Aberlady Bay

A historical perspective, drawn from the Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland: A Survey of Scottish Topography, Statistical, Biographical and Historical, edited by Francis H. Groome and originally published in parts by Thomas C. Jack, Grange Publishing Works, Edinburgh between 1882 and 1885.

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Aberlady Bay, an encurvature of the Firth of Forth, on the coast of Haddington and Edinburgh shires, from Gullane Point to Leith, measures 12 miles along the chord, and 3½ thence to the inmost recess of the shore. The view over it, from Arthur's Seat, includes the coast towns of Portobello, Musselburgh, and Presto1pans: the fertile slopes of Haddingtonshire, with the Garleton Hills on the right, and the conical hill of North Berwick Law in the distant front, and is exquisitely beautiful. It was from Aberlady Bay, according to legend, that Thaney, the virgin mother of St Kentigern, was cast adrift in a coracle.

An accompanying 19th C. Ordnance Survey map is available, or use the map tab to the right of this page.

Note: This text has been made available using a process of scanning and optical character recognition. Despite manual checking, some typographical errors may remain. Please remember this description dates from the 1880s; names may have changed, administrative divisions will certainly be different and there are known to be occasional errors of fact in the original text, which we have not corrected because we wish to maintain its integrity. This information is provided subject to our standard disclaimer