I was raised as a Fifer but lived the first four and a half years of my life in Tranent, East Lothian. My folks are both from the Kingdom and had moved across the water after getting married, until returning to their county of birth in 1976. I arrived into this world at Simpson's Memorial Hospital, Edinburgh, and have only vague recollections of the house in Tranent, such as playing in the garden and having fun on a tree swing in a valley known locally as The Heugh, which ran alongside our housing scheme. I had taken my parents back to Tranent a few years previously and we looked at the old street. I also did my first teaching practice in the town back in 1995. Today's trip to my original stomping ground wasn't about past memories though. The intention was to explore the route of an ancient horse-drawn waggonway, reckoned to be the first commercial railed transport in Scotland.
Before setting out, I had incorporated the old trackbed into a planned circular walk and my starting point was the large car-park at Prestonpans Railway Station. From here, it was just over a mile to the centre of Tranent, via Johnnie Cope's Road - an uphill stretch of tarmac. The road is named after the general who led the government forces during the Battle of Prestonpans - a conflict which arose during the Jacobite rising of 1745. Today's wander would also feature a hefty dose of military history in addition to the industrial heritage. I passed Bankton House which dates from around 1700. It was the home of Colonel James Gardiner who was mortally wounded during the battle. An obelisk dedicated to his memory stands within the grounds. A disastrous fire in 1966 saw the house reduced to a ruined shell but a complete restoration project was launched in the 1990s and the building is now subdivided into private apartments. I reached the pavement leading into Tranent. This road was the A1 when my parents lived here but the modern highway bypasses the town. I made my way towards the centre and realised that Tranent actually sits quite high above the Firth of Forth. Apparently the skyline visible from my old bedroom was dominated by the cooling towers of the coal-fired Cockenzie Power station that I referred to as "big chimneys" as a toddler. Their demolition a few years ago wiped a piece of my childhood off the map forever. I picked up a path that led down to the Heugh and I discovered a landscaped public walkway with a tarred pavement and lamp-posts. My formative valley of wilderness is actually an old mineral railway cutting that originally contained the waggonway but was later adapted to house steam-hauled coal trains on a journey towards a junction with the main line. The local pit closed in 1959 and the Heugh was heavily overgrown by the time I came along. A set of stairs led up to my childhood street Bankpark Grove and I ascended to make a brief inspection of the old gaff, texting a photo to my mum who said it hadn't changed much. Back in the gully, I passed the thick retaining walls of Tranent Churchyard, used as a defensive position during the battle and the location from where the first shot was fired. The path took me under the A1 and by a modern sports complex with a full running track and pitches for football, rugby and hockey. I then arrived at the access point for the Battle of Prestonpans Viewpoint - a coal bing sculpted into a perfect pyramid that overlooks the terrain where the Jacobean conflict unfolded. Nicole and I had been here several years ago and I climbed the steps today for another Scottish history lesson.
The Jacobites had seized the crucial high ground the day before the battle. The government army had the superior firepower therefore military strategy was paramount for Bonnie Prince Charlie's men. An assault to the north was pointless as the boggy ground would have rendered the rebels sitting ducks. The prospect of defeating Cope was a huge deal for the Jacobite cause as it would mean they effectively controlled Scotland. After an initial stand-off and isolated flurries of shots, the battle commenced on the open plains after the Jacobites had taken advantage of local knowledge in the ranks to secretly move soldiers along a path through the bog known as Tranent Meadows. Cope's troops were highly-trained professionals while the Jacobites were largely a collection of volunteers with little experience of modern warfare techniques, although seasoned commanders like Lord George Murray supplied vital knowledge. The redcoats were accustomed to fighting in rigid (but highly effective) formations and the melee of sustained hand-to-hand combat was not part of their tool-kit. The Jacobites mounted a "Highland Charge" that muskets and canons failed to halt and the British soldiers scattered, being hotly pursued to their doom. Colonel Gardiner refused to flee and was cut down, reportedly after fighting a last stand beneath a thorn tree. He was left for dead and carried back to his home at Bankton House, where he later died. The outcome of the battle was a stunning success for Bonnie Prince Charlie and the cause gained great momentum, allowing the rebel troops to advance deep into England before running out of steam and being forced on to the back foot. As we all know, eventual annihilation came at Culloden but - for a while - it appeared the true Stuart dynasty would be restored.
The battlefield and surrounding area is now fully signposted and there are many information boards at the bing viewpoint and along the various paths below. It's wonderful to see an entire heritage trail in place and Mum said there was nothing like that when we lived there. I made my way back down to the waggonway route and followed it below the East Coast Main Line. This was the point where the 20th-century pit branch ended but the original horse and gravity system continued to the harbour at Cockenzie. The coal would be unloaded and used to fire salt pans. Ships then exported the valuable white crystals.
