1.
Scots language
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Scots is the Germanic language variety spoken in Lowland Scotland and parts of Ulster. It is sometimes called Lowland Scots to distinguish it from Scottish Gaelic, the Celtic language which was restricted to most of the Highlands. The language developed during the Middle English period as a distinct entity, although a number of paradigms for distinguishing between languages and dialects do exist, these often render contradictory results. Broad Scots is at one end of a linguistic continuum. Scots is often regarded as one of the ancient varieties of English, alternatively, Scots is sometimes treated as a distinct Germanic language, in the way Norwegian is closely linked to, yet distinct from, Danish. In the 2011 Scottish census, a question on Scots language ability was featured, native speakers sometimes refer to their vernacular as braid Scots or use a dialect name such as the Doric, or the Buchan Claik. The old-fashioned Scotch, an English loan, occurs occasionally, especially in Northern Ireland, the term Lallans, a variant of the Modern Scots word lawlands, is also used, though this is more often taken to mean the Lallans literary form. Scots in Ireland is known in circles as Ulster-Scots or Ullans. Scots is a contraction of Scottis, the Older Scots and northern version of late Old English Scottisc, before the end of the 15th century, English speech in Scotland was known as English, whereas Scottish referred to Gaelic. From 1495 the term Scottis was increasingly used to refer to the Lowland vernacular and Erse, meaning Irish, the Gaelic of Scotland is now usually called Scottish Gaelic. Northumbrian Old English had been established in what is now southeastern Scotland as far as the River Forth by the seventh century and it remained largely confined to this area until the thirteenth century, continuing in common use while Gaelic was the language of the Scottish court. Scots also includes loan words resulting from contact with Gaelic, Early medieval legal documents include a body of Gaelic legal and administrative loans. Contemporary Gaelic loans are mainly for geographical and cultural features, such as ceilidh, loch, from the thirteenth century Early Scots spread further into Scotland via the burghs, proto-urban institutions which were first established by King David I. The growth in prestige of Early Scots in the century. By the sixteenth century Middle Scots had established orthographic and literary norms largely independent of those developing in England, from 1610 to the 1690s during the Plantation of Ulster large numbers of Scots-speaking Lowlanders, some 200,000, settled there. In the core areas of Scots settlement, Scots outnumbered English settlers by five or six to one, Modern Scots is used to describe the language after 1700 when southern Modern English was generally adopted as the literary language though Scots remained the vernacular. In Scotland, Scots is spoken in the Scottish Lowlands, the Northern Isles, Caithness, Arran, in Ulster it is spoken in the Counties of Down, Antrim, Londonderry and Donegal. Dialects include Insular Scots, Northern Scots, Central Scots, Southern Scots, many speakers are either diglossic and/or able to code-switch along the continuum depending on the situation in which they find themselves
2.
Scottish Gaelic
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Scottish Gaelic or Scots Gaelic, sometimes also referred to as Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to Scotland. A member of the Goidelic branch of the Celtic languages, Scottish Gaelic, like Modern Irish and Manx, developed out of Middle Irish. The 2011 census of Scotland showed that a total of 57,375 people in Scotland could speak Gaelic at that time, the census results indicate a decline of 1,275 Gaelic speakers from 2001. A total of 87,056 people in 2011 reported having some facility with Gaelic compared to 93,282 people in 2001, only about half of speakers were fully literate in the language. Nevertheless, revival efforts exist and the number of speakers of the language under age 20 has increased, Scottish Gaelic is neither an official language of the European Union nor the United Kingdom. Outside Scotland, a group of dialects collectively known as Canadian Gaelic are spoken in parts of Atlantic Canada, mainly Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. In the 2011 census, there were 7,195 total speakers of Gaelic languages in Canada, with 1,365 in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island where the responses mainly refer to Scottish Gaelic. About 2,320 Canadians in 2011 also claimed Gaelic languages as their mother tongue, with over 300 in Nova Scotia, aside from Scottish Gaelic, the language may also be referred to simply as Gaelic. In Scotland, the word Gaelic in reference to Scottish Gaelic specifically is pronounced, outside Ireland and Great Britain, Gaelic may refer to the Irish language. Scottish Gaelic should not be confused with Scots, the Middle English-derived language varieties which had come to be spoken in most of the Lowlands of Scotland by the modern era. Prior to the 15th century, these dialects were known as Inglis by its own speakers, from the late 15th century, however, it became increasingly common for such speakers to refer to Scottish Gaelic as Erse and the Lowland vernacular as Scottis. Today, Scottish Gaelic is recognised as a language from Irish. Gaelic in Scotland was mostly confined to Dál Riata until the 8th century, when it began expanding into Pictish areas north of the Firth of Forth, by 900, Pictish appears to have become extinct, completely replaced by Gaelic. An exception might be made for the Northern Isles, however, however, though the Pictish language did not disappear suddenly, a process of Gaelicisation was clearly underway during the reigns of Caustantín and his successors. By a certain point, probably during the 11th century, all the inhabitants of Alba had become fully Gaelicised Scots, by the 10th century, Gaelic had become the dominant language throughout northern and western Scotland, the Gaelo-Pictic Kingdom of Alba. Its spread to southern Scotland, was even and totalizing. Place name analysis suggests dense usage of Gaelic in Galloway and adjoining areas to the north and west as well as in West Lothian, less dense usage is suggested for north Ayrshire, Renfrewshire, the Clyde Valley and eastern Dumfriesshire. In south-eastern Scotland, there is no evidence that Gaelic was ever widely spoken, the area shifted from Cumbric to Old English during its long incorporation into the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Northumbria
3.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
4.
Haddington, East Lothian
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The Royal Burgh of Haddington is a town in East Lothian, Scotland. It lies about 20 miles east of Edinburgh, the name Haddington is Anglo-Saxon, dating from the 6th or 7th century AD when the area was incorporated into the kingdom of Bernicia. The town, like the rest of the Lothian region, was ceded by King Edgar of England, Haddington received burghal status, one of the earliest to do so, during the reign of David I, giving it trading rights which encouraged its growth into a market town. Today Haddington is a town with a population of less than 9,000, although during the High Middle Ages it was the fourth biggest city in Scotland after Aberdeen. In the middle of the town is the Town House, built in 1748 according to a plan by William Adam. When first built, it inheld a council chamber, jail and sheriff court, to which assembly rooms were added in 1788, nearby is the Corn Exchange and the County Courthouse. Other nearby notable sites include the Jane Welsh Carlyle House, Haddington is located predominantly on the northeast bank of the River Tyne, and was once famous for its mills. It developed into the fourth largest town in Scotland during the High Middle Ages, as a result of this, more factories were established, these included the New Mills. This factory suffered during the Civil War with the loss of its cloth to General Monck, the Scots Courant reported in 1712 that New Mills was to be rouped. The property was sold on 16 February 1713 and the machinery, the lands of New Mills were purchased by Colonel Francis Charteris and he changed their name to Amisfield. As the county town of East Lothian Haddington is the seat of East Lothian Council and this building occupies the site of Haddingtons 12th century royal palace & adjoins the sheriff court complex. As such Haddington is the home to East Lothians administration, a boost to the status, retailers based in Haddington include Tesco, Subway, Boots, and Greggs, amongst others. Haddington is also home to the offices of the newspaper the East Lothian Courier. There is a market held on the last Saturday of the month in Court Street. Amisfield House was located east of Haddington, south of the River Tyne, John Henderson built the walled garden in 1783, and the castellated stable block in 1785. The park in front of the house, possibly landscaped by James Bowie, is today entirely ploughed, a victim of dry rot, the house was demolished in 1928. All that remains of Amisfield today are the house, walled garden, ice house, chapel. Lennoxlove House, a historic 13th-century house and estate, lies half a mile south of Haddington, built by the Giffards of Yester, it was originally named Lethington
5.
