through the next Estate at Luffness again and a big old Oak tree has come down at the ruins of the old Abby, luckily it did not hit the old tomb of Sir David De Lindsey, a Knight who fought in the crusades...

No snow at all here yet, but the snow drops are now out..

Across a soggy field and back to the Reserve for more riding... a top day out, and perfect for fat bikes...

 Here is a film that is a bit different to the usual beach riding films, some pics old and new, also some short film clips.

Song is `4B` by Boards of Canada...