Against the Stormy Sea: A walk around North Berwick's Old Town
About the Tour
This walking tour takes you around the old medieval boundaries of North Berwick.
You'll hear how the town developed from its early beginnings as a staging post for the pilgrims going to St Andrews towards the holiday and Edinburgh satellite that it is today.
The tour has been adapted for audio from a tour developed by Dave Berry. It is narrated by Martin White, with personal reminiscences of his family's long association with North Berwick voiced by Dave Berry himself and a Robert Louis Stevenson memory of the St Andrews Kirk, voiced by Vincent Guy.
You'll Hear of
- The harbour's history and use
- The boundaries of the medieval town
- The pilgrim and other trading
- The evolution of its main streets, market and parklands
- The start of its lifeboat service
- The Stevenson connection
- The golf trail
Tour Producer
Martin White
The walking tour was devised by Martin White. Martin is a native of Edinburgh, now lives near North Berwick and promotes the story of Robert Louis Stevenson’s time in the Lothians. He even attended the same school and University that Stevenson attended. He is the President of the European Cultural Route In the footsteps of Robert Louis Stevenson, which includes a range of trails and locations in Europe. He is a regular contributor to the Biennial Stevenson Academic Conferences to which he has contributed on Edinburgh and East Lothian, especially North Berwick, and on other aspects. He is a member of the Committee that runs the RLS Club, which exists to promote Stevenson across the world. Using his expertise on interpretative exhibitions he curated and designed the permanent exhibition about Stevenson in the Coastal Communities Museum in North Berwick.
He created and runs the website www.mrrls.com which provides a great springboard for people to enjoy the Stevenson story in the Lothians. He has also created a widening range of audio performances, for example, developing a specialism in ’ imaginary conversations’, sometimes between Stevenson and other leading authors of his time, including Mark Twain and Henry James. He has produced these with professional actors and sound studios, and even across continents and in French.
Preview Location
Location 1
Introductions
I am Martin White, your guide for this wander around the historic town of North Berwick; a town nestling beneath the volcanic plug that is Berwi... Read More
How VoiceMap Works
Major Landmarks
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The Harbour
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St Andrews Kirk
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The Lodge and Gardens
Getting There
Route Overview
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Start location91 High St, North Berwick EH39 4HD, UK -
Total distance1km -
Final locationLibrary, 1 School Rd, North Berwick EH39 4JU, UK -
Distance back to start location210.25m
Directions to Starting Point
The start is at the west end of Melbourne Road where there is a recessed area for disabled parking and ice cream vans in summer. There are steps beside it leading in the direction of the Seabird Centre.
Tips
Places to stop along the way
Seabird Centre, The Harbour, Lobster Shack, Steampunk Coffee, The Lodge Gardens, The Coastal Communities Museum
Best time of day
Do it in daylight hours. Avoid a high spring tide if you want to take the shortest route along the beach.
Precautions
The area is very safe. Watch out for sea spray!
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