Scottish Labour Party
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The Scottish Labour Party is the Scotland branch of the British Labour Party. Labour hold 23 of 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament and two of six Scottish seats in the European Parliament, after these, Scottish Labour entered a coalition with the Scottish Liberal Democrats, forming a majority Scottish Executive. It remained the second largest party after the 2011 Scottish Parliament election, in the 2016 Scottish Parliament election, Scottish Labour lost 13 of its 37 seats, becoming the third largest party for the first time after being surpassed by the Scottish Conservative Party. Kezia Dugdale is the directly elected Leader of the Scottish Labour Party, the Scottish Labour Party is administered by the Scottish Executive Committee, which is responsible to the Labour Partys National Executive Committee. The Scottish Executive Committee is made up of representatives of party members, elected members and party affiliates, for example, trade unions, the current Scottish general secretary is Brian Roy. His predecessor was Ian Price, who succeeded Colin Smyth in 2013, the Scottish Labour headquarters is currently at Bath Street, Glasgow. It was formerly co-located with the offices of Unite the Union at John Smith House,145 West Regent Street, the party holds an annual conference during February/March each year. In 2008, Scottish Labour Party membership was reported as 17,000, in September 2010, the party issued 13,135 ballot papers to party members during the Labour Party leadership election. These did not necessarily equate to 13,135 individual members – due to the electoral structure. The party has declined to reveal its membership figures since 2008, in November 2014 the partys membership was claimed by an unnamed source reported in the Sunday Herald to be 13,500. Other recent reports in the media have quoted figures of as low as 8,000, in December 2014 the newly elected leader Jim Murphy claimed that the figure was about 20,000 on the TV programme Scotland Tonight. According to the accounts it submitted to the Electoral Commission the party had an income from membership of £115,636 in 2013, the Labour Party campaigned for the creation of a devolved Scottish Parliament as part of its wider policy of a devolved United Kingdom. Donald Dewar led Labours campaign for the first elections to the Scottish Parliament on 6 May 1999, Labour won the most votes and seats, with 56 seats out of 129, a clear distance ahead of the second-placed Scottish National Party. Labour also won 53 of the 73 constituency seats, Dewar became the inaugural First Minister of Scotland. Dewar died only a year later on 11 October 2000, a new first minister was elected in a ballot by Scottish Labours MSPs and national executive members, because there was insufficient time to hold a full leadership election. On 27 October, Henry McLeish was elected to succeed Dewar, Labours dominance of Scotlands Westminster seats continued in the 2001 general election, with a small loss of votes but no losses of seats. The press called the affair Officegate, after McLeishs resignation, Jack McConnell quickly emerged as the only candidate, and was elected First Minister by the Parliament on 22 November 2001. The coalition between Labour and the Liberal Democrats was narrowly re-elected at the 2003 Scottish Parliament election, with Labour losing 7 seats, the SNP also lost seats, though other pro-independence parties made gains
6.
Colin Beattie
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Colin Beattie is the Scottish National Party Member of the Scottish Parliament for the Midlothian North and Musselburgh constituency since 2011. He won the newly created seat in the 2011 Scottish Parliament election with a majority of just under 3000 votes, Beattie previously worked as a banker and was SNP group leader on Midlothian Council. Colin Beattie is also the current serving SNP National Treasurer, Beattie was formally censured in 2013 by the Standards Commission for Scotland for breaching the Councillors’ code of Conduct for failing to register interest in property whilst a councillor. BBC News Result biography at Scottish Parliament website
7.
Iain Gray
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Iain Cumming Gray is a Scottish politician, currently a Labour Party Member of the Scottish Parliament for the East Lothian constituency. He was the leader of Scottish Labour in the Scottish Parliament from 13 September 2008 to 17 December 2011 and he was returned to parliament in 2007, for the East Lothian constituency. Following Wendy Alexanders resignation as Scottish Labour leader in 2008, Gray stood in the subsequent leadership election and was successful, the 2011 Scottish Parliament elections proved disastrous for the party, which lost 20 constituencies as the SNP won an outright majority of seats. Gray was re-elected as MSP for East Lothian with a majority of 151 votes. Gray announced his resignation the day after the result, but remained in post as leader until his successor, Johann Lamont, after graduation he worked as a maths and physics teacher at Gracemount High School in Edinburgh, before a teaching stint in Mozambique. He then spent twelve years as the Campaigns Director for the Scottish arm of the aid charity Oxfam, Gray is a lifelong fan of Edinburgh football club Hibernian, and enjoys reading, music and hill walking. His first wife, Linda Malloch, divorced him and later married Grays long-time friend Kevin Dunion, Gray married his second wife Gill in 1997, with whom he has two step-daughters. Iain Gray has stood as a candidate in Lothian Regional Council elections, in the 2003 election, Gray was defeated by Scottish Conservative leader David McLetchie, whom he had beaten in 1999. Leaving Holyrood, he went to work as a special adviser under Secretary of State Alistair Darling MP at the Scotland Office in London, having subsequently a change of mind, he was selected as the Labour candidate for East Lothian for the 2007 election and subsequently won. Gray was appointed Labours shadow spokesman for enterprise, energy and tourism upon his return to Parliament, in December 2010, Iain Gray sparked a diplomatic row when he appeared to claim in parliament that Montenegro had been involved in ethnic cleansing and war crimes during the 1990s Balkans Conflict. He quickly left the station and ran into a nearby Subway sandwich shop to escape the protesters and he announced on 6 May that he would stand down as party leader in the autumn. Gray was reappointed to the post of Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Finance in the Scottish Labour Shadow Cabinet on 29 June 2013, in the 2016 Holyrood election, while several Labour MSPs lost their constituency seats Gray retained his seat with an increased majority compared to 2011. Iain Gray biography at the Scottish Parliament website Scottish Government biography Gray becomes Scots Labour leader BBC News Labour frontline team announced BBC News
8.
Scotland
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Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and covers the northern third of the island of Great Britain. It shares a border with England to the south, and is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the North Sea to the east. In addition to the mainland, the country is made up of more than 790 islands, including the Northern Isles, the Kingdom of Scotland emerged as an independent sovereign state in the Early Middle Ages and continued to exist until 1707. By inheritance in 1603, James VI, King of Scots, became King of England and King of Ireland, Scotland subsequently entered into a political union with the Kingdom of England on 1 May 1707 to create the new Kingdom of Great Britain. The union also created a new Parliament of Great Britain, which succeeded both the Parliament of Scotland and the Parliament of England. Within Scotland, the monarchy of the United Kingdom has continued to use a variety of styles, titles, the legal system within Scotland has also remained separate from those of England and Wales and Northern Ireland, Scotland constitutes a distinct jurisdiction in both public and private law. Glasgow, Scotlands largest city, was one of the worlds leading industrial cities. Other major urban areas are Aberdeen and Dundee, Scottish waters consist of a large sector of the North Atlantic and the North Sea, containing the largest oil reserves in the European Union. This has given Aberdeen, the third-largest city in Scotland, the title of Europes oil capital, following a referendum in 1997, a Scottish Parliament was re-established, in the form of a devolved unicameral legislature comprising 129 members, having authority over many areas of domestic policy. Scotland is represented in the UK Parliament by 59 MPs and in the European Parliament by 6 MEPs, Scotland is also a member nation of the British–Irish Council, and the British–Irish Parliamentary Assembly. Scotland comes from Scoti, the Latin name for the Gaels, the Late Latin word Scotia was initially used to refer to Ireland. By the 11th century at the latest, Scotia was being used to refer to Scotland north of the River Forth, alongside Albania or Albany, the use of the words Scots and Scotland to encompass all of what is now Scotland became common in the Late Middle Ages. Repeated glaciations, which covered the land mass of modern Scotland. It is believed the first post-glacial groups of hunter-gatherers arrived in Scotland around 12,800 years ago, the groups of settlers began building the first known permanent houses on Scottish soil around 9,500 years ago, and the first villages around 6,000 years ago. The well-preserved village of Skara Brae on the mainland of Orkney dates from this period and it contains the remains of an early Bronze Age ruler laid out on white quartz pebbles and birch bark. It was also discovered for the first time that early Bronze Age people placed flowers in their graves, in the winter of 1850, a severe storm hit Scotland, causing widespread damage and over 200 deaths. In the Bay of Skaill, the storm stripped the earth from a large irregular knoll, when the storm cleared, local villagers found the outline of a village, consisting of a number of small houses without roofs. William Watt of Skaill, the laird, began an amateur excavation of the site, but after uncovering four houses
9.
Lieutenancy areas of Scotland
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The lieutenancy areas of Scotland are the areas used for the ceremonial lord-lieutenants, the monarchs representatives, in Scotland. The lord-lieutenants titles chosen by the monarch and her advisers are mainly based on placenames of the traditional counties of Scotland. In 1794 permanent lieutenancies were established by Royal Warrant, by the Militia Act 1797, the lieutenants appointed for the Counties, Stewartries, Cities, and Places were given powers to raise and command County Militia Units. Lieutenancy areas are different from the current local government council areas and they also differ from other subdivisions of Scotland including sheriffdoms and former regions and districts. The Lord Provosts of Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, and Glasgow also act ex officio as lord-lieutenants and this is a unique right in the United Kingdom, all other lord-lieutenants are appointed by the monarch, rather than being elected politicians. The regions and districts were themselves superseded in 1995, but the lieutenancy areas remain the same, the Lord-Lieutenants Order 1975, Statutory Instrument 1975 No.428. The Lord-Lieutenants Order 1996, Statutory Instrument 1996 No.731, subdivisions of Scotland List of burghs in Scotland List of places in Scotland Media related to Maps of traditional counties of Scotland at Wikimedia Commons
10.
