Haddington

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Goats of Haddington

Haddington is a pleasant country town in East Lothian. Our most recent visit was in July last year when we stopped for lunch on our way to our holiday cottage on the east coast. After lunch, we strolled round the town, first passing The Goats of Haddington. This sculpture by Dyre Vaa, depicting two fighting goats, was gifted to the town by the Norwegian firm Tandberg Electronics in 1978. A goat and vine appear in the coat-of arms granted to the Royal Burgh of Haddington in 1296, and are believed to represent prosperity – there is no need for the goat to eat grass when a vine is available. Or so I read on Wikipedia!

At Haddington House, we strolled round St Mary’s Pleasance, a 17th century-style garden created in 1972.

St Mary’s Pleasance
St Mary’s Pleasance
St Mary’s Pleasance
St Mary’s Pleasance
St Mary’s Pleasance

Next door is St Mary’s Collegiate Church, the largest parish church in Scotland, dating from the 14th century and restored in the 1970s. We had a wander round, inside and out. The wheelbarrow in the church porch was part of the Blooming Haddington Wheelbarrow Trail – we saw a few more about town. The crucifixion was made by Margery Clinton when she was teaching art in a rough secondary school in London. This was her response in her studio at home. The green board is a 17th century Burgess Board recording legacies – known as mortifications – given for support of the poor. £12 Scots equated to £1 Sterling, so this one for £18 Scots is for £1.50, the equivalent of about £180 today.

St Mary’s, Haddington
St Mary’s, Haddington
Blooming Haddington Wheelbarrow Trail
St Mary’s, Haddington
St Mary’s, Haddington
St Mary’s, Haddington
Crucifixion by Margery Clinton
Burgess board
Stained glass windows

Finally, we took a walk along the River Tyne, past an old mill (Poldrate Mill, now an Arts and Crafts Centre) and back into town.

Haddington
Haddington
Haddington
Haddington
Haddington
Waterside
Waterside
Poldrate Mill
Poldrate Mill
Haddington
Haddington

A very pretty, genteel place? Yes, but not without its revolutionaries!

Haddington graffiti
Haddington graffiti

We didn’t meet any of them and continued safely towards our destination.

Scotland, UK ,

66 Comments »

  1. Hi Anabel – I spent a couple of days there when I visited for a memorial get together nearby … and thought it was such an interesting town – especially the history of the library (John Gray’s library) … I have been intending to write it up … I visited in 2012! It wasn’t brilliant weather … and wasn’t a good time for me – but I did find it really fascinating. Loved the church, and the gardens … so much to see – even for its relative smallness – yet set in a beautiful area.

    Didn’t know about the Arts centre … but did manage to visit the Heritage Centre – new that year.

    Thanks for taking me back to those days – all the best – Hilary

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  6. A delightful stroll with you Anabel. And so funny about the goats – I see Becky drew your attention to the ones in Wales. Seems the underclass don’t get taught how to spell properly either!

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    • Ha ha, you are the first to comment on that! I’m devestated to think my readers are also uneducated (and had to work quite hard to avoid my iPad autocorrecting without me noticing. No autocorrect when you’re scribbling in felt-tip on an electricity box 😉). The goats were fine specimens.

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  7. what a lovely place . . .and think it must be true on the goats. Just look what is happening in Llandudno, the goats have left the grass on the Great Orm for the flowers and shrubs in the town!

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  9. Another lovely place for a visit. Scotland (and Europe in general) seem to offer these interesting “topic trails”, like the “Wheelbarrow Trail” – it brightens up any town and keeps repeat visits interesting!

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  10. It’s a lovely place Haddington. As usual I didn’t have as much time as I would have liked to explore it properly between hill bagging trips but I do remember the great flower displays and a very colourful small park.

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  13. The gardens and rural scenery are so pretty and so green. I love that path in your first gallery but I can’t imagine how tricky it was to assemble. I’m not a fan of jigsaw puzzles so I wouldn’t even attempt to create a path like this. But I’d be very happy if someone else wanted to make one for me in my garden.

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  14. Interesting place for a wander and thanks for the laugh regarding the smallish graffiti. Someone visiting their Gran and had to have the last word?.

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  16. I loved the goats! Why is the water so brown? Is that something to do with the mill? Or the soil around there?

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  18. The wheelbarrow with the flowers in it has made my day. The colors are cheerful and the idea of having flowers in one is heartwarming. I like the other photos, of course. But that one is a delight.

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  19. At first glance I thought those goats were having a scrap! Perhaps that’s where the graffiti artists got their ideas from!
    Very pretty place, mind.

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    • Well, yes, there are! We haven’t been to most of the islands nor the Black Isle – which is not an island, but a peninsula in the north east. Our knowledge of several other areas is sketchy. So once this pesky virus runs its course, we hope to be out there exploring again.

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  27. I have never been to Haddington but I did do a feature article of St. Mary’s in Magazine Series “What Church is that?” That was a few years ago but I should still have the copy on file. I trust you are well. Still no lockdown here.

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  28. Nice post. I know Haddington very well and the walk by the Tyne is gorgeous. It’s got a fascinating history and it’s where Jane Welsh Carlyle came from too.

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