An A to Z of Dunbar

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Folk who know me will testify that I am not a character that does things on a whim. The night before the A to Z of Dunbar however I had come up with the idea of using Sunny Dunny as a starting point for a couple of hours running along the coast. As my mind wondered, I started to consider if an alphabet would be possible. Within five minutes I had come up with 8 letters which was enough for me to switch on the laptop and indulge in some light planning. Dunbar would be the smallest town I had tried to alphabet and the initial route was around 21 miles. I thought it would be wise to do some revisions on route should they arise.

Blessed with the famous Dunbar sunshine, I set out from the tribute to Agnes – the Countess from the fourteenth century which adorns the wall of the Castle Arms. Leading a battle and then providing stoic resistance during a siege against the English made Black Agnes a historical hero. Perseverance much missed today. From this starting point it was all downhill to the Belhaven Brewery. After a pause at the gate it was an about turn to head back into town. I chose to detour through Belhaven village and hope to pick up some inspiration to improve the route. I picked up the perimeter of Winterfield golf course and looking back saw some great views of Belhaven beach, the Bass Rock and North Berwick Law. I had spent many childhood holidays at Belhaven and the place still holds a sense of wonder for me.

The next stopping point matches this – the ruin of Dunbar Castle ( picture at the top) This perches on a rocky outcrop and is now closed for health and safety reasons. Mary Queen of Scots (I recommend the new film by the way) stayed there when she escaped from Edinburgh whilst heavily pregnant. It must have been inhospitable. We must salute her dedication to her cause as it would have been much easier to spend her life flouncing around in Paris rather than trying to regain the crown in medieval Scotland.

Some excellent tourist information boards helped me replan and reduce the mileage over the next few letters. Out went the new cemetery at the south end of the town being replaced with the Draw Well which is opposite the Volunteer Pub only 500 yards from the castle.There was a pub next – The Eagle Inn – the first of many checkpoints on the High Street. Then we had a short sprint down to the harbour to see the Fishermans monument. Shaped like the Arc de triomphe it’s a fitting tribute to the fisherman of the area.



This started much zig zagging as I next visited Grecos Close adjoined to what was Grecos Ice Cream shop in Dunbar’s heyday as a tourist destination. From memory this was always busy, and the ice cream was fantastic. Using another close I ran in a straight line down to the harbour. This was the original harbour sometimes called Cromwell’s harbour as another nod to Dunbar’s historical past where Cromwell used the anchorage during his foray north. Presently , this is used for winter moorings as it offers shelter against the North Sea galesMy plan said Industrial estate next – so I did an out and back two miles to then discover Innes Close within twenty yards of John Muir’s Birthplace. John Muir was one of the most important men of nature of the 19^th century and his exploration of the Canadian wilderness was astounding. Dunbar and to an extent Scotland have chosen to honour Muir. I’m not sure what he would have thought of the A to Z of his birthplace – hopefully he would have liked trying to maximise the local environment. Likewise, the John Muir way that runs across Central Scotland at points doesn’t really exploit some of the remote locations that we enjoy as runners. John Muir was much acclaimed as a 19th century writer. In contrast, folk that reviewed the Kings Palace take away on trip advisor showed the worst excesses of present-day keyboard warriors. It can’t be that bad – surely?

The recce on the hoof during the first section of the A to Z of Dunbar had yielded some more interesting checkpoints than originally planned and shaved about 10 km off the full distance. I was very relaxed entering he second half and confident that this could be completed without having to “buckle up” to run miles beyond my present level of fitness.

I was spoilt for choice for my “L”. I bypassed the leisure pool and Lauderdale House to visit Lauderdale Park which I loved as a kid on holiday. The Earl of Lauderdale liked a name check. This park is a total sun trap with quiet spots , a community garden and plenty space for folk to have a nice time. 600 metres east and back down in a harbour direction, I found the Methodist Church. Like many seaside towns the Methodists had a pull in the community and the church was well used. Perhaps I should have gone in to seek assistance as “N” was a problem letter. I didn’t want to use to football ground at this stage and instead, after a tour of the town centre, found a rather tacky shop. New and used sells other peoples DVDs and Computer Games . I would expect there is little interest in such nonsense here.

As I was making good time, I decided to break for tea and a muffin at the Leisure Pool café. This was close by the location of the outdoor pool which was a big attraction in the seventies. Besides a sign, there is no visible evidence of the pool’s existence. Pity as it was one of the highlights of childhood holidays. Fortunately, the Our Lady of the Sea Church Hall is on the other side of the road saving the day.
Another favourite location is the promenade which offers fantastic views of the sea and looking north, The Bass Rock and North Berwick Law. Best enjoyed on a still sunny day. The path had been resurfaced however the cliffs are high and unguarded so best to keep young children on a short leash.
At the town end of the promenade, the QF Mark 2 artillery gun (see top) can be found. These guns were used in the trenches of World War One and there used to be three on display. Hopefully this will serve only as a monument to the past and not be pressed into action to guard the harbour at any time in the future. From potentially ending lives to saving them, I then went to the RNLI base back at the harbour. Work was being done at it.
Again there was a traverse of the town centre to the Station Yard micro pub which was sadly closed. I had killed time until after 12:00 just in case it would open. It looked a cool wee place and I may go down in the train one night to see what they brew. They seem to allow community groups to meet there and there was a regular meeting where I could brush up on my Italian or take the crochet along for a stitch and bitch ( I presume in English).
The Town Museum on the High Street is the old Corn Exchange and again closed apart from at weekends. The tower is impressive, and it gives the High Street a real focal point. I had avoided counting too many closes on the High Street although I could have made this a very short run as there are about eight different letters I could have collected. Adding four other checkpoints closeby, I could have completed the alphabet in under an hour.

From the High Street it was a half mile down the hill to reach the ground of Dunbar United. The Hallhill sport complex is a fantastic facility housing football, rugby and rooms for indoor clubs. There is a nice bar as well. Previously I had done the Doon Hill ten miler in the morning and watched United lose a nine-goal thriller to Hill Of Beath Hawthorn in the afternoon. A most excellent day out

The finish line was now in site and I still felt reasonably strong although very grateful for being able to reduce the length from the original intended mileage. It was back to the Victoria Harbour. This is the new harbour built during the reign of the Queen of the same name. Interesting area with the castle at the entrance and a battery at the other end which was a hospital for infectious diseases at one time.

Half a mile from there, the war memorial overlooks the bay. The number of names on the plinth indicates the sacrifice made by towns the size of Dunbar. This is again at the start of the promenade and in a place which is well kept and well visited.As always, there is a need for creativity to make an X. I did consider Thistlely Cross however didn’t fancy the five mile round trip and Im not really a fan of cider anyway. Instead I was lucky enough to find the statue for the Mercat Cross which was moved many years ago to outside the town museum.

To be fair the alphabet journey ended there. Y and Z were a bit contrived. I was delighted to see Dunbar in a much healthier state than when we visited ten years ago. The High Street is having a resurgence and the addition of tourist boards brings some of the history to life. Some of the present problems related to the economy and the environment may be to Dunbar’s advantage in the next few years. It may well be that the holidays my age group enjoyed as children may be the holidays that we enjoy as grandchildren. If the sun continues to shine these will be very happy times.

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