Edinburgh
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Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 local government council areas. Located in Lothian on the Firth of Forths southern shore, it is Scotlands second most populous city and the seventh most populous in the United Kingdom. The 2014 official population estimates are 464,990 for the city of Edinburgh,492,680 for the authority area. Recognised as the capital of Scotland since at least the 15th century, Edinburgh is home to the Scottish Parliament and it is the largest financial centre in the UK after London. Historically part of Midlothian, the city has long been a centre of education, particularly in the fields of medicine, Scots law, literature, the sciences and engineering. The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1582 and now one of four in the city, was placed 17th in the QS World University Rankings in 2013 and 2014. The city is famous for the Edinburgh International Festival and the Fringe. The citys historical and cultural attractions have made it the United Kingdoms second most popular tourist destination after London, attracting over one million overseas visitors each year. Historic sites in Edinburgh include Edinburgh Castle, Holyrood Palace, the churches of St. Giles, Greyfriars and the Canongate, Edinburghs Old Town and New Town together are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which has been managed by Edinburgh World Heritage since 1999. It appears to derive from the place name Eidyn mentioned in the Old Welsh epic poem Y Gododdin, the poem names Din Eidyn as a hill fort in the territory of the Gododdin. The Celtic element din was dropped and replaced by the Old English burh, the first documentary evidence of the medieval burgh is a royal charter, c. 1124–1127, by King David I granting a toft in burgo meo de Edenesburg to the Priory of Dunfermline. In modern Gaelic, the city is called Dùn Èideann, the earliest known human habitation in the Edinburgh area was at Cramond, where evidence was found of a Mesolithic camp site dated to c.8500 BC. Traces of later Bronze Age and Iron Age settlements have found on Castle Rock, Arthurs Seat, Craiglockhart Hill. When the Romans arrived in Lothian at the end of the 1st century AD, at some point before the 7th century AD, the Gododdin, who were presumably descendants of the Votadini, built the hill fort of Din Eidyn or Etin. Although its location has not been identified, it likely they would have chosen a commanding position like the Castle Rock, Arthurs Seat. In 638, the Gododdin stronghold was besieged by forces loyal to King Oswald of Northumbria and it thenceforth remained under their jurisdiction. The royal burgh was founded by King David I in the early 12th century on land belonging to the Crown, in 1638, King Charles Is attempt to introduce Anglican church forms in Scotland encountered stiff Presbyterian opposition culminating in the conflicts of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. In the 17th century, Edinburghs boundaries were defined by the citys defensive town walls
11.
Midlothian
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Midlothian is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, UK. It borders Edinburgh, East Lothian and the Scottish Borders council areas, Midlothian was also the name of a historic county formed in the Middle Ages. The county included Edinburgh and was known as Edinburghshire, or more formally as the County of Edinburgh. The historic county remains an area and a registration county for which purposes Edinburgh is included. Midlothian Council area was created in 1996, under the Local Government etc, act 1994, with the boundaries of the Midlothian district of the Lothian region. There is a Midlothian constituency of the House of Commons, there was a Midlothian constituency of the Scottish Parliament up to the 2011 elections when it was divided between Midlothian North and Musselburgh and Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale. William Drummond of Hawthornden, Scottish poet, princess Margaret of Scotland, daughter of James VI and I of Scotland and England John Clerk of Penicuik, 2nd Baronet, was a Scottish politician, lawyer, judge, composer and architect. William Tennant, the author of Anster Fair, was schoolmaster in Lasswade from 1816 to 1819. Thomas de Quincey, author of Confessions of an English Opium-Eater, lived in Mans Bush Cottage, Polton, thomas Murray, the Gallovidian author, died in Lasswade. Charles W. Nibley, Scottish-American religious leader in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Nibley was served as second counselor in the First Presidency to Heber J. Grant, and Presiding Bishop. Charles Thomson Rees Wilson of Glencorse, Nobel prize-winning physicist, george Forrest, a plant collector who gained fame with his expeditions to the far east who spent a significant part of his early years in Loanhead. Charles Forte, Baron Forte, the hotelier, worked in an Italian cafe in Loanhead, karl Miller, founding editor of the London Review of Books and Lord Northcliffe Professor of Modern English Literature at University College, London, born in Straiton. Annette Crosbie, actress, born in Gorebridge, gary Naysmith from Loanhead, Scottish International Footballer who currently plays for Sheffield United and formerly for Heart Of Midlothian and Everton. He was named Scottish PFA Young Player of the Year in 1998 and he won the Scottish Cup with Hearts in 1998. Steven Whittaker from Bonnyrigg, Scotland International footballer, ex-Hibernian F. C. currently plays for Norwich City F. C. John Pringle Burnett, actor and playwright, husband of English actress Jennie Lee. Beeslack High School, Penicuik Dalkeith High School, Dalkeith Lasswade High School Centre, Bonnyrigg Newbattle Community High School, Dalkeith Penicuik High School and it is a sister city with Midlothian, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. The Battle of Roslin was a battle of the First War of Scottish Independence, taking place on 24 February 1303 at Roslin, a Scottish army led by Simon Fraser and John Comyn defeated the English. The English force was raised in Northumberland and was tasked with intervening in support of the forces of Edward I
12.
Scottish Borders
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The Scottish Borders is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Dumfries and Galloway, East Lothian, Midlothian, South Lanarkshire, West Lothian and, to the south and east, the administrative centre of the area is Newtown St Boswells. Historically, the name Scottish Borders designated the border region of southern Scotland and. The Scottish Borders are in the part of the Southern Uplands. The region is hilly and largely rural, with the River Tweed flowing west to east through it, in the east of the region, the area that borders the River Tweed is flat and is known as The Merse. Thus, across the region are to be seen the ruins of castles, abbeys. In 1996 the region became a unitary authority area and the districts were wound up, the region was created with the name Borders. Following the election of an area council in 1995 the name was changed to Scottish Borders with effect from 1996. Since the 5th century, there has been evidence of two languages in the area, Brythonic and Old English, the latter of which developed into its modern forms of English. There are two British Parliamentary constituencies in the Borders, Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk covers most of the region and is represented by Calum Kerr of the SNP. The western Tweeddale area is included in the Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale & Tweeddale constituency and is represented by Conservative David Mundell, at Scottish Parliament level, there are also two seats. The eastern constituency is Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, which is represented by Conservative John Lamont. The western constituency is Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale and is represented by SNP Christine Grahame, following the 2012 local elections, the council administration is now a coalition of Independents, Scottish National Party and Liberal Democrats. Prior to the election a coalition of Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and Independents ruled, the Conservatives are the biggest party on the council with 10 seats, the Liberal Democrats have six. The SNP have nine seats and the Independents have seven, two councillors form the Borders Party. At the Census held on 27 March 2011, the population of the region was 114,000, the region had until September 2015 no working railway stations. Although the area was connected to the Victorian railway system. A bill was passed by the Scottish Parliament to extend the Waverley Line and this section of the route re-opened on 6 September 2015, under the Borders Railway branding
13.
Musselburgh
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Musselburgh is the largest settlement in East Lothian, Scotland, on the coast of the Firth of Forth,6 miles east of Edinburgh city centre. The population of Musselburgh is 21,900, the name Musselburgh is Old English in origin, with mussel referring to the shellfish, and burgh derived from the Old English for town. Musselburgh was first settled by the Romans in the years following their invasion of Scotland in AD80 and they built a fort a little inland from the mouth of the River Esk, at Inveresk. They bridged the Esk downstream from the fort, and thus established the line of the eastern approach to Scotlands capital for most of the next 2,000 years. The bridge built by the Romans outlasted them by many centuries and it was rebuilt on the original Roman foundations some time before 1300, and in 1597 it was rebuilt again, this time with a third arch added on the east side of the river. The Old Bridge is also known as the Roman Bridge and remains in use today by pedestrians, to its north is the New Bridge, designed by John Rennie the Elder and built in 1806. This in turn was considerably widened in 1925, the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh was fought south of Musselburgh. The town motto Honestas dates back to 1332, when the Regent of Scotland, Randolph, Earl of Moray and his successor offered to reward the people for their loyalty but they declined, saying they were only doing their duty. The new regent, the Earl of Mar, was impressed and said they were a set of honest men, before 1975, Musselburgh was part of Midlothian, not East Lothian. It became part of the East Lothian District following the Local Government Act 1973, schools include Loretto School, a private boarding school, and Musselburgh Grammar School, the local large comprehensive that is one of the oldest grammar schools in the country, dating from 1608. Some students attend St. Davids R. C, Primary schools include, Campie Primary School, Musselburgh Burgh Primary School, Stoneyhill Primary School, Pinkie St Peters Primary School, Loretto RC Primary School and Loretto Nippers. Early learning locations include The Burgh, Stoneyhill, Loretto RC, there are also several private nurseries for preschool-aged children. Edinburghs Queen Margaret University relocated all its schools from Edinburgh to Musselburgh as of 2007 and her Majesty The Queen officially opened the QMU campus in July 2008. Musselburgh is served by two railway stations, Musselburgh railway station is in the west of the town, adjacent to Queen Margaret University and has regular Abellio ScotRail services from Edinburgh Waverley to North Berwick. It is a new station, having opened in 1988. The other station serving the town is Wallyford railway station to the east of the town in the village of Wallyford, the towns original station was close to the town centre at the end of a short branch from Newhailes Junction. Passenger services from there ceased in 1964, and the closed to all traffic in the early-1970s. The former railway line is now a road bypassing the Fisherrow area of the town, the A199 goes through the High Street to Edinburgh in the west and to Dunbar to the east
14.
