Scottish Winter Bivvy

[JimmyG]

My suggestion yesterday that we use an East Lothian castle for the SWB seems to have been well received by FatbikePhil, Gecko76 and Northwind. The place in question is Auldhame Castle and here's some more detail...

https://fabulousnorth.com/auldhame-castle/

Scroll to the bottom of the link above where you can click on the Google Maps option. The location is also shown in latitude and longitude format (if that's your thing ) or via the What Three Words system (pastels.rewarding.presented).

Untitled by Jimmy G, on Flickr

Re the above pic: A tarmac road leaves the A198 on a prominent right hand bend and continues straight towards the woods where the castle sits. This road forks just inside the woods. Take the left hand fork and you'll soon pass a wide track on your left leading to a gate (a good view of Tantallon Castle from there). Don't take this track, though. Keep straight ahead on the tarmac and you'll soon see a faint dirt track heading off left. This will lead 50 metres or so directly to the castle. Hope that makes sense!

Options to get there for our (as it stands currently) merry band of four - Dave, coming up from Newcastle as usual I presume? You could get the train to Dunbar and then have a pretty straightforward ride to Belhaven, through the John Muir Country Park, Tyninghame Woods, and on up via Scoughall to the castle. I appreciate you might want a longer ride in so I'll leave it to you explore potential bike routes to Dunbar.

Phil: Riding from Fife or driving/taking the train over the Forth? Either way, the John Muir Way will take you nearly all the way to North Berwick and it's not far from there. Thinking about it, I'll dig out an Edinburgh to Dunbar mostly off-road route that I've done several times and share the Gpx file with all three of you.

Justin: We could meet up and ride out there together (Phil too if he fancies it). Alternatively, if your time's a bit limited I could drive us part way out there and ride in from, say, Gullane. The same applies to you Phil in fact. Ride with us or I've plenty of room for three bikes in my van, making for a shorter ride in.

Lots of food for thought there and we can pad out the plan as we go along. Any questions just fire away.

[fatbikephil]

I recall passing it on a Forth Fat ride a few years ago but a GPX of the JMW would be handy Jimmy. I'll probably hoof it across from Fife with maybe a train thrown in if the weather is yuck or I don't fancy mixing it up with Embra traffic.

I 'spose a Jar beforehand in the Ship in North Berwick might be appropriate too?

[thenorthwind]

Thanks Jimmy

Have had a look at the map and might well drive up the A68/A697 and start from Lauder if the weather's good. Looks like some rain is going to squeeze in between two high pressures sometime next weekend so could be wet though.

Happy to route through North Berwick if there's a pint in it

[gecko76]

Fo' sho'.

Looking forward to it. I'll be pedalling along the JMW.

Any more for any more?

[JimmyG]

Looks like we’re halfway to a plan already then. Beers in NB sounds good and I’m sure we can coordinate that on the day. Still looking for a useful Gpx file. Will sort it out tomorrow.

[Verena]

Oooo, a winter bivvy in a Scottish castle by the coast, that does sound very tasty....

[ripio]

Why stay in a castle when you can have a perfectly good cave a short distance along the coast, St Baldred's Cave.

[gecko76]

Because I didn't know about it? https://www.stravaiging.com/history/anc ... reds-cave/



I think the castle edges it, but as you say it's very close by and to be explored.

[JimmyG]

Why stay in a castle when you can have a perfectly good cave a short distance along the coast, St Baldred's Cave.

That's next year's winter bivvy sorted then.

[JimmyG]

FatbikePhil, Gecko76 and TheNorthwind: I've PM'd you with route options, etc.

[gecko76]

Proper report in due course but that was a cracker.

[Verena]

Proper report in due course but that was a cracker.

Looking forward to it, was just about to ask how you've been getting on

[boxelder]

Why stay in a castle when you can have a perfectly good cave a short distance along the coast, St Baldred's Cave.

That's next year's winter bivvy sorted then.

"Inside the cave he found a layer of bones and charcoal some 0.3 to 0.6m deep. The bones consisted of animal (including some from a horse) and remains, with the skeletons of two children. A bone knife was also found, along with fragments of Early Iron Age pottery."

[gecko76]

Said cave this morning.

The castle was by far the better choice.