East Lothian is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921.
The Firth of Forth is the estuary, or firth, of several Scottish rivers including the River Forth. It meets the North Sea with Fife to its north and Lothian to its south.
Christopher Murray Grieve, best known by his pen name Hugh MacDiarmid, was a Scottish poet, journalist, essayist and political figure. He is considered one of the principal forces behind the Scottish Renaissance and has had a lasting impact on Scottish culture and politics. He was a founding member of the National Party of Scotland in 1928 but left in 1933 due to his Marxist–Leninist views. He joined the Communist Party of Great Britain the following year only to be expelled in 1938 for his nationalist sympathies. He would subsequently stand as a parliamentary candidate for both the Scottish National Party (1945) and Communist Party of Great Britain (1964).
Broxburn is a town in West Lothian, Scotland. It is 12 miles (19 km) from the West End of Edinburgh, 5 miles (8.0 km) from Edinburgh Airport and 5 miles (8.0 km) to the north of Livingston. Originally a village known as Easter Strathbock in the medieval period, by 1600, the village had become known as Broxburn. The area developed rapidly during the Victorian era as a result of industrialisation related to shale oil extraction. While much of the industry in the area is now diminished, the town has continued to grow following new residential development, resulting in Broxburn forming a conurbation with neighbouring Uphall. It lies just to the south of Winchburgh.
Uphall is a village in West Lothian, Scotland. It is a swiftly growing village in a conurbation with Broxburn to the east, Dechmont to the west and the major town of Livingston to the south west. Uphall is 30 miles from Glasgow and 14 miles from Edinburgh in the Scottish Lowlands. Uphall Station and Pumpherston are separate villages that lie to the south of Uphall.
North Berwick is a seaside town and former royal burgh in East Lothian, Scotland. It is situated on the south shore of the Firth of Forth, approximately 20 miles (32 km) east-northeast of Edinburgh. North Berwick became a fashionable holiday resort in the nineteenth century because of its two sandy bays, the East Bay and the West Bay, and continues to attract holidaymakers. Golf courses at the ends of each bay are open to visitors.
Bearsden is a town in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the northwestern fringe of Greater Glasgow, approximately six miles from the city centre.
Cockenzie and Port Seton is a unified town in East Lothian, Scotland. It is on the coast of the Firth of Forth, four miles east of Musselburgh. The burgh of Cockenzie was created in 1591 by James VI of Scotland. Port Seton harbour was built by the 11th Lord Seton between 1655 and 1665.
Musselburgh is the largest settlement in East Lothian, Scotland, on the coast of the Firth of Forth, five miles east of Edinburgh city centre. It has a population of 21,100.
The Royal Burgh of Haddington is a town in East Lothian, Scotland. It is the main administrative, cultural and geographical centre for East Lothian. It lies about 17 miles east of Edinburgh. The name Haddington is Anglo-Saxon, dating from the sixth or seventh century AD when the area was incorporated into the kingdom of Bernicia. The town, like the rest of the Lothian region, was ceded by King Edgar of England and became part of Scotland in the tenth century. Haddington received Burgh status, one of the earliest to do so, during the reign of David I (1124–1153), giving it trading rights which encouraged its growth into a market town.
Longniddry railway station is located at the southeast corner of the coastal village of Longniddry, East Lothian, Scotland. The station is on the East Coast Main Line, 13+1⁄4 miles (21.3 km) east of Edinburgh Waverley, and is served by stopping passenger trains on the North Berwick Line.
Prestonpans is a small mining town, situated approximately eight miles east of Edinburgh, Scotland, in the council area of East Lothian. The population as of 2022 is 10,460. It is near the site of the 1745 Battle of Prestonpans. Prestonpans is "Scotland's Mural Town", with many murals depicting local history.
Gullane is a town on the southern shore of the Firth of Forth in East Lothian on the east coast of Scotland. There has been a church in the village since the ninth century. The ruins of the Old Church of St. Andrew built in the twelfth century can still be seen at the western entrance to the village; the church was abandoned after a series of sandstorms made it unusable, and Dirleton Parish Church took its place.
Drem railway station serves the small village of Drem in East Lothian, 5 miles (8 km) from the seaside town of North Berwick in Scotland. It is located on the East Coast Main Line (ECML) 18 miles (29 km) east of Edinburgh Waverley. Passenger services are provided on the ScotRail North Berwick Line, and the junction where the North Berwick branch diverges from the ECML is a short distance to the east of the station.
Mid Calder is a village in West Lothian, Scotland. It is located on a steep hill overlooking the River Almond and Calder Wood, around 15 miles (24 km) west of Edinburgh. The settlement has been on a major crossroads since its origin some time in the 11th century.
The area is popular, mostly in the summer months, with local families, holidaymakers, picnickers, horseriders, ramblers, metal detectors, dogwalkers and the occasional kite buggy. The shallow bay is a popular watersports location for windsurfers, kitesurfers and sea kayaks.
Blackridge is a small town in the western part of West Lothian, Scotland.
Gladsmuir is a village and parish in East Lothian, Scotland, situated on the A199 and near Tranent and Prestonpans.
The Aberlady, Gullane and North Berwick Railway was promoted independently to develop settlements between Longniddry and North Berwick in East Lothian, Scotland. It opened its line from a junction near Longniddry as far as Gullane in 1898, but never succeeded in financial terms, and it never completed its line to North Berwick, which already had a branch railway.