Lothian
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Lothian is a region of the Scottish Lowlands, lying between the southern shore of the Firth of Forth and the Lammermuir Hills. The principal settlement is the Scottish capital, Edinburgh, while other significant towns include Livingston, Linlithgow, Queensferry, Dalkeith, Musselburgh, North Berwick, Dunbar, historically, the term Lothian referred to a province encompassing most of what is now southeastern Scotland. Lothian was annexed to the Kingdom of Scotland around the 10th century, subsequent Scottish history saw the region subdivided into three shires—Mid, East, and West Lothian—leading to the popular term the Lothians. The origin of the name is debated and it perhaps comes from the British *Lugudūniānā meaning country of the fort of Lugus, the latter being the Celtic God of commerce. Alternatively it may take its name from a watercourse which flows through the region, now known as the Lothian Burn, a popular legend is that the name comes from King Lot, who is king of Lothian in the Arthurian legend. The usual Latin form of the name is Laudonia, Lothian was settled by Angles at an early stage and formed part of the Kingdom of Bernicia, which extended south into present-day Northumberland. Many place names in the Lothians and Borders demonstrate that the English language became firmly established in the region from the century onwards. In due course Bernicia united with Deira to form the Kingdom of Northumbria, little is recorded of Lothians history specifically in this time. After the Norse settled in what is now Yorkshire, Northumbria was effectively cut in two, how much Norse influence spread to the English north of the River Tees is uncertain. Bernicia continued as a territory, sometimes described as having a king. Roger of Wendover wrote that Edgar, King of the English granted Laudian to the King of Scots in 973 on condition that he come to court whenever the English king or his successors wore his crown. It is widely accepted by historians that this marks the point at which Lothian came under Scottish control. The River Tweed became the de facto Anglo-Scottish border following the Battle of Carham in 1018, william the Conqueror invaded Lothian and crossed over the River Forth but did not re-annex it. At this time Lothian appears in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle as Loðen or Loþen, in the post-Roman period, Lothian was dominated by British speakers whose language is generally called Cumbric and was closely related to Welsh. In Welsh tradition Lothian is part of the Old North, reminders exist in British place-names like Tranent, Linlithgow and Penicuik. The presence of a landowning Gaelic-speaking aristocracy and their followers for something like 150–200 years, over time and due to various factors, the language of Lothian and Northumbria, a northern variety of Middle English, came to displace Gaelic as the language of the Lowlands. The dialects of the modern Lothians are sometimes considered to be part of Central Scots, the Local Government Act 1973 abolished the ancient counties and burghs, replacing them with regions and districts. Lothian Regional Council formally took responsibility from the old county councils in May 1975
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Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973
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The Local Government Act 1973 is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom that altered local government in Scotland on 16 May 1975. In England and Wales, the Local Government Act 1972 established a system of two-tier administrative county. The Act abolished previous existing local government structures and created a system of regions and districts on the mainland. The former counties remained in use for land registration purposes, unlike the 1972 Local Government Act in England and Wales, the 1973 Act in Scotland used the term region for the upper tier of the two-tier system. This has caused far less confusion over the identity of the counties in Scotland, despite the Act stipulating that the regions, not counties, should be shown on Ordnance Survey maps, the counties still enjoy wide public recognition. Even though they no longer any direct part in local government. The Royal Mail continued to use them as counties. However, the size of some regions meant that it became cumbersome to administer all functions on a region-wide basis. By 1977 Strathclyde Regional Council had established unelected sub-Regional Councils, which resembled the County Councils that the Regional Council had replaced, the two-tier system of local government introduced by the act lasted until 1 April 1996 when the Local Government etc. Act 1994 came into effect, abolishing the regions and districts, Act 1994 Subdivisions of Scotland Local Government Act 1973 Royal Commission on Local Government in Scotland,1969
16.
Inveresk
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Inveresk is a village in East Lothian, Scotland situated immediately to the south of Musselburgh. It has been designated an area since 1969. It is situated on elevated ground on the north bank of a loop of the River Esk. This ridge of ground,20 to 25 metres above sea level, was used by the Romans as the location for a fort in the 2nd century AD. The element Inver, from the Gaelic inbhir, refers to the confluence of the river Esk with the Firth of Forth, the village was formerly in the Midlothian parish of the same name and developed distinctly from the separate burgh of Musselburgh. Inveresk is notable for its fine street of 17th- and 18th-century houses and this was formerly the mansion of James Wedderburn who had made his fortune as a slave-owning sugar plantation owner in Jamaica. When his son by one of his slaves, Robert Wedderburn, travelled to Inveresk to claim his kinship he was rejected by his father who gave him some small beer. This experience turned Robert Wedderburn to radicalism, the village is dominated by St. Michaels church that stands at its west end on the summit of the local hill overlooking Musselburgh. The current church is by Robert Nisbet and dates to 1805 and has a spire of Wren-influence but is believed to date to the 6th century. Robert Mylne, architect/master mason, 1633-1710, lived and died here Clarissa Dickson Wright the chef, henry Yule, Scottish Orientalist, born here Canmore - Inveresk, Musselburgh, Roman Fort site record Workhouses - Inveresk Scottish Places - Inveresk
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Wallyford
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Wallyford is a village in East Lothian, Scotland. It is close to the town of Musselburgh and approximately 7 miles east of Edinburgh. Wallyford has a station on the Edinburgh to North Berwick railway line, a ParknRide facility houses this station. It has a school, playgroup, community centre, church, library, post office, social club/groups. An industrial estate houses several small businesses, the village was initially populated by coal miners and later grew as an overspill/commuter town for workers in Musselburgh and Edinburgh. A tribute to the miners can be marked on a stone through the main road of the village. There has been an investment in the area which has resulted in the building of many private homes. Excavation is now underway for further expansion of the village to create a new centre, school. The village is overlooked by the restored Faside Castle which was destroyed by the English after the Battle of Pinkie in 1546, victorian writer Margaret Oliphant was born in Wallyford on 4 April 1828. Among her best-known works were Katie Stewart, The Carlingford Chronicles and Tales of the Seen and Unseen and she died in Wimbledon on 25 June 1897 and was buried in Eton Cemetery near Windsor. Willie Park, Sr. the first and four-time winner of the Open Championship in golf, was born in Wallyford on 30 June 1833, former footballer and football manager Jock Wallace, Jr. was born in Wallyford on 6 September 1935. He went on to have a career as manager of Rangers. List of places in East Lothian 2001 Census Data
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Berwickshire
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Berwickshire is a lieutenancy area and historic county in the Scottish Borders. It takes its name from Berwick-upon-Tweed, which was part of Scotland at the time of the countys formation, formerly the county was often called the Merse, from Old English mǣres border. From 1596 to 1890 the county town was Greenlaw, however, this was changed to Duns by the Local Government Act 1889, the act which established the system of county councils in Scotland. Beriwckshire District Council remained based in Duns, the old county town, the system of regions and districts was in turn abolished in 1996 in favour of unitary councils. Berwickshire is now governed by the unitary Scottish Borders Council, the county council of Berwickshire was formed in 1890 by the Local Government Act 1889, and applied for a grant of arms the same year. The grant, by Lord Lyon King of Arms was made on 10 October, the coat of arms shows a bear chained to a wych elm tree, a pun on the countys name, bear + wych = Berwick. In heraldry, this is known as a canting arms, upon the abolition of Berwickshire County Council, the arms were regranted to Berwickshire District Council. When the district council was abolished the arms reverted to the Crown, the coat of arms is featured on Berwickshire High School badge Refer to the List of civil parishes in Scotland Other places in Berwickshire include, St. Abbs or Coldingham Shore. Allanton Clintmains Dryburgh Oxton Paxton The Berwickshire News is published weekly, the High school west of Duns is named Berwickshire High School, it has been open since 1896. Together with Eyemouth High School they run a Rugby team under the name of Berwickshire schools, the Berwickshire Coastal Path runs from Cockburnspath to Berwick-upon-Tweed. List of places in the Scottish Borders Subdivisions of Scotland
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Prestonpans
