Musselburgh Lagoons

Another rainy and very blustery day with strong winds and fallen leaves and the chilly temperature made it seem more like October than June!!  The wonderful vagaries of a Scottish summer!  On arrival in Musselburgh we parked up near the racecourse and went along the track next to the sea wall
where we saw a huge flock of eider ducks and swans at the mouth of the River Esk and also lots of other seabirds, most of whom were hunkered down on the shore waiting until the gale force winds subsided a bit.
The track was a bit of a nightmare as it was almost totally flooded and covered in huge pools of water which was indicative of the amount of rain that has fallen recently.  eventually we made it to the lagoons after crossing through a wooded area with young trees which has been reclaimed from waste ground so that is very positive.  A path up to the lagoons takes you to 3 brick built bird hides with no roof on them? but they do afford good views of the birds in the lagoons and today we spotted curlews, redshank, snipe, shelduck, goosander, various ducks and swans as well as various LBJs so it was a worthwhile exercise despite the poor weather.  We have decided to return in the autumn (not tomorrow but a few months!) and hopefully see some other birds on a nicer day!  As we made our way back along the coastal path the weather improved a bit and plenty of swifts and swallows were flying about.

As it was still early and we were in the area we decided to head for the NTS garden at Inveresk Lodge which is just along the road behind Musselburgh.  On arrival at 930 we found that it did not open until 10.00 so we decided to park up nearby and enjoy our breakfast of rolls and porridge washed down with coffee!   The warden informed us that a good bit of the meadow area was flooded and sodden with water so we were unable to visit the pond.  However the rest of the garden was nice enough and it was interesting to read the history of the place which was fascinating.  A Mr and Mrs Brunton, who were local businesspeople, bought the property in 1911 and began transforming the garden and the meadow up to the point where peacocks and golden pheasants roamed around.  Today the mixture of mature gardens and meadow is a haven for wildlife including a wide variety of birds, bats, butterflies, foxes and frogs.  A few corners of the garden are a bit shabby but overall it is a pleasant place for a stroll and some wildlife watching!