I took a path between two fields which was the exact course of the waggonway. At one point, the battle raged across the tracks. Let's hope a poor 18th-century train spotter didn't get caught in the crossfire! Two stone memorial tables had been placed alongside the pathway to commemorate those who fell in the conflict. The surface is inscribed with the names of the relevant clans and army regiments. A mixture of pavements and woodland paths brought me to the coastal town of Cockenzie & Port Seton. It just happened to be Remembrance Sunday and I photographed a lovely floral tribute that had been laid out in the public gardens. I walked past the impressive Cockenzie House and reached the natural harbour, superseded in 1834 by an almost adjacent purpose-built facility as demand for coal shipments grew. I followed a sign to the Waggonway Heritage Centre and went inside where I was warmly greeted. There was a great deal of information on display and I took my time to digest the text on the various panels. The first rails to be installed were made of wood but this proved problematic. Wear and tear meant that timbers were often in need of repair or replacement and the weight of coal carried per run was limited. Nevertheless, it proved an effective method of transporting large quantities of minerals across the marshy lands. A system of cast iron tracks upon stone blocks was implemented in 1815 and the gauge reduced to three feet and a quarter. The more robust nature of the construction meant that wagons of increased capacity could travel in trains of three or four, rather than singly. Metal wheels that previously shredded the wooden rails could finally be employed and there was a significant uplift in overall efficiency with far less friction in play. One constant was the gravity method of descent and the need for a brakeman to keep the speed under control. Equine power was required to tow the empties back uphill - a two and a half mile journey to the mine, where a horse gin raised buckets of coal to the surface. The increased traffic meant an expansion of the dock facilities at Cockenzie was required. The process of loading coal on to waiting boats was expedited by the installation of a tipping mechanism and wagon turntable.
The main railway line from Edinburgh to Berwick opened in 1849. A bridge was built to carry the waggonway over the new tracks but the scale of industrial activity in the region was constantly increasing and it proved more efficient to transfer the coal directly on to freight trains rather than continue to Cockenzie Harbour. By 1880, the waggonway had been converted to a standard gauge steam-hauled link between the out of town colliery and the East Coast Main Line. The northern portion of the original 1722 route withered away and disappeared from the landscape. Fast forward to 2017 and local historian Ed Bethune - who had been conducting a private research project - decided to launch a formal organisation, which became known as the 1722 Waggonway Heritage Group. They rented a vacant workshop space near Cockenzie Harbour and set up the wonderful museum I found myself in today, with the replica wooden wagon outside the entrance. An excavation at the Robert Stevenson designed harbour yielded great results. The remains of the turntable, wagon tipper and loading bay were uncovered - all in surprisingly good condition. The heritage group has been interviewed on Radio Scotland for the popular Out of Doors programme and I also saw a TV feature as part of the Digging for Britain series - hosted by Alice Roberts - on BBC2. I really enjoyed looking around the museum and chatting to the local volunteers on duty. It is a fantastic venture and I'm glad they've had a good amount of exposure in local, regional and national media. There were various newspaper articles on display and a collection of old photographs relating to the industrial history of Cockenzie Harbour. One that caught my eye was an image from the very early days of photography itself! The wooden paddle steamer Tulliallan Castle was shown docked at Cockenzie. She had been built in 1828 at the John Gray Shipyard, Kincardine and did the ferry run across the Forth, becoming obsolete once the rail bridge opened. It was a glorious find and I captured the image on my phone for future posting on Fife history pages. I bought a handful of items from the museum shop. I'm of the firm opinion you can't visit such a treasure trove and not make a donation. The group has also excavated a salt house and even had a go at making their own produce in a replica pan. The poor salters of the past weren't paid a guaranteed wage, but given a pile of coal and told how much salt they were expected to produce from that. Any excess could be kept and sold to local traders. It does seem like an arrangement firmly weighted in favour of the employer.
Hugely buoyed by my heritage experience, I left the museum and wandered round to Cockenzie House. Set in beautiful gardens, it was long held by the Cadell family who ran the local mining operations and established the waggonway. Now in the hands of a community charity, the house features a café, bakery and gift shop. Business space is currently hired by artists, small traders and therapists. A function suite is available to book for events and there are also two self-catering cottages within the grounds. I had a pleasant stroll around the substantial gardens and a lot of families with young kids were going in and out of the house so there must have been something organised for them. Cockenzie House also played a significant role in the Battle of Prestonpans. The British Army baggage train was deposited within the high-walled compound prior to the conflict. It contained the soldier's supplies, provisions and pay, as well as General Cope's personal papers and belongings. Following the total rout on the battlefield, the victorious Jacobites were able to capture a large amount of money and materials at Cockenzie House. A token shot of resistance was fired, followed by a swift negotiation of surrender. It had been an amazing day of exploration and learning. But I wasn't finished yet! My circular walk would take me along the coast through the town of Prestonpans. I then planned to drive to Prestongrange Industrial museum before heading home. As the name suggests, salt making was an important driver in the development of Prestonpans. The name of the town also gave rise to one of my favourite ever crossword clues in the Edinburgh Evening News - Lids are... My dad was a personal friend of the compiler and still mentions this story today, 30-odd years down the line. Other industries in Prestonpans were coal mining, brewing, soap making and a large brickworks. The town was served, for several hundred years, by the harbour at nearby Prestongrange, known as Morrison's Haven. Fishing boats sailed from the harbour and herring was the most important catch. The harvesting of oysters was a lucrative business up to the early twentieth century. The traditional trades have all gone now and the last salt pan closed in 1959. I wandered along the seafront, passing the sculpture dedicated to the town's nautical heritage and the Robert Burns Memorial Shelter - erected on the bicentenary of the great poet's birth.