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Prestonpans is a small town situated to the east of Edinburgh, Scotland, in the unitary council area of East Lothian. The 2001 census recorded that the town had a population of 7,153 and it is the site of the 1745 Battle of Prestonpans, and has a history dating back to the eleventh century. The town is credited for achieving the title of Scotlands Mural Town with many wall murals reflecting the towns colourful past. According to certain stories Prestonpans was founded in the 11th century by a traveller named Althamer, finding it impossible to get home, the survivors of the wreck decided to remain where they were and founded a settlement named Althamer in honour of their leader. The monks gave the settlement their own name, Prieststown or Prieston, because of the salt manufacturing carried out by the monks using pans on the sea shore, the towns name would later develop into Salt Prieststown and Salt Preston, and finally Prestonpans. One of the first post-Reformation churches was built in Prestonpans in 1596, for and at the expense of the new minister, the church was greatly re-modelled in 1774. Ten years after the building of the new church, Prestonpans became a Parish in its own right. On 31 October 2004 the innocence was publicly declared of 81 Scottish women convicted of being witches, Salt panning was a very important industry in the early history of Prestonpans. By the beginning of the century there were 10 salt works belonging to the town capable of producing between 800 and 900 bushels of salt per week. However, Prestonpans was not a town, and many other industries flourished in Prestonpans. The discovery and mining of coal by the Newbattle monks in the thirteenth century was arguably the first instance of coal mining in Britain. The mining of coal in Prestonpans began in the year 1210, Prestonpans at one time had sixteen breweries however, today there are none. The oldest brewery in Prestonpans belonged to the Fowler family and was built in 1720, the Fowlers obtained it in 1756 and it was in production until the 1960s. The building was demolished in 1989 to build flats, there was a soap works in the town which at one time had an output of 90,000 pounds per annum, and also several potteries and brickworks. The town was served, for hundred years, by the harbour at nearby Prestongrange. Fishing boats sailed from the harbour and herring was the most important catch, the harvesting of oysters was a lucrative industry up to the early twentieth century. The Battle of Prestonpans was the first significant conflict in the second Jacobite Rising, the battle took place on 21 September 1745. The Jacobite army loyal to James Francis Edward Stuart and led by his son Charles Edward Stuart defeated the army loyal to the Hanoverian George II led by Sir John Cope
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Cockenzie and Port Seton
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Cockenzie and Port Seton is a unified town in East Lothian, Scotland. It is on the coast of the Firth of Forth, four miles north-east of Musselburgh, the burgh of Cockenzie was created in 1591 by James VI of Scotland. Port Seton harbour was built by George Seton, 11th Lord Seton between 1655 and 1665, the town has a population of 4,493 as of 2001. Since the last Census in 2001, there have many new houses built. The population is now about 5,460, Cockenzie and Port Seton has continued to grow over the years and is now a dormitory town for Scotlands capital city, Edinburgh. Demolition of the plant is underway, and is expected to take around 18 months. Plans for an Energy Park on the site, to be used for the construction, Cockenzie and Port Seton has grown from what were initially two small fishing villages. The older parts of the town, between the two harbours, retain a traditional feel and look, similar to many other small fishing villages on the east coast of Scotland. Although the fishing industry has declined in recent years the harbour at Port Seton still retains a fleet of vessels. In the past Cockenzie was also involved in the salt making, to the east of Port Seton there is a large caravan campsite/holiday park at Seton Sands. The promenade area and the creation of a walk, a part of the John Muir Way, have improved the environment in recent years. To the south east is Seton Collegiate Church, a church also known as Seton Chapel. Next to it was Seton Palace, now Seton House, Cockenzie and Port Seton are served by direct bus links to and from Edinburgh, Prestonpans and Musselburgh, services operated by Lothian Buses. The nearest railway station is at Prestonpans, in 2005, The 3 Harbours Arts Festival was inaugurated by Cockenzie, Port Seton and Prestonpans. It takes place in early June, the town has a community centre with activities such as a youth club, football pitches and a skatepark within the grounds
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Gullane
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Gullane is a town on the southern shore of the Firth of Forth in East Lothian on the east coast of Scotland. There has been a church in the village since the ninth century, Gullane is part of the John Muir Way, a long-distance footpath along the coast between Musselburgh and Dunglass. The local population consists of elderly people. Urbanisation has led to some recent housing developments, and Gullane is gaining popularity as a village for nearby Edinburgh. Amenities include the hall and a variety of shops including a chip shop, German bakery. There is a school, and local children attend secondary school five miles away in North Berwick. The Scottish Fire Service College is located on Gullanes Main Street, greywalls Hotel was built in 1901 to a design by Sir Edwin Lutyens, the gardens were designed by Gertrude Jekyll. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has their training school based at Gullane, Gullane is the home of Muirfield which has hosted The Open Championship on numerous occasions, most recently in 2013. In addition to Muirfield, Gullane is the site of several other high-quality golf courses in the village, at the Gullane Golf Club, to which many local residents are members of, three interesting eighteen-hole links courses straddle a large grassed-over volcanic plug. From the top of the hill on each there is a fine view over Aberlady and Aberlady Bay towards Edinburgh and the Forth Bridge as well as the coast of Fife. Internationally acclaimed artist Frank W Wood painted a magnificent view of Gullane in 1933, Gullane numbers 1 and 2 courses and Luffness are often used as Open Championship qualifying courses when the open is at Muirfield. Children are allowed to play on courses numbers 2 and 3 after they graduate from the Childrens Course, in midsummer, golf is possible into the late evening, occasionally as late as 10,30 pm, allowing a full round to be completed after dinner. As a result, Gullane is a destination for golfing tourists. Ronnie Corbett, comedian and TV personality
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North Berwick
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North Berwick is a seaside town and former royal burgh in East Lothian, Scotland. It is situated on the shore of the Firth of Forth. North Berwick became a holiday resort in the 19th century because of its two sandy bays, the East Bay and the West Bay, and continues to attract holiday makers to this day. Golf courses at the ends of each bay are open to visitors, the name North Berwick means North barley farmstead. The word North was applied to distinguish this Berwick from Berwick-upon-Tweed and it was recorded as Northberwyk in 1250. On the south of North Berwick Law there is evidence of at least eighteen hut circles, rich middens and a field system dating from 2000 years ago. Excavations have shown that from as early as the 8th century, North Berwick Harbour was built in the 12th century to meet the demands made of the existing ferry trade. This ferry was recently reinstated, during the summer a boat travels between North Berwick and Anstruther in Fife, in homage to the original ferry, around 1150 Duncan, Earl of Fife of the Clan MacDuff founded an influential Cistercian nunnery. This castle was attacked and held by the Earl of Pembroke around 1306, in the 14th century the town became a baronial burgh under William Douglas, 1st Earl of Douglas, who then built nearby Tantallon Castle to consolidate his power. Later during the 15th century the town became a burgh in the reign of James I of Scotland. The Auld Kirk Green at the harbour was used for gatherings by the accused in the North Berwick Witch Trials. Legend has it that Satan himself attended a ritual there in 1590, although it is likely that Satan was played by Francis Stewart Hepburn. During the 16th century at least 70 people were implicated in the Witch Trials, One of the most famous Witch trials at North Berwick was of the woman named Agnes Sampson. She was accused of making a potion to make the storms rough as King James VI of Scotland was sailing home from Denmark with his new wife, the trial took place in 1591 and King James was there himself. Sampson was tortured to confess and then burned at the stake, like many other innocent people. Local lore, place names, and the jawbone arch atop the Law erected in 1709, in any event it would have been overshadowed by nearby Leith. Certainly whales have been known to have washed ashore here, regularly over the years, despite the railway arriving in 1850, the Industrial revolution bypassed the town. The late 19th century saw North Berwick develop golfing and holiday facilities, the town soon became popular as a home for Edinburgh commuters and retirees
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Dunbar
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Dunbar is a town in East Lothian on the southeast coast of Scotland, approximately 28 miles east of Edinburgh and 28 miles from the English border north of Berwick-upon-Tweed. Dunbar is a royal burgh and gave its name to an ecclesiastical. Until the 1960s the population of the town was more than 3,500. The town is thriving with the most recent population published for the town at 6,940, there are very well regarded primary and secondary schools in town. The town is served by Dunbar railway station with links to Edinburgh. Dunbar is home to the Dunbar Lifeboat Station, the second oldest RNLI station in Scotland, Dunbar is the birthplace of the explorer, naturalist and influential conservationist John Muir. The house in which Muir was born is located on the High Street, there is also a commemorative statue beside the town clock, and John Muir Country Park is located to the northwest of the town. The eastern section of the John Muir Way coastal path starts from the harbour, each year on the last full weekend in September, Dunbar holds a weekend-long traditional music festival sponsored by various local companies. In its present form, the name Dunbar is derived from its Gaelic equivalent and that itself is probably a Gaelicisation of the Cumbric form din-bar, with the same meaning. This form seems to be attested as Dynbaer the seventh-century Vita Sancti Wilfredi, to the north of the present High Street an area of open ground called Castle Park preserves almost exactly the hidden perimeter of an iron age promontory fort. The influential Northumbrian monk and scholar St. Cuthbert, born around 630, was probably from around Dunbar. While still a boy, and employed as a shepherd, one night he had a vision of the soul of Aidan being carried to heaven by angels and thereupon went to the monastery of Old Melrose and it was then a kings vill and prison to Bishop Wilfrid. As a royal holding of the kings of Northumbria, the economy centred on the collecting of food renders and the administration of the northern portion of that kingdom. It was the base of a royal official, a reeve. Danish and Norse attacks on southern Northumbria caused its power to falter, Dunbar was burnt by Kenneth MacAlpin in the 9th century. Scottish control was consolidated in the century and when Lothian was ceded to Malcolm II after the battle of Carham in 1018. Malcolm needed to fill a vacuum on his south-eastern flank. The grant included Dunbar and, it can be deduced, a swath of East Lothian
