Easter Sunday; Return to Tantallon...

So how on Easter Sunday did i end up going and riding the hardest part of coastline in East Lothian?, er well i planned to not be cycling on Sunday as being the Easter weekend i knew the coast would most likely be busy, but you know what its like, the weather was better than forcasted and it looked like the sun may pop out for a bit. So maybe go a wee ride through the local woods early before it gets busy...check the tide times , oh it is a 0.4 meter low tide at 9.40am, mmm where to go where it will be quiet?, ah i know just the place.

I have only ridden this part of the coast once at a very low tide with friend Jason Last year from Canty Bay to Seacliff below the WW2 Radar Research and Development at Gin Head then around over more exposed rocks under Tantallon castle and on to Seacliff and its tiny harbour.
It is the Double Black beach ride of the East Lothian coast..

It is easily the hardest part of coast to ride with some bike shouldering involved, very slimy rocks which all increase the danger riding here as a lot of the area is cut off under the cliffs at high tide.
Access in at low tide from the western end is either along the coast below the East Links  Golf Course from North Berwick, or descending down the steep grassy banks into Canty Bay, The second option is steeper than the picture shows and slippy in the morning dew...                    

Stunning coastline and views...

Mixed with some seriously hard techy rock sections exposed by the low tide...

I was on the wrong bike for this, well not wrong but it would be easier on the Moonlander with its increased grip and cushioning...

A breather as the rocks give way to a sandy beach along the secluded Canty Bay...

Here is the closest point of land to the Bass Rock, Largest single group of Gannets in the world...

Looking back...

On to below Gin Head...

A good view of some of the rocks to ride here...

Above the clffs at Gin Head, the former WW2 Radar Research Facility...

Views across to Tantallon, and some seriously techy riding to come...

Very low tide...

These rocks near the low tide mark are covered in barnacles and best to ride with the increased grip...

Under the ruins of Tantallon...

Tide now on the turn...

The perfect natural defence...

A good scale of the rocks here...

Into the sandy cove and a breather before the last bit to seacliff...

A bit of bike portage again over small inlets...

Then onboard again...

Spied a line around this ledge...

And were at Seacliff...

And its great wee harbour...

The pugsley is still a great bike, but i did wish i had been on the Moonlander for this riding today, however i did only plan to go out for an hour around the woods!...

Bought some new shoes by Teva to replace my hi top Five Ten  shoes which have split after nearly 6 years of riding. The Five Ten `stealth` rubber soles were great for grip on slimy rocks but they were like sponges and soaked up water. The Teva shoes have a water repellent finish, and using scree gators i added kept sand and grit out...

The soles are good on my Superstar Nano  flat pedals  but they still slip on slime covered rocks like my KEEN boots do...

 I have ridden with boots for the last 7 or 8 years now with Five Tens or Keen boots on flat pedals and Shimano MT90s when clipped in (only on commuter bike now) and found it strange wearing shoes.
I also hit my ankles a few times and missed the padded ankle protection of boots .
I also dunked them in a rock pool when i slipped because of lack of grip, something you just cannot take the risk of doing out there carrying a heavy bike over slimy rocks well below the high tide line.
So i reckon the way to go is to wear a boot that has mega grip for the rocks and is designed to get wet, and i will wear seal skinz socks in warmer weather and my British Army Gore Tex boot liners and thin socks inside during the colder months. It also allows crossings of estuarys and inlets without worry of freezing wet feet.
So going to get a pair of these Canyoneer Boots from Five Ten...

Be back to ride this part of the coast soon on the Moonlander to do some film...

Saltcoats Castle, Gullane, East Lothian

To the south of Gullane village is the ruins of Saltcoats Castle, built when the area was once a salt marsh which gives name to the surroundings...
The late 16th c Saltcoats Castle consists of a main structure which forms the south side of a courtyard with two projecting angle towers at the W end...

Described as a Hall House it has a mock castle theme to its construction...



Here is a reconstructed painting by artist Andrew Spratt of what the castle would have looked like...



Today the north wall and inner partitions of the main building are absent...











The towers have small windows, for defence or show of power...







