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Introduction to LETTERS from NORTH BERWICK

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INTRODUCTION as published in the 1946 Guide
From the letters which follow this introductory note a picture emerges which many holiday-makers carry around in their memories, as a man will carry a favourite snap-shot in his pocket-book. It is the picture of North Berwick as a whole, an attractive holiday resort on the Firth of Forth which has managed to retain the simple unspoiled charm of yellow sands and romantic rock scenery, harbour and sturdy Scots burgh-town, which makes the much loved background to a family holiday. To this have been added the amenities which have raised it to the ranks of famous resorts, and which annually draw distinguished visitors to whom golf at North Berwick is as much a part of the social round as Ascot or the “Glorious Twelfth”. Curiously enough both these elements blend happily, and North Berwick has become fashionable without losing its original character, for so cleverly has it developed from a modest fishing village that the recreational and other facilities offered seem as natural a part of its welcome as the glorious salty air and exhilarating blue of the Firth on a summer day.
From a distance the town is easily picked out by the dominating shape of North Berwick Law, a conical hill which is one of the landmarks of East Lothian. Underneath its shadow the original community grew up probably about the middle of the fourteenth century, when its first Royal Charter is believed to have been granted by David II – the existing Charter is dated 1568, and was granted by James VI. As if they had foreseen its destiny, the early dwellers of North Berwick set it betwixt two sand bays, in the centre of a coast where stretches of golden strand alternate with dramatic rock scenery, crowned here and there with historic ruins which recall stirring tales of an older Scotland. One of the most impressive of these lies a little east of the town, doughty Tantallon Castle, ancient stronghold of the Douglases, which Scott has immortalised in Marmion: Tantallon vast, Broad massive and stretching far, And held impregnable in war.
But had the first inhabitants catered only for those whose chief pleasure by the sea is to sit and gaze across the water, they could not have chosen more happily, for North Berwick overlooks a wonderful panorama of those “emeralds chased in gold”, the islands of the Firth of Forth, with the Bass Rock, the Craig, The Lamb and Fidra, a rich part of its vivid gleaming pattern. And in few places will you find such a zestful climate – at once genial and bracing, with a wealth of sunshine, tempered by the fresh breezes from the North Sea, and uncontaminated by smoke or other impurities.
As a place that “likes to be visited” it is eminently accessible, with the kind of train service that enables a busy man to drop work and join his family for the week-end, with the minimum loss of time. It is linked to Edinburgh and Glasgow by a frequent service, and during “the season” through carriages are run to and from London. There is, too, a half-hourly bus service from Edinburgh with frequent bus connections with Haddington and Dunbar.
Once there the visitor enters a compact little world of enjoyment – for it is one of the attractions of North Berwick that there are no dreary distances to travel. The sands are easily accessible for little folks whose chief joy is in paddling and castle-building; the harbour and the boats are a constant lure to “boys” from their teens to the seventies, and beside them, the fine open-air swimming pool attracts holidaymakers of all ages, to swim, to sunbathe, or merely to look on at the cheerful, brightly-coloured spectacle – like a poster come to life with its graceful figures set against the cobalt blue of an east coast sky.
For other holiday hours there are, of course, superb golfing facilities, putting greens, tennis courts and bowling, and at night dancing or pierrot-shows in the well-appointed concert hall on the Esplanade. A little further afield the Glen, Leuchie Woods, and the recently acquired Lodge Grounds offer pleasant walks in leafy surroundings, while the countryside beyond is full of interest.
Lastly, as a place for a lengthened stay or permanent residence, North Berwick has an appeal in which comfortable houses set in mellow gardens, excellent shops and first-class hotel accommodation combine to endow it with an all-the-year-round charm. And in addition to a lively and varied social life the perennial visitor has spread before him the amazing pageant of the seasons on this rocky and fantastically carved coast-line, and when summer has departed still knows: The immense illimitable delight, to stand by some tempestuous bay, What time the great sea waxes warm and white, And beats and blinds the following wind with spray.

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Introduction to LETTERS from NORTH BERWICK

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