A Grand Day out in East Lothian

The weather people got it right today! It was glorious. It was, as predicted, a warm, still, blue sky, fluffy clouded day. Perfect for a jaunt to East Lothian.

We had a tip off about Gosford Farm Shop, which also has a cafe, and an estate you can freely wander through. The signs said the ponds were closed, due to recent rain, but we carried on regardless, and found that the ponds were very much open. They were fantastic. What an idyllic setting for the lucky, mainly greylag, geese who live there. They even had some huge sheep with great long legs that Chamaeleo, a city dweller, mistook for cows. Mind you, I thought I saw a donkey on the beach last week, and it was a deerhound.

As we approached the first pond, Chamaeleo, whose ears are attuned for such things, heard... YES! Goslings!! There were a pair of adults whose heads stuck up through the daffodils on the bank, watching us. And then, as we approached, the five wee cute goslings were being ushered to the safety of the water. SOOO cute. There was another family on another pond and we witnessed a swan swooping in to chase them, and Mr Greylag bravely defended his family.

There was a brilliant narky sign on the gate asking people to pick up their dog poo and not to throw the bag of poo in the trees or they would be shot, or words to that effect. Quite right too. But we did see a bag of dog poo just left on the grass. At one pond a spaniel came charging along, jumping into the pond and swimming after the ducks, then charging round again. The owner was ambling along, not taking a blind bit of notice, yakking away on his mobile while his dog wreaked havoc. If I owned that land I'd say No Dogs. Irresponsible dog owners spoil it for others.

We spent ages there, going round the many ponds, trying to get good shots of the goslings, but of course, they'd just all move to the other side. But Chamaeleo got lots of excellent shots, and will be hard pressed not to use one of them today.

From there we went to Dirleton Pub, where Chamaeleo shouted us lunch. JR and I had our usual breaded haddock and chips, but Chamaeleo had pigeon breast on a sweet potato rosti with a red wine jus and crumbed stilton - not your usual pub fare!

Back along the coast and had a compulsory stop at the Longniddry Bents. The tide was in and the sea was like silk. It was just glorious. I had my hat off at various times during the day, and could have taken my jacket off. Didn't. But could have.

There were two young brothers playing with their Star Wars wands, and one of them explained to me that Star Wars was a film that you had to be 12 to watch, but he had watched it and he was only 10. They made bubbles for me with their Stars Wars wands after they had had a battle. They had a big labradoodle called Madge who was busy eating all sorts of awful things found on the beach. I had a chat with the boys' grandparents, who didn't mind me taking photos, and even got Madge to pose.

A few stops on the homeward journey - Port Seton harbour, the SOC (Scottish Ornithologist's Club), where we had coffee and a chat with the man there, who had recently been to Ecuador on holidays, as you do. There was a very good exhibition of bird paintings. And a final stop at Mussleburgh for a famous ice cream, but every man and his dog already had the same idea. But it was worth wait.

What a grand day out. I suspect I shall sleep soundly again tonight.