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Aberlady
The East Lothian village of Aberlady sits at the mouth of the Peffer Burn, at the point where it flows through Aberlady Bay in to the Firth of Forth. There was already an active harbour here in the mid-12th century; in 1633 an Act of Parliament designated Aberlady as the port for Haddington, 5 miles/8km to the south. The harbour was active until the 19th century, but as ships became larger deeper water was needed to cope with them. Also in the 19th century, the bay and the burn began to silt up, creating salt marshes and mudflats. These now make up over two thirds of the Aberlady Bay Local Nature Reserve; this was created in 1952, the first in the UK. The nature reserve is accessed by a wooden footbridge that crosses the Peffer Burn, to the east of Aberlady; from there the reserve stretches north and west, covering a total area of 582 hectares/1,438 acres. As expected in a coastal location, there have been a number of wrecks in the area; these include eight 19th/early 20th century fishing boats that have been designated as maritime scheduled ancient monuments. However, there is an unexpected find on the beach, near the low tide mark, in the shape of the remains of two miniature submarines dating from the 1946; these were towed in to the bay, moored to the concrete block that stands between them, and used for target practice by the Royal Air Force. Waterston House, which is also known as the Scottish Birdwatching Resource Centre, overlooks the bay from a short distance west of Aberlady. It is the headquarters of the Scottish Ornithologists' Club and was named after George Waterston, one of the founders of the SOC. The George Waterston Library holds over 3,500 ornithological books, said to be the largest collection in Scotland. There is also an art gallery, named after artist and one-time SOC president, Donald Watson. |
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