Trains
The main line railway between London and Edinburgh skirted East
Lothian, running along the coast. A line running as far as
Ormiston, was built in 1867 to serve the many mines in the area. It
was later extended to Macmerry, Pencaitland and finally Gifford in
1901.
The railway continued to serve these communities, carrying
passengers, coal, agricultural goods and whisky. After a series of
disasters the line was closed in 1965. Today much of the route
between Crossgatehall (near Cousland) and West Saltoun is used as a
walk and cycleway. The total distance is 7 miles (11 km) but it is
possible to use short sections of the route, which connects into
many other paths.
This cache is at the southern end of the Walkway. The start
point is Saltoun Station where there is a parking area. Not much of
the station now remains, but there is an old signal gantry near the
start of the walk and a information board a little further on.
And Drams
When you get to the cache site, you can see Glenkinchie
Distillery across the fields. The distillery lies in the glen of
the Kinchie a tributary of the Tyne which runs through Haddington
to the sea near Dunbar. The name 'Kinchie' is a corruption of 'De
Quincey', these being the original owners of the lands upon which
the distillery is built. The water comes from the Lammermuir hills
and is slightly chalky which, it is said, modifies the
characteristic Lowland malt taste, making it drier.
Glenkinchie was founded in the 1830s by the brothers John and
George Rate. It closed in the middle of the century and was rebuilt
in 1890 then again between the two World Wars. It is now part of
the Diageo drinks empire.
Marketing malt whisky as "single malts" is a modern phenomenon.
The product of local distilleries was usually pretty rough (Burns
has some damning things to say on the subject) and the skill of
those who produced palatable blended whisky (often local grocers)
was much celebrated and blends often carried their names into
national prominence - and still do (names such as Johnnie
Walker and Wm Haig for example). Glenkinchie has been a
component of 'Dimple' Haig for many years and has been sold as a
"single malt" only since the 1980s.
Glenkinchie is open to visitors; the distillery boasts its own
bowling green and a museum of whisky production, including a model
of the distillery which was built for the 1924 Empire Exhibition by
the firm of Basset-Lowke, better known for their model steam
engines.