The armorial stone of the builder, Patrick Levingtoun of Saltcoats,
It is believed he killed a notorious wild boar in Gullane Woods in 1590 and was given the land here as a reward.
Now mounted over the front door of a nearby cottage, probably came from over the door of the castle, and the date must be 1592 (the second digit has been crudely cut as a 3)...



There is a well, capped with modern reinforced concrete which still has water...



And there is a Doocot (dove cot) on the western wall...





The castle was still inhabited about 1790 but most of the building was removed for agricultural improvements about 1823-4 and to build the cottages nearby in 1810...





Remains inside of the cooking range...



Nature is slowly retaking the land again...

Saturday coast ride

I was out on the pugsley 12 hours on Saturday!, yet only did approx 37 miles, and was not that tired when i got home at 10pm. It was one of those really relaxed days riding, hardly breaking sweat, loads of stops for a blether, and having a look around...
We rode around on Aberlady Bay while the incoming tide came in over the sand bar...
I have Ariel pics now of where we ride!...

Lost your bin? -:)...

We didn`t hang around once the tide was over the sand bar and within 20 minutes most of the Bay was covered...

Shonky shelter...

By the time we got along to North Berwick The Spring high tide was lapping the Shore...

A nosey around the harbour, along to the chippy for a chip roll and can of juice, a visit to the Local Bike Shop, Then back to Gullane and discovering some nice woodland trails right under our nose`s.
A chat with the local kids at the Gullane Skate park who made riding the bowl on there BMXs look so easy, then a couple of pints sat outside at The Old Clubhouse then home via Jason's at dusk, and then home in the dark with the lights on...

Cycling does not always have to be about busting a gut and head down flat out everywhere.
Sometimes it is good to chill. Esp after a busy week at work for myself and for friend Jason who was not long back from a mid week 3 fatbike 3 day bivi trip on the Scottish west coast.
click here for his Flickr photo set . of the trip.
With him was organiser Andy on his Salsa Mukluk, click here for his Flickr photo set .
Rider no 3 was friend Tom, riding my borrowed pugsley - I wouldn`t lend one of my bikes to many people, but knowing Tom i actually hoped the pug would come back in better running order! -:)
Tom kindly bought me a new saddle for lending him my precious.. a Brooks B17!

Thanks Tom -:)

Jason did a film of their trip...

Flight...

Easter weekend and after a record breaking March for temperatures in Scotland it has been a wild week of cold easterly sleet/rain sideways showers, and after a big swell that came in from out in the North Sea i am looking forward to two days beach riding and some beachcombing to see what has turned up on the coast.

A week later and i am still buzzing from a Microlight flight on our coast last Saturday.
Friends on Facebook posted links to this guys RC plane films on Vimeo, these are amazing, also made with a Go Pro sports camera,

Watch this, it is amazing...



You can check out Crazy Horst`s other films on Vimeo.

Would also love to go on this...



A Microlight flight is just a step on the road to the ultimate dream of flight in an adapted 2 seater interceptor  fighter that changed the events of WW2 in 1940 and helped save Britain making it probably the most famous and loved military aircraft of all time. Gezza does get a bit carried away though...and forgets to mention the Hurricane, and all the Nation that built, serviced and kept those young pilots and their planes in the air during dark times... at around a grand a minute to fly in a 2 seater Spit it is not cheap but we can all dream...



Flight and classical music go hand in hand perfectly. Esp some good old Ludwig van Beethoven, and a favourite of mine, Symphony No3...
Added to some Battle of Britain newsreal film with some Merlin engine sounds and those iconic images of Squadron scrambles during the summer of 1940 of those young pilots, many who did not come back makes for a moving film.
Many of these Squadrons passed through RAF Drem here in East Lothian on rest from those hectic summer months, maybe they went walks on our beaches to get away from it all?, who knows...

This film of  `The Few` does it so good...





Fast forward to today, and how does this iconic legendary plane fair against today's light planes?, well not that bad after 70 years, watch this...



Back to the east coast here in East Lothian, i have posted this film before but have to again as amazing, it is what i also saw last weekend around Seacliff and Tantallon, at a lower height, while my camera made it look a lot higher up this film shot from a paramotor captures an amazing part of our coast...