Portobello Beach Edinburgh Day 322

Rails of a different kind today. These were laid down in 1880 on the pier at Port Seton. They run right to the very end of the stone breakwater to have enabled the herring landed here in the evening to be on the London restaurant tables the following morning courtesy of the LNER express fish trains.

This evening I spoke with a Polish crew member of a prawn catching boat setting out on a perfectly calm sea to fish up to 34 miles from Port Seton returning in the early morning with fresh prawns, some of which may be bound for all those hospitality marquees that have been set up aound Muirfield Golf course for the Open which begins in earnest tomorrow.

My blip stretches my Portobello Beach brief to its most easterly limit and shows, on the left. the twin towers of the decommissioned Cockenzie Power Station which have frequently featured in my beach blips. I get the impression residents of Port Seton will not be sorry to see the back of its brooding presence over this picturesque fishing village.

The fish and chips here were delicious. The post prandial walk on Yellowcraig beach at sunset was magical. The beach was virtually deserted and I assume the fear of being engulfed by golf fans was the reason that we actually had the beach to ourselves this evening.