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Firth of Forth
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The Firth of Forth is the estuary of the River Forth in Scotland, where it flows into the North Sea, between Fife to the north and Lothian to the south. It was known as Bodotria in Roman times, in the Norse sagas it was known as the Myrkvifiörd. Geologically, the Firth of Forth is a fjord, formed by the Forth Glacier in the last glacial period, the Kincardine Bridge, the Clackmannanshire Bridge, the Forth Road Bridge and the Forth Bridge carry traffic across the firth. Queensferry Crossing, alongside the Forth Road Bridge, was expected to open in 2016 but has since been delayed until May 2017. From 1964 to 1982, a tunnel existed under the Firth of Forth, the shafts leading into the tunnel were filled and capped with concrete when the tunnel was closed, and it is believed to have filled with water or collapsed in places. In July,2007, a passenger service completed a two-week trial between Portobello, Edinburgh and Kirkcaldy, Fife. The trial of the service was hailed as an operational success. It was estimated the service would decrease congestion for commuters on the Forth road, despite the initial success, the project was cancelled in December,2011. Historic villages line the Fife shoreline, Limekilns, Charlestown and Culross, established in the 6th century, the firth is important for nature conservation and is a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The Firth of Forth Islands SPA is home to more than 90,000 breeding seabirds every year, there is a bird observatory on the Isle of May. The youngest person to swim across the Firth of Forth was 13-year-old Joseph Feeney, in 2008, a controversial bid to allow oil transfer between ships in the firth was refused by Forth Ports. SPT Marine Services had asked permission to transfer 7.8 million tonnes of oil per year between tankers, but the proposals were met with determined opposition from conservation groups
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Lammermuir Hills
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The Lammermuirs are a range of hills in southern Scotland, forming a natural boundary between Lothian and the Borders. The name literally means lambs moor, early forms include Lombormore, Lambremore, Lambermora and Lambirmor. Spanning the counties of Selkirk, East Lothian, and Berwick, the Lammermuirs extend from the Gala Water to St Abbs Head, and offer a traditional site for sheep grazing. The hills are crossed by one major road, which crosses the shoulder of Soutra Hill between Lauder and Pathhead, and is frequently closed by snow in winter. The main road linking Edinburgh to England avoids the hills by following a route around the coast. White Castle was an Iron Age hill fort, settled by the ancestors of the Votadini tribe, two ranges of hills in New Zealand, the Lammermoors and Lammerlaws are named after the Scottish hills. Sir Walter Scotts novel The Bride of Lammermoor is set here, scott lived at Abbotsford House, near Galashiels. London and New York, Frederick Warne
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River Esk, Lothian
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The River Esk, also called the Lothian Esk, is a river that flows through Midlothian and East Lothian, Scotland. It initially runs as two rivers, the North Esk and the South Esk. The North Esk rises in the North Esk Reservoir in the Pentland Hills, in Midlothian and it flows north-east past Penicuik, Auchendinny, through Roslin Glen and the Penicuik–Dalkeith Walkway, past Hawthornden Castle, Polton, Lasswade and Melville Castle. The South Esk rises at the southernmost extremity of Midlothian, on the slopes of Blackhope Scar. It flows north through Gladhouse Reservoir and Rosebery Reservoir, and through the village of Temple, Midlothian and it is joined by the Gore Water and then the Dalhousie Burn, just to the west of Newtongrange, before passing Newbattle Abbey and proceeding through Dalkeith. The rivers converge just about 1.25 miles north-east of Dalkeith at the edge of the grounds of Dalkeith Palace, from here the River Esk continues north for about 4.3 miles, skirting Inveresk, and flowing into the Firth of Forth at Musselburgh, East Lothian. List of rivers of Scotland Rivers and Fisheries Trusts of Scotland List of waterway societies in the United Kingdom List of navigation authorities in the United Kingdom
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River Tyne, Scotland
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The River Tyne is a river in Scotland. It rises in the Moorfoot Hills in Midlothian near Tynehead to the do south of Edinburgh, at the junction of the B6458,30 miles in a north-eastern direction, is the river is over it empties into the North Sea near Belhaven. The Tyne is mainly a confluence between the Birns Water and the Tyne Water, approx,2 km east of Easter Pencaitland and 1 km south west of Spilmersford Bridge, in the grounds of Saltoun Hall. The Humbie Water is another main headwater, kinchie Burn, rises east of Pathhead, supplies Glenkinchie Distillery, joins Birns Water at Milton Bridge, West Saltoun. Blackford Burn/Belsis Burn/Murrays Burn, joins the Tyne Water at Pencaitland, cock Burn, rises at Lower Saltoun, joins the Tyne at Badger Wood. Fala Dam Burn, East Water, Salters Burn and Blackhouse Burn combine into Keith Water which flows into Humbie Water, johnstounburn Water rises near Woodcote Mill and joins Humbie Water near Saltoun Forest. Letham Burn and St Laurence House Burn combine to join the Tyne at the outskirts of Haddington. Bearford Burn rises in Playmuir wood and joins the Tyne at Beanston Mill, old Hailes Burn joins the Tyne at Hailes Castle
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Tranent
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Tranent (Scottish Gaelic, Tranant, online. org/dictionary/read. asp. letter=t&CurPage=50 is a town in East Lothian, Scotland. It is near the A1 road and about 11 miles east of Edinburgh and it is one of the oldest towns in East Lothian, and built on a gentle slope, about 300 feet above sea level. The population of the town is approximately 11,642, an increase of over 3,000 since 1991, Tranent was formally a major mining town but now serves as a commuter town for Edinburgh. Tranent is located within the Edinburgh City Region, the name is thought to be of Brythonic origin, possibly containing the elements Tre and Nant, meaning town over the stream Travernant. Tranent was once an important mining town, and coal was first worked there in the 12th century, the history of coal mining in Scotland is mirrored in the history of the coal heughs, mines and pits of Tranent. Tranent is now a commuter town supporting East Lothian and more especially Edinburgh, the Massacre of Tranent took place in 1797, when local people were killed by soldiers after protesting against conscription into the British Army. One of the 12 victims Jackie Crookston is depicted on the memorial commemorates the dead in Civic Square. There is a history of settlement in Tranent, perhaps dating back to pre history. Coal was first mined in Tranent Parish, when Robert de Quincy granted rights in the early 13th century, to the monks of Newbattle to mine at Prestoungrange, soon many wealthy families in the parish joined the rush to mine coal. Heughs, were being cut throughout the area, longniddry, St. Germains, Faside, Ormiston and Elphinstone, all parts of old Tranent had their own collieries and for the next 750 years, the industry prospered. Other industries grew to employ increasing populations, distilleries, Breweries, Tanneries and metal implement works. Quarries opened providing stone for homes, farming was modernised and mills opened th provide food. The 19th century saw a slowdown in growth and gradually industry centralised and moved to larder centres. The coal industry had peaked and the 20th century brought about a slow, the last large, deep mine closed in 1961 then the opencast mine at Blindwells closed in 2000. William Dunbars poem the Lament for the Makaris includes the name Clerk of Tranent as a poet probably of the fifteenth century, some examples of such works exist but his has not been traced. The town has an Asda Supermarket, a small Co-op Food and a larger Aldi Store which is the largest in East Lothian, the town is also home to 4 childrens play-parks. There are also 3 bookmakers – Ladbrokes, Coral, and William Hill, the towns leisure centre The Loch Centre has a swimming pool, gym and sports halls. The town has an RBS branch and a TSB branch, the primary schools are, Windygoul Primary School, Sandersons Wynd Primary School and St Martins Primary School
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A1 road (Great Britain)
