John Muir Way

Curlew, eiderduck, oystercatcher, redshank,turnstone, stonechat, ducks, geese, cormorant and swans were among the ornithological gallery accompanying our 6.5 mile coastal walk today. There were reported sightings of velvet scoter too but they were outwith our focal range!

Despite the chill and the occasional squall there were so many folk out walking on the sea front that parking spaces were at a premium all the way from Porty to Fisherrow!

Once beyond the harbour the numbers of walkers decreased. We spoke with a solo kayaker who had just come down The Esk. She was watching the last weir before the sea. It was too fast flowing and her kayak was the smallest we have ever seen. Later we saw her, from the lagoon wall, a tiny spot, cork-like, on the turning tide.

Our objective on this walk was Port Seton. Our best laid plan was sunk in a misstep by T. Her right boot disappeared into an ash bog. The soil in the lagoons is primarily coal ash from the former Cockenzie power station. The recent snow, heavy frost and rain have turned parts of the sea wall into a post Carboniferous swamp. We squelched to the bus stop in Prestonpans and came home on a Covid compliant number 26 bus.

We are all captives in our invisible Covid prison. We were impressed by the evident compliance by everyone out and about today. However, we did look enviously to the forbidden lands of Fife across the Forth and wondered when we would be allowed to go there again.