The North Berwick Law

On our recent trip to Scotland Don and I spent about a week travelling around in a rental car. We spent our first 2 nights in Edinburgh and one day travelled just outside of the city to visit Rosslyn Chapel, a site I had wanted to see since reading The Hiram Key about 15 years ago. I wasn’t disappointed – the architectural features were fascinating and I had some diagrams with me from the book to refresh my memory about what intrigued me so much. Didn’t take pictures though.   

Afterwards we went over to the coast to North Berwick (pronounced Berrick) where there is a links golf course of course. One of my plans for this week together was to do some walking so that when I started off on the West Highland Way I would still be adequately fit. So when I saw a pimple of a hill rising above the flat coastal town of North Berwick, we drove over that way. Don parked the car and pulled out his book and I headed off up the Law.

 

 

A law is a Scottish volcanic hill which has survived the scraping away action of glaciers from the Ice Age. The North Berwick Law rises just over 600 ft. above sea level. 

Since the path goes around the back of the Law, there wasn’t much of interest until the top where there’s a great view and a few structures. The gorse was blooming

 

 

and the crags were impressive.

 

 

 

 

A giant whalebone jaw has stood in this place since 1709, each being replaced as it rotted away. This one is a reproduction, put in place in 2008 after the previous rotted-out one was removed in 2005.

 

 



 

There were some ruins

 

 

 

 

a marker at the very top

 

 

 

and a World War Two bunker.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
A great view of the outer part of the Firth of Forth from the top:



 

 

That island in the distance is Bass Rock or "The Bass", a breeding ground for gannets. It's approximately 2 km. offshore and about 5 km northeast of North Berwick. Here's a better picture taken by someone else.