By Road

From Garvald, take the B6370, then left onto B6355. From Gifford, take the B6369 NW, passing through Bolton and Lonnoxlove, before entering Haddington. Afterwards leave by the A6093 to Pencaitland, then B6355 to Musselburgh.

By Cycle

From Garvald, follow Priest Bank, turning left onto the B6370. At its end, turn left onto B6355, which leads to Gifford – upon entering the town by this route, going onto Duns Road, you will reach the handsome Yester Kirk. To reach the medieval church follow Park Road, the High Street or the Avenue into the grounds of Yester House.

From Gifford ride the B6369 north-west from Yester Kirk. This will pass through Bolton and Lennoxlove (becoming sometimes Cockles Brae), before entering Haddington by Slidegate. St Mary’sKirk will be on your right after crossing the Tyne, Trinity Church further along, off Church Street(right off of Slidegate). For St Martin’s take the next right after Church Street, Whittinghame Drive.Take the next right, then left (St Martin’s Gate), then the right at the road’s end – Bullet Loan. The ruin is accessible from this street. Afterwards, leave Haddington by riding or walking back along Whittinghame Drive, then ride the A6093 southwest to Pencaitland, then take the B6355 northwest to Musselburgh.

By Foot

From Garvald, follow Priest Bank, turning left onto the B6370. At its end, turn left onto B6355, which leads to Gifford – upon entering the town by this route, going onto Duns Road, you will reach the handsome Yester Kirk. To reach the medieval church follow Park Road, the High Street or the Avenue into the grounds of Yester House. From Gifford take the B6369 north-west from Yester Kirk. This will pass through Bolton andLennoxlove (becoming sometimes Cockles Brae), before entering Haddington by Slidegate. St Mary’sKirk will be on your right after crossing the Tyne, Trinity Church further along, off Church Street (right off of Slidegate). St Martin’s is harder to find – return to SLidegate, and take the next rightafter Church Street, Whittinghame Drive. Take the next right, then left (St Martin’s Gate), then the right at the road’s end – Bullet Loan. The ruin is accessible from this street.

Afterwards, leave Haddington by walking back along Whittinghame Drive, then following the A6093 southwest to Pencaitland, then take the B6355 northwest to Musselburgh.

By Public Transport

With no public transport from Garvald, this is a hard leg to take. We recommend walking or taxiing from Garvald to East Linton, then taking the 235 from there to Haddington, and possibly taking the 123 from Haddington to Gifford.

To check times go to Traveline Scotland and click on Plan your Journey on left side of page.

Coming down towards Nunraw, we pass the kind of hill settlement where Thenew or Tennoch was sent as a young woman in disgrace to tend the sheep and pigs. Next comes the farm at Grange of Nunraw which belonged in medieval times to the Cistercian nunnery in Haddington. In 1946 Cistercian monks came here to build the first new Cistercian community in Scotland since the Reformation. The monastery chapel can be visited at any time. The outlook from here to Traprain Law and the East Lothian coast is superb. Don’t miss the memorial garden beside the cemetery, which is dedicated to the Cistercian monks who were victims of the civil war in Algeria.

From Garvald village at the foot of the hill, we proceed further along the Lammermuir edge to Gifford. The village is headed by the handsome Yester Kirk, which replaced the fine medieval Bathans Church, now located in the grounds of Yester House at the other end of the village. The Hays of Yester cleared the original village to Gifford in order to create a private landscaped park. Rev John Witherspoon the republican, presbyterian champion of American independence came from Gifford, and has a memorial at the newer building. Perhaps the landlordism of his home village contributed to his later radicalism.

The main road out of Gifford goes by Bolton and Lennoxlove to Haddington. One of Scotland’s finest medieval burghs, Haddington contained an array of chapels and religious foundations. The original ‘Lamp of the Lothian’ was a Franciscan Friary located near the lovely present day Episcopal Church of the Holy Trinity. The Cistercian Convent was on the east bank of the Tyne, and later incorporated St Martin’s Church, a very old foundation which is still a standing ruin. But the main surviving glory of Haddington is the substantial St Mary’s Town Kirk, which outsizes many abbeys and cathedrals. There are many interesting details including the ecumenical Chapel of the Three Kings, and an exhibition about the sixteenth century siege of Haddington.

Complete the journey by way of the medieval church and village of Pencaitland, back to Musselburgh- the Honest Toun.

Returning home, journey done, past
Low lying fields aglow with last
West rays folding into twilight.
Winter, summer, autumn, spring,
Everything revolves in season,
Giving every day its reason.
New lights blink out along the firth
Houses of light, hospitable fires,
Lamps of Lothian shine through the night.