Today Newhailes was a popular place with some people having a drink in the stables café while others were walking in the parkland with views over the field towards the east coast with no sight of the thousands of houses of adjacent Joppa and Musselburgh.  Children were enjoying the very good play area with turrets, slides and high walkways.  Since 1997 Newhailes House has belonged to the National Trust of Scotland after the last of the powerful Dalrymple family died having owned it for nearly three centuries.  It had been built in1686 by the architect, James Smith, as his own residence but he had to sell it when he ran out of money and subsequently the house was added to and improved and became an important meeting place during the Scottish Enlightenment.  The library was described by Dr Samuel Johnston as "the most learned drawing room in Europe”  and now the extensive collection of books are in the National Library of Scotland.  Since the trust acquired it they have tried to keep it as it was apart from necessary alterations to stabilise and prevent deterioration of the house and the last time I visited it seemed to have a faded glory but was still worth visiting.