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The A1 is the longest numbered road in the UK, at 410 miles. It connects London, the capital of England and the United Kingdom, with Edinburgh, the course of the A1 has changed where towns or villages have been bypassed, and where new alignments have taken a slightly different route. Several sections of the route have been upgraded to motorway standard, between the M25 and the A696 the road has been designated as part of the unsigned Euroroute E15 from Inverness to Algeciras. The A1 is the latest in a series of north from London to York. It was designated in 1921 by the Ministry of Transport under the Great Britain road numbering scheme, the earliest documented northern routes are the roads created by the Romans during the period from AD43 to AD410, which consisted of several itinera recorded in the Antonine Itinerary. A combination of these were used by the Anglo-Saxons as the route from London to York, Ermine Street later became known as the Old North Road. Part of this route in London is followed by the current A10, by the 12th century, because of flooding and damage by traffic, an alternative route out of London was found through Muswell Hill, and became part of the Great North Road. A turnpike road, New North Road and Canonbury Road, was constructed in 1812 linking the start of the Old North Road around Shoreditch with the Great North Road at Highbury Corner, the A1 route was modified in 1927 when bypasses were built around Barnet and Hatfield. In the 1930s bypasses were added around Chester-le-Street and Durham, in 1960 Stamford, Biggleswade and Doncaster were bypassed, as were Retford in 1961 and St Neots in 1971. Baldock was bypassed in July 1967, during the early 1970s plans to widen the A1 along Archway Road in London were abandoned after considerable opposition and four public inquiries during which road protesters disrupted proceedings. The scheme was dropped in 1990. The Hatfield cut-and-cover was opened in 1986, few of the surviving coaching inns can be seen while driving on the A1, because the modern route now bypasses the towns with the inns. The A1 runs from New Change in the City of London at St. Pauls Cathedral to the centre of Edinburgh, the road skirts the remains of Sherwood Forest, and passes Catterick Garrison. It shares its London terminus with the A40, in the City area of Central London and it runs out of London through Islington, up Holloway Road, through Highgate, Barnet, Potters Bar, Hatfield, Welwyn, Stevenage, Baldock, Biggleswade, Sandy and St Neots. Scotch Corner, in North Yorkshire, marks the point where before the M6 was built the traffic for Glasgow, as well as a hotel there have been a variety of sites for the transport café, now subsumed as a motorway services. Most of the English section of the A1 is a series of alternating sections of dual carriageway and motorway, from Newcastle upon Tyne to Edinburgh it is a trunk road with alternating sections of dual and single carriageway. The table below summaries the road as motorways and non-motorways sections, A 13-mile section of the road in North Yorkshire, neolithic remains and a Roman fort were discovered. The total cost of works was some £50 million
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Dual carriageway
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A dual carriageway is a class of highway with carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation. Roads with two or more carriageways which are designed to higher standards with controlled access are generally classed as motorways, freeways, a road without a central reservation is a single carriageway regardless of the number of lanes. Dual carriageways have improved road traffic safety over single carriageways and typically have speed limits as a result. In some places, express lanes and local/collector lanes are used within a system to provide more capacity. A very early example of a dual carriageway was the Via Portuensis, in 1907 the Long Island Motor Parkway opened, and roughly 20% of it featured a semi-dual-carriageway design. The New York City Belt Parkway system, which was built between 1907 and 1934, also pioneered the same design, however the majority of it featured concrete or brick railings as lane dividers instead of grass medians. In 1924 the first Italian autostrada was opened running 55 km from Milan to Varese and it featured a broad road bed and did not feature lane dividers except near cities and through the mountains. The London end of the Great West Road became Britains first dual carriageway when it was opened in 1925 by King George V, in 1927 the Rome bypass was opened. It ran 92 km bypassing Rome to the east, almost the entire length featured a dual-carriageway design. In the early 1930s it was extended all the way to Naples. Most of the routing was destroyed by the Allies in the World War II. By 1930 several US and European cities had built dual-carriageway highways, in 1932 the first German autobahn opened between Cologne and Bonn. It ran 21 km and became a precedent for future highways, although it, like the first autostrada, did not feature a dual-carriageway design, it inspired the mass construction of future high-speed roadways. During the 1930s, Germany, Italy, and the Soviet Union began construction of a network of dual carriageway expressways. By 1942, Germany had over 3,200 km of dual carriageway roads, Italy had nearly 1,300 km, opened to traffic in 1940, the 160-mile-long Pennsylvania Turnpike was the first rural dual carriageway built in the United States. By 1955 several states had built dual carriageway freeways and turnpikes, completed in 1994, the major highway system links all the major cities of the United States. In the UK, although the dual carriageway applies to any road with physically separated lanes. Such major dual carriageways usually have two lanes of traffic in each direction, with the lane nearest the centre being reserved for overtaking, occasionally dual carriageways have only one lane in each direction, or more than two lanes each way
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Leith
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Leith /ˈliːθ/, Scottish Gaelic, Lìte, is a district to the north of the city of Edinburgh at the mouth of the Water of Leith. The earliest surviving references are in the royal charter authorising the construction of Holyrood Abbey in 1128. The medieval settlements of Leith had grown into a burgh by 1833, historically part of Midlothian, Leith is sited on the coast of the Firth of Forth and lies within the council area of the City of Edinburgh. The port remains one of its most valuable enterprises, handling over 1.5 million tonnes of cargo a year in 2003, previous to the bridge being built in the late 15th century, Leith had settlements on either side of the river, lacking an easy crossing. South Leith was larger and was controlled by the lairds of Restalrig and it was based on trade and had many merchants houses and warehouses. This was where ships offloaded their cargoes at The Shore where they were collected by Edinburgh merchants, leithers were explicitly forbidden by statute to participate directly in the trade at the port, to ensure that landed goods were not sold elsewhere. North Leith was smaller but proportionately richer, coming under the jurisdiction of Holyrood Abbey and it was effectively a fishing village consisting of one street, now Sandport Street and Quayside Lane. Burgage plots ran down to the river from each house and this has traditionally been the shipbuilding side of Leith with several wet and dry docks built over time. The first dry dock in Scotland was built here in 1720, a small peninsula of land on the east bank also came under the same jurisdiction on what is now Sheriff Brae/Sheriff Bank. The first bridge to both banks of the river was built in 1493 by Abbot Bellenden, who controlled the church at North Leith. The bridge was a bridge, the revenue supplementing the churchs income. Reputedly Leiths oldest building, it was demolished in 1780 to allow ships to sail further upstream, the earliest evidence of settlement in Leith comes from several archaeological digs undertaken in the Shore area in the late 20th century. Amongst the finds were medieval wharf edges from the 12th century and this date fits with the earliest documentary evidence of settlement in Leith - the foundation charter of Holyrood Abbey. Leith has played a long and prominent role in Scottish history, as the major port serving Edinburgh, it has been the stage on which many significant events in Scottish history have taken place. Mary of Guise ruled Scotland from Leith in 1560 as Regent while her daughter, Mary, Mary of Guise moved the Scottish Court to Leith, to a site that is now Parliament Street, off Coalhill. According to the 18th-century historian William Maitland, her palace was situated on Rotten Row, now Water Street. Artifacts from the residence are held by the National Museum of Scotland. In June 1560, Mary of Guise died, and the Siege of Leith ended with the departure of the French troops in accordance with the Treaty of Leith, also known as the Treaty of Edinburgh
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Macmerry
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Macmerry is a large village located on the old A1 just east of Tranent. The village has a school with a roll of around 100. There is an estate to the east of the town. Originally this area was part of the Macmerry Aerodrome, also known as Penston, there was a railway branch line until 1960 which served the local coal mines. In 2009 a community based project was launched by the Living Memory Association. The Macmerry Lives project collected memories of the school, pottery making, Macmerry is in Zone C of Lothian Country Buses fare zone map, Alongside Gladsmuir, Ormiston and Pencaitland. List of places in East Lothian List of places in Scotland Census data 2001 Macmerry Branch of the North British Railway
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West Barns
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West Barns is a small village in East Lothian, Scotland. It lies 2 miles west of Dunbar and approximately 28 miles east of Edinburgh and it is close to the John Muir Country Park and Belhaven Bay. It was for many years home to the West Barns Inn and is home to a John Deere manufacturer. There is also an amateur football team, West Barns Star. Canmore - West Barns Mains site record Canmore - West Barns, Edinburgh Road, Distillery site record
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Dunbar railway station
