Local

PINK SKIES AT EYEBROUGHY

24th February 2022

I was unsure of whether to share this post directly after my previous one, as it’s the same walk, leading to the same beach, but the light was incredible and I couldn’t resist sharing this place again so soon. It’s funny as in my bio at the bottom of the home page I’ve written: ‘this is my blog about coastal living and exploring Scotland,’ and yet, really, it’s become my blog about walks in East Lothian. We haven’t explored much beyond our local area since 2020 – and I’m sure we’re not alone in this.

We did travel to John O’Groats last autumn, and I should share about that trip here, but we just haven’t been taking our usual trips to Fife and Perthshire or the Borders and Northumberland. Partly that’s been because of COVID, but also, Storm Arwen impacted on so many of our favourite places back in November, from Cragside in Northumberland to Tentsmuir in Fife, so we’ve been keeping more local.

But then, on the plus side, it’s meant we’ve been appreciating East Lothian and our local walks even more. 2020 changed this and that appreciation isn’t going anywhere.

On this Sunday in January, we’d got our timings a little off. That’s the thing about midwinter walks: even though you know that the light will fade quickly with our abbreviated afternoons of daylight, it can still come as a surprise when you’re out, feeling as if you have a few hours of walking ahead, and suddenly the sun is setting. And so, on this day, we reached Longskelly Rocks above, which is near the start of this walk, and the sky was already streaked with the glow of the setting sun. This was to be a shorter walk than planned, but it was a beautiful one as we reached Eyebroughy beach just as the sky was painted with orange and coral hues.

And for anyone who’s looking at this photo below and asking: is that a house? Ehm, no. It’s the half way house – a place for a rest and a snack – for members of the Renaissance Club (the website for the private golf club opens to drone footage of this spot above Eyebroughy beach), although yes, it would make the most spectacular spot for a house. The second photo below shows the view.

One of the things that I’m most fascinated by on all these coastal walks is the diversity in the rock formations – and I wish I knew more about this. Each beach has its own character thanks to the hues and forms of the rocks, and Eyebroughy beach is a striking example of this with its black rock formations, and with tendrils of rock snaking out from the shore.

As we paused here, at these rocks above, the light was fading quickly, and those coral hues shifted to pink. We headed back along the shore, chasing the light on our return to Yellowcraig as the moon glowed over the water, and as the light from Fidra’s lighthouse pierced the darkness.

Yellowcraig to Eyebroughy beach, East Lothian, January 2022.