Today’s walking will take in a mixture of urban and rural as we move through the edge of Edinburgh and beyond to take in the coastal communities of Portobello, Musselburgh, Prestonpans, Cockenzie & Port Seaton and out to Aberlady.
Early on we were able to find a small path that kept us off the main road in Leith but it was at the price of passing by the sewage works. Not a pleasant experience!
After another downpour we finally took shelter in a small bakery / delicatessen in Port Seton where we enjoyed a nice lunch, a read of the paper and a pawky political discussion with the owner. When she advised us we still had quite a journey in front of us (6 miles still to do) to reach Aberlady we, reluctantly it might be said, went back on the road.
Just after Port Seton, we dropped down on to the Seton Sands for the long walk up the beach, skirting the village of Longniddry, before coming to the beautiful stretches of Gosford and Aberlady Bays. This was a long route, particularly as we decided to leave the John Muir Way at this point, which cuts inland to Aberlady. We wanted to walk around the Aberlady headland and were glad we did as it provided us with some wonderful views across the water in the fading light.