Bellhaven bridge

Bathroom Chris came to grout some of the tiles so that tomorrow he can put the loo and basin back in, then he is off for most of the next 2 weeks for Easter holidays. At least it means I can use the loo downstairs and not have the pain of getting upstairs.

We had a good journey north, having a detour to Cocklawburn beach, south of Berwick, to have our picnic lunch. Although the sun was out, the wind meant it was cool so we didn’t linger. We also saw that no overnight stays were allowed.

It didn’t take long to zip up the A1 to Dunbar where we parked up round the back of the leisure centre and before long Katy and Colin joined us. From inside the van we can see the sea, Bass Rock and North Berwick Law but sitting outside a hedge impedes the view. However it did shield us from the wind. We had a cup of tea then decided to take a short walk on the John Muir Trail towards Bellhaven Beach. I had seen pictures of the bridge over to the beach and really wanted to walk there. We went via the cliff walk which was delightful in the sun but it was tedious when we got to the golf course as we had to keep stopping while people teed off towards us. The blip is into the sun towards the bridge. I had lovely photos of the sea and cliff stacks but I liked the light on this one.

By the time we got back we’d done over 3.6 miles, the most I’ve walked since Vienna. My knee was sore but poor Katy also had sore legs and Colin has now arthritis in his foot. Mr C, 17 years older than them, had no complaints. Some people have lucky genes.

Mr C gave us all a gin and tonic in the sun when we got back then I produced the remains of the harissa rice and cauliflower, an egg curry, and an aubergine, mushroom and chick pea curry which we ate in their van as Colin got a great bargain of a Hymer with great layout, very conducive to a convivial meal together. Katy brought out a Sainsbury tiramisu which was very nice.

The sunset was beautiful. We’ve had a lovely evening. It’s so nice to be with friends we can relax with!

En route I noticed a road sign to Manderston House. I’ve always wanted to see the silver staircase there but it seemed to be only open for private functions. I googled and found it is open to the public this week so we hope to go tomorrow. Katy was pleased as she didn’t know it was open. Fingers crossed.