SC500: The End
This week I completed my Slow Coast 500 walk. The last day led from the Berwickshire coastal village of Burnmouth to the English-Scottish Border. There was not much, essentially a fence. And me/us.
Slow Coast 500, was a long-distance walk from Dunnet Head to the Scots-/English Border in Berwickshire along the entire coast of the North Sea in Scotland. The walk borrows its name from the North Coast 500 route designed to attract tourists to drive around northern Scotland. Slow Cost 500 considers the role of tourism in rural places. Often intended as a boost to local economies, tourism can contribute to making or breaking places for local communities and their environment.
Along the way, I was carrying an orange linen tablecloth the colour of an OS ‘Explorer’ map, using it as a picnic blanket to encourage conversation. Step by step and stitch by stitch, I embroidered it along the long way to the Scottish-English border, questioning the role and impacts of tourism today. The stitched route with many of the tourist attractions and SC500 distractions indicated is now finished,
For further documentation, I was sending a daily postcard – written in my walking prose - home to Art Walk Projects in Portobello who commissioned the project. This served as a visual diary of the walk with texts that can be found in the various blog entries over the past few months.
Walk Statistics: 63 days (July to Sept 2023) I 715 miles or 1148 km I 11750 m ascent / 11650 m descent I 1.652.065 steps
Tuesday 11 October 2023, Day 63, Burnmouth to OS E:980 N:585, 15418 steps
Border Bus back to Burnmouth, small Jill Watson sculpture, all the men, lost at sea, the women, they plough on, unthinkable, rare, for me, to like, public art, up, near the line, Waverley-London, London-Waverley, Azuma, LNER, cuddy trail, to get the coal, Scots word for donkey, then its there, the end, long awaited, long awaited, long dreaded, some photos, the cloth, the border, the signs, what else?, a pointer needed… Thank you for all Rosy. Thank you also to Nick my life companion, standing and walking always by my side. Thank you from the path, from the sea, from me. Sad.
Along the way I found sheer endless interesting thing alongside the contemplation that such a slow walk can offer. Below is a (abbreviated) list of both the registered Tourist Attractions (in CAPITAL) and my SlowCoast500 Distractions:
1. Caravans before Dunnet Head
2. DUNNET HEAD
3. Caithness Flagstone beaches
4. CASTLE MEY, Mey
5. Danger sign of coastal erosion, Scarfness
6. JOHN O’ GROATS
7. DUNCANSBY SEA STACS
8. Geos, geos, geos
9. Aggressive Ferrit
10. CASTLE SINCLAIR
11. Wickers World café
12. Wick outdoor swimming pool
13. WALLIGOE STEPS
14. Car on exposed rock, Dunbeath
15. Northlands Glass, Lybster
16. Beatrice Oil Platform
17. Beatrice Offshore wind turbines
18. Patty Neuman Jeweller, Berriedale
19. Pillboxes before Helmsdale
20. TIMESPAN HERITAGE CENTRE, Helmsdale
21. La Mirage Restaurant
22. Crossing river Loth estuary after Helmsdale
23. Brora wool shop
24. DUNROBIN CASTLE, Golspie
25. Chanterelles after Golspie
26. Osprey nest after Golspie
27. Loch Fleet from Balblair Woods
28. DORNOCH CATHEDRAL and GOLFCOURSE
29. GLENMORANGIE DISTILLERY, Tain
30. MOD range Tain
31. MERMAID SCULPTURE, Balintore
32. Nigg old church and Pictish Cross Slab
33. North Souter WW1 and 2 gunning placements
34. Stacked up Drilling Platforms around Nigg
35. Community Cinema in Cromarty
36. South Souter pill box with graffiti
37. Dolphins near Rosemarkie
38. FAIRY GLEN WALK, Rosemarkie
39. Munlochy Bay birds
40. Kessock Bridge
41. Tornagrain planned village
42. Giant dog sculpture, Ardersier
43. FORT GEORGE, Ardesier
44. Ardersier Port Construction site
45. Nairn Water playground
46. Pine trees Culbin forest and sands
47. Watertaxi to Findhorn
48. Funeral parlour and private cemetery Burghead
49. Colourful beach huts Hopeman
50. Caravan city Lossiemouth
51. Ice cream Lossiemouth
52. 6km WW2 contraptions Kingston
53. Garmouth plaque
54. Iron bridge over Spey
55. DOLPHIN CENTRE, Spey Bay
56. Community garden Portgordon
57. Crab factory, Buckie
58. Ship yard, Buckie
59. Cullen Skink in Buckie
60. Findochty football pitch on cliffs
61. Portknockie outdoor pool
62. Cullen pet cemetery
63. Charlie’s cave of French soldier, Cullen rocks
64. Sunnyside Beach
65. Sandend Path closure
66. Portsoy outdoor pool
67. Port House Café Portsoy
68. Spotty bag shop Banff
69. DUFF HOUSE, Banff
70. Seafront Café MacDuff
71. MACDUFF AQUARIUM
72. Tarlair Pool MacDuff
73. Trouphead Nature Reserve
74. Red Phonebox Pennan
75. Bombing outlook tower Roseharty
76. NATIONAL LIGHTHOUSE MUSEUM, Fraserburgh
77. Colourful harbour/paintshop Fraserburgh