I turned inland and walked up towards Preston Tower. It stands inside a walled park containing mature trees and manicured hedges. Now a ruined L-plan keep, the tower dates mainly from the 14th century. The structure underwent the usual extensions and alterations over the years but was deliberately burned by Oliver Cromwell's forces in 1650. After a restoration, an accidental fire destroyed the tower again, less than two decades later. It was eventually purchased by the National Trust for Scotland in 1969 and is currently under the guardianship of East Lothian Council. Structural repairs in 2005 have safeguarded this A-listed building for the immediate future. I continued in the direction of the railway station, noting a few historic cottages on the way. Inexplicably, I had missed the Mercat Cross - meant to be one of the best surviving examples in the whole of Scotland. Oh well, sometimes it's good to leave something behind for next time. Prestongrange Industrial Museum is on the outskirts of town and it took just a few minutes to drive there. A vast open-air complex with an informative visitors centre (formerly the pit canteen), the museum is free to enter and I was making my second visit. The first trip had been with my parents (en route to Tranent) but we couldn't access the indoor exhibition due to an issue I've long since forgotten. We were restricted to roaming around the site but these types of exhibit - inevitably in varying states of repair/rustiness - aren't everyone's cup of tea and I think my mum was pretty bored with dad not far behind. I began my visit at the centre and grabbed a bite from the small café. The museum displays were very informative and gave a good account of the industrial heritage of Prestonpans and the lives of working class people of the age. There was also an excellent series of photographs depicting everyday scenes in the town centre. Worth stopping by if you happen to be passing. Venturing outside to the far corners in order to traipse around decaying hulks is of course optional. As recently as the 1960s, the Prestongrange site was a noisy hive of activity. Coal had of course been mined locally for hundreds of years. Salt production too is a process that stretches back to 12th-century monastic times. A range of industries sprung up on the Prestongrange site with its ready access to a harbour and rail links, plus an unlimited supply of fuel from the mine. A true integrated complex, the likes of which had never been seen before. Output peaked in the early 1900s and the workforce numbered well over a thousand. The colliery closed in 1962 and the site began to be cleared. Work stopped when a plan to create an open-air museum was announced. A steering committee was formed in 1968 and volunteers assembled a series of exhibits. The National Mining Museum was formally launched here in 1984. A major attraction was the presence of a Cornish beam engine - the last complete example in Scotland still on its working site. The Mining Museum subsequently decamped to Newtongrange where the Lady Victoria Colliery had just closed. Prestongrange was recast as a general museum of industrial heritage to showcase the vanished trades.
The beam engine was installed in 1874, thus enabling the extraction of coal from far greater depths as the excess water could be pumped out efficiently. The main beam alone weighed 30 tons and the engine could deal with four and a half million litres of water per day. During its 80-year working life, only two shut-downs for repair were required. They certainly don't build modern washing machines to that standard! Other colliery buildings still standing at Prestongrange are the power house, winding engine and bath house. Railway lines ran between the site and the nearby harbour. Another main piece of infrastructure in display today is the huge Hoffman kiln that produced bricks by a continuous process. Replacing the traditional beehive kilns - which were shut down after firing - the Hoffman was never out of action. The brickworks merged with the colliery in the 1870s and finally closed in 1975, Tiles and glazed pipes were also manufactured. I had a good explore around the rambling site and learned a great of information about a place with a rich industrial past. Prestongrange is open all year round but it's best to visit outside of the winter months when the visitor centre is open and special events, such as a tour inside the beam engine house, are offered. The latter type of activity was of course unavailable today due to Covid restrictions. I drove home feeling I'd packed an amazing amount of history - both military and industrial - into a single day and something occurred to me. Spending my initial years literally within a stone's throw of Scotland's oldest railway meant I didn't really have a chance. I was born to be a train buff. In fact you could even say I'm named after my father Ian, but with BR (British Rail) tacked on as a prefix. Yes, my destiny was pre-ordained.
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