As I walked near Newbattle Abbey beside the river with snowdrops lining the banks (extra)  in places, I thought of the thousands who had used the Salters Road route during the last eight hundred years. Now the once busy path is almost devoid of anyone apart from the occasional dog walker.  Salt used to be a very valuable commodity especially for food preservation and in Britain there are several ‘Salt Ways.’  Here Salters Road linked the abbey to Prestonpans where salt was ‘panned’ from sea water and the monks would have carted the salt and other goods along the route, including coal and farm produce.  A sign beside the path says
Salters Road was originally used by the Cistercian monks of Newbattle Abbey for transporting salt and other essential goods to the Abbey from Prestoungrange.   The monks would give those whose lands they crossed a gift of a ‘Newbattle Cart’ filled with timber and building material in order to stay on good terms with them. In 1526 the road was formalised when James V granted the monks permission to build a road leading to the harbour at Prestoungrange .  Salters Road continued to be an important trade route after the dissolution of the Abbey.