78. Thomas B Glover sculpture by Kenny Hunter, Fraserburgh
79. R & S Newsagent Fraserburgh
80. Sunken ship Inverallochy
81. MAGGIES HOOSIE, Inverallochy
82. St Combs Bird Sanctuary
83. Baby seal after St Combs
84. Ratrayhead Lighthouse
85. Shipwreck, Ratray Head
86. St Fergus gas terminals
87. Dolphin restaurant, Peterhead
88. PRISON MUSEUM, Peterhead
89. Grampian Prison Peterhead
90. Powerplant Peterhead
91. Tiny post office Boddam
92. Lighthouse Boddam
93. Paths around Longhaven
94. Giant granite quarries around Bullers of Buchan
95. SLAINS CASTLE, Cruden Bay
96. OLD SLAINS CASTLE, Colliston
97. Redundant cottage with ancient weighing scale at old Slains Castle
98. FORVIE NATIONAL NATURE RESERVE, Newburgh
99. Decommissioning agency, Newburgh
100.Vattenfall Offshore windfarm, off Balmedie
101.TRUMP golf course, near Balmedie
102.Salvage Shop Balmedie
103.Firing range, Balmedie
104.ABERDEEN ART GALLERY
105.MARITIME MUSEUM
106.Harbour Aberdeen
107.New harbour Aberdeen
108.Redundant office blocks around Portlethen
109.Highland Boundary Fault crosses golf course
110.STONEHAVEN OPEN AIR SWIMMING POOL
111.Craftshop Stonehaven
112.DUNNOTAR CASTLE
113.Jordie Moir guerilla vegetable and flower garden
114.Cutty Sark memorial Inverbervie
115.Closed Inverbervie chipper
116.Lobster shop/factory Johnshaven
117.Comorans on Kaim of Mathers Castle
118.St Cyrus Nether Churchyard on beach (Kirkside cemetery)
119.Northwater viaduct at Montrose
120.William Lamb Sculpture in Montrose
121.Shell encrusted oil equipment, Montrose Harbour
122.Montrose estuary basin
123.Potato boxes around Ethie
124.Auchmithie Art Festival with 17 venues
125.Needle E’ on Arbroath Cliff Trail
126.ARBROATH CATHEDRAL
127.Arbroath Smokies Fishshop
128.100s of Campervans on Arbroath Beach
129.First Women’s Golf Club, Carnoustie
130.CARNOUSTIE GOLF COURSE
131.MOD firing range, Monifieth
132.Visocchi’s Ice cream shop Broughty Ferry
133.Large wind turbine wings – Dundee harbour
134.V+A DUNDEE, Dundee
135.DISCOVERY POINT, Dundee
136.TAY BRIDGE
137.Forgan Arts Centre, Newport on Tay
138.Embroidery Museum Tayport (not seen)
139.Stars of Bethlehem, Tenmuir forest
140.RAF Leuchars
141.Norman Church, Leuchars
142.ST ANDREWS, UNIVERSITY
143.ST ANDREWS GOLF COURSE
144.Giant sandstone rock after St Andrews
145.Anstruther Chippie
146.SCOTTISH FISHERIES MUSEUM, Anstruther
147.St Monans Wellie Boot Garden missing
148.St Monans church missing
149.Ardross Farmshop, Elie missing
150.Alan Faulds sculptures, Lower Largo
151.Memorial Birthplace of A. Selkirk (story behind Robinson Crusoe); Lower Largo
152.Methil Jack Vetriano birthplace (pictures in B+B)
153.Football goal painted on wall, Methil
154.Mining museum and community café at Easter Wemyss
155.Novelli’s Ice-cream shop, Burntisland
156.Museum of Communication, Aberdour
157.Aberdour Silversands Beach Coastguards
158.Posh Houses around Dalgetty Bay
159.WW1 gunning placement Dalgetty Bay
160.FORTH BRIDGE
161.Shooting on Dalmeny Estate
162.Chinese Fishermen at quarterly low tide, Cramond
163.Brass rubbings Silverknowes beach
164.Low and long pier at Granton
165.Bricks beach, Granton
166.Immigration Office, Leith
167.ROYAL YACHT BRITANNIA, Leith
168.Sewage Works, Portobello
169.My house
170.ArtWalkPorty
171.Coal chips at Eastfield
172.Large silver shiny mussel sculpture in Musselburgh
173.Loretto Yellow in Musselburgh
174.Murals, Prestonpans
175.Cockenzie former powerplant
176.Oystershells, Port Seton
177.Seabuckthorn, Longniddry
178.Mudflats and saltmarshes below high tide mark, Aberlady
179.Big variety of ‘sculpted’ pebbles, Gullane
180.Enormous LA looking summerhouses Muirfield, before North Berwick
181.SCOTTISH SEABIRD CENTRE, North Berwick
182.Kenny Hunter The Watcher sculpture, North Berwick
183.DRIFT café
184.TANTALLON CASTLE, after North Berwick
185.View of Tantallon Castle and Bass Rock from Seacliff Beach
186.Celtic Cross on St Baldread’s Boat
187.Sculpted Stones along Scoughall rocks
188.Long range of tank barriers in Tyningham woods
189.Tyningham House (massive)
190.BELHAVEN Brewery
191.Volunteer Arms
192.Dunbar golf course
193.Lyme kiln
194.Torness powerstation
195.Primary school fences in shape of pencils at Cockburnspath
196.Caravan Park at Pease Bay
197.Siccar Point, where Hutton found proof for his unconformity theory
198.Vegetable processing centre with many migrant workers
199.Seal colony
200.Baby ashes spot (personal)
201.St Abbs head and Lighthouse
202.Pumpkin farm, St Abbs
203.Bronze statues of mothers and bairns from great storm, Eyemouth (also Burnmouth)
204.Eyemouth chandlery and harbour
205.First and Last pub at Burnmouth
206.Cuddy trail collecting coal, beyond Burnmouth
207.Fence at the Border