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Dunbar railway station serves the town of Dunbar in East Lothian, Scotland. It is located on the East Coast Main Line and is a single platform station, the platform is located on a loop adjacent to the main through lines. It is halfway between Edinburgh Waverley and Berwick-upon-Tweed with a distance of about 28 miles, the line on which the platform is located is bi-directional and along with Syston station in Leicester it is a rare example of a single platformed main line railway station used on a major route. The station, which was first opened by the North British Railway in June 1846, for approximately five months in 1979, this was the terminal station for a shuttle service to Edinburgh Waverley. The shuttle service was provided after the East Coast Main Line was blocked due to the collapse of Penmanshiel Tunnel, buses linked Dunbar with Berwick-upon-Tweed, from where rail services to London Kings Cross resumed. On 3 January 1898, a passenger train collided with a freight train that was being shunted. One person was killed and 21 were injured, the station is fully staffed, with the ticket office open throughout the week. Self-service ticket machines are provided for use outside these times. There are toilets, a payphone and vending machines on the concourse, train running information is provided by automated announcements, digital CIS displays, a customer help point and timetable posters. Level access is available from the entrance and concourse to the platform, infrastructure operator Network Rail and East Lothian council have engaged in discussions to reinstate a second platform here in the future. This would be located on the lines to the south of the present station and would need a new bridge constructing to link it to the existing station building. The station is served by Abellio ScotRail, CrossCountry and Virgin Trains East Coast and it is currently managed by Abellio ScotRail. The station is served mainly by CrossCountry trains on the Plymouth to Edinburgh route with projections to/from Dundee, Aberdeen or Glasgow Central in the north and these trains serve Dunbar at roughly two-hourly intervals throughout the day. Some Virgin Trains East Coast services between London Kings Cross and Edinburgh Waverley call at Dunbar, ScotRail also provides some Monday to Saturday services to Edinburgh. The weekday ScotRail services were introduced in the May 2010 timetable, a year later in May 2011, all ScotRail services between Dunbar and Edinburgh introduced a one intermediate stop at Musselburgh to allow the connection of Dunbar students to Queen Margaret University. From the beginning of the December 2011 timetable, a late Saturday night service to Dunbar from Edinburgh was introduced, the Saturday daytime services were introduced in the December 2012 timetable. The ScotRail services enhance Dunbar every two hours during the day making the daytime services hourly on Mondays-Saturdays, ScotRail does not serve Dunbar on Sundays. Train services on Sundays are two hourly throughout the day except for the evenings where these services are hourly until mid/late evening, the Directory of Railway Stations, details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present
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North Berwick railway station
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North Berwick railway station is a railway station serving the seaside town of North Berwick in East Lothian, Scotland. It is the terminus of the Edinburgh to North Berwick Line,22 1⁄4 miles east of Edinburgh Waverley, albert Edward, Prince of Wales visited North Berwick in 1859, arriving by train. By this time the town was favoured as a resort for the wealthy. To encourage tourism, a new hotel was built opposite the station. The growth of the town during the Victorian era resulted in increased business for the railway, following the rebuilding, the station complex featured two terminus platforms, which extended right up to Station Road. To the south of the station was a yard with ten sidings. One of the sidings originally extended across Station Road onto an embankment between Abbey Road and Station Hill in order to serve the gasworks at the foot of Station Hill. West of Ware Road was a headshunt siding on the side of the line. In 1904 a replacement gasworks was built at Ferrygate, with two sidings on the side of the line facing towards North Berwick. There was a proposal by the Aberlady, Gullane and North Berwick Railway to build a route to North Berwick from Longniddry, however. In the days of steam locomotives many of the North Berwick branch passenger trains terminated at Drem, in 1958, diesel multiple units were introduced on the North Berwick services, and most branch trains then ran right through to Edinburgh Waverley or Corstorphine. With the arrival of the diesels, the shed was closed. Despite the improvement to passenger services upon dieselisation, a period of decline had already begun, the intermediate station at Dirleton had closed to passengers on 1 February 1954, and its use for goods traffic ended on 1 June 1959. Nationally, the railways were suffering as a result of increased car ownership, the gasworks, formerly a major customer, ceased to receive coal deliveries in the 1960s, and North Berwick goods yard closed on 1 January 1968. The signalbox closed one week later, at which all tracks were removed except that leading to the secondary platform. The late 60s were the period of the infamous Beeching Axe, although the Minister of Transport refused permission for these closures, a drastic cut in service was implemented. When the new timetable was introduced on 4 January 1970, the service consisted of just two morning and two evening peak hour trains. This period represented the nadir of the fortunes, with a skeleton service
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Drem railway station
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Drem railway station serves the village of Drem in East Lothian,5 miles from the seaside town of North Berwick in Scotland. It is located on the East Coast Main Line 18 miles east of Edinburgh Waverley, passenger services are provided on the Abellio ScotRail North Berwick Line, and the junction where the North Berwick branch diverges from the ECML is a short distance to the east of the station. The station was opened by the North British Railway on 22 June 1846, the short branch towards North Berwick was opened by the NBR on 13 August 1849, making the station a junction of some importance. The earthworks and bridges on the North Berwick line were built to double track. In 1856–57 the NBR attempted to cut costs by operating most of the passenger trains with horse traction. The horse-drawn carriage used, known as the Dandy Car, had originally built for the NBRs Portobello to Leith branch. It is now in the National Railway Museum at York, when the main line opened there was a small station at Ballencrief to the west of Drem, but this was very short-lived and closed to passengers on 1 November 1847. There was also a station on the North Berwick branch at Dirleton. Drem station consists of two platforms, with the buildings being situated on the Up platform. At the west end of the station is an overbridge carrying a road to Athelstaneford. Both platforms originally extended further west through this bridge, the signal box was situated on the Down side of the line immediately to the east of the station, opposite the original point of divergence of the North Berwick branch. In the days of locomotives, many of the North Berwick branch trains terminated at Drem. In 1958, diesel units were introduced on the North Berwick services. Some main line stopping services continued to be steam hauled until 4 May 1964, thereafter, all North Berwick trains ran through to Edinburgh or beyond. A few peak-hour stopping trains from Edinburgh to Dunbar continued to operate until around 1990, the Beeching Axe almost claimed Drem in 1968 when British Rail applied to close the branch, along with North Berwick, Drem, Longniddry and Prestonpans stations. This request was refused by the Minister of Transport on 19 September 1969, during the 1970s Eastern Scottish ran a feeder bus between East Linton and Drem for commuters, but this was not to last. Local goods services also declined, starting with Ballencrief Siding, followed by Dirleton Siding, Drem goods yard then served as a central goods facility for much of East Lothian, lasting until 6 August 1979. Drem signal box closed on 21 November 1977, when new signalling controlled from Edinburgh was commissioned, one siding in the old goods yard was retained for use by engineering trains and the rest of the yard was redeveloped as the station car park
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Longniddry
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Longniddry is a village in East Lothian, Scotland, with a population of 2,613. Longniddry is primarily a village for commuters, with good transport links by road. The village has a number of local, community based resources including local shops and Longniddry Community Centre, near to the library is the Scout Hall used by the Longniddry Scout Group. The golf course hosted the Carling-Caledonian Tournament in 1961, like many coastal towns in East Lothian, Longniddry has a sandy beach beside the golf course. This stretch of local coastline lined with dunes and is known as Longniddry Bents, 18th century Gosford House, home of the Earl of Wemyss and March, stands on the eastern edge of the village. In 2006, Longniddry and the towns of Prestonpans, Cockenzie and Port Seton were twinned with the town of Barga, Tuscany. Hugh MacDiarmid, the Scottish poet, is alleged to have lived in Longniddry for a short while, james Bond actor Pierce Brosnan lived in Longniddry from August 1964 with his mother and new stepfather William Carmichael before moving to London. Author Mollie Hunter, winner of the 1974 Carnegie Medal for outstanding books for children, inventor of Marks and Spencers world famous percy pigs sweets - Sarah Robertson
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Prestonpans railway station
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Prestonpans railway station is a railway station serving the town of Prestonpans, East Lothian, Scotland. It is located on the North Berwick Line,9.75 miles east of Edinburgh Waverley and it serves the town of Cockenzie and Port Seton,1.37 miles away. Monday to Saturday daytimes there is a service westbound to Edinburgh. Evenings and Sundays there is a service in each direction. The Directory of Railway Stations, details every public and private station, halt, platform and stopping place, past. Jowetts Railway Atlas of Great Britain and Ireland, From Pre-Grouping to the Present Day, an Illustrated History of Edinburghs Railways, Caernarfon, Irwell Press, ISBN 1-871608-59-7 RAILSCOT on North British Railway
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Wallyford railway station
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Wallyford railway station is a railway station serving the town of Wallyford, East Lothian near Musselburgh in Scotland. It is located on the East Coast Main Line,7 1⁄2 miles east of Edinburgh Waverley and it was opened by Railtrack in 1994 and is served by trains on the North Berwick Line. There was a short lived station on the site which was opened by the North British Railway in June 1866, monday to Friday, there is an hourly service in each direction Saturday daytimes, there is a half-hourly service westbound to Edinburgh and eastbound to North Berwick. Evenings and Sundays, there is a service in each direction
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