Active Lagoons

As you leave Musselburgh, heading east there's a large area of land that Scottish Power have, over the past few decades, reclaimed from the sea. I think this consists of dumping a whole lot of stuff there with a vague notion of landscaping it at some point in the future. There's been a lot of success here; there's a great municipal pond and several lagoons which have become stopping places for a wide range of migratory birds. Hides have been built and the place has been designated a nature reserve.

There's also a place, off the beaten track where sludge and slurry and sediment ooze out of a pipe into a lake-shaped hole. Whatever it is separates and forms a crust which slowly evaporates into a broken surface that is part froth, part mud, part semi-solid ground. The hole is surrounded by strange, powdery substance that is very unpredictable underfoot and sticks to your shoes like wet cement.

I took the kids there for a walk this afternoon.