High Street, Dunbar, EH42 1ER

The 16^th century Town House on Dunbar’s High Street is one of the oldest buildings and most distinctive buildings in town, with its witch’s hat tower, hosting a clock, a bell and sun dials. Inside, the collection spans portraits of every town provost since 1833, as well as historic heraldic panels and a set of ceremonial robes used by local government past and present. The Town House is also home to Scotland’s oldest functioning council chamber, debates in which included the infamous East Lothian witch trials. There is also a jail with an original iron door and a debtor’s cell, with prisoners’ graffiti in the fireplace.

The Town House Gallery hosts regular thematic exhibitions and Dunbar and District History Society created a local history display within the Town House. In addition to the standing collection, the Society can provide further information from the comprehensive local history archive and research room. The Town House is the centre of the local tourist information service, and there have even been reports of haunting!

Dunbar Town House Museum and Gallery https://www.eastlothian.gov.uk/info/210593/museums/11878/museums_in_east_lothian/3

92-84 High St, Prestonpans, EH32 9JF

In the centre of Prestonpans are two gardens – the Burns Memorial Garden on the shore and the Corronation Garden in front of Prestonpans Parish Church. These unique resting spaces provide a fascinating insight in local history, as well as a beautiful backdrop to a weary traveller.

The Burns Memorial Garden contains a memorial to the Scottish national poet erected at the bicentenary of his death, as well as a Burns Memorial Shelter. The latter includes a mural created by the artist Kate Hunter and illustrating Burns’ poem Tam O’Shanter. Perstonpans is known for its murals – 35 of them are part of the Mural Trail designed by the Prestoungrange Arts Festival Society.

Alongside the murals, Prestonpans also has numerous memorial gardens and monuments to its fascinating history. Hence, in the Burns Memorial Garden, we also find a monument to local industries, created in 1968 by Leslie Frank Chorley. Traditionally, the town’s two most well-known industries were the production of salt using salt panning (i.e. evaporating salt water in large pans, which also gave rise to the town’s name) and coal mining. Coal was discovered in Prestonpans by the Newbattle Abbey monks in 1210, which was likely the first instance of coal mining in Britain.

On the opposite side of the High Street is the coronation garden with the monument to military surgeon Thomas Alexander. Alexander served in all major campaigns of the 19^th century, rising all the way to the position of Director General of the Medical Department of the British Army. During the Crimean War, he befriended the acclaimed nurse Florence Nightingale, and much like her, he went on to reform some of the critical practices and standards of care in hospital environments. Behind the Alexander monument is the ruin of the 14th-century Preston Tower, which has seen multiple sieges and was a prominent base for military engagement. Ruined in 1663 after an accidental fire, it missed the legendary Battle of Prestonpans, where Highlanders supporting the return of Prince Charles defeated the Government forces during the early stages of the Jacobite rebellion. 

Prestonpans http://bikelove-scotland.blogspot.com/2011/08/prestonpans-port-seton-cockenzie-battle.html?m=1
Robert Burns Memorial Shelter https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/robert-burns-memorial-shelter
Prestoungrange Arts Festival (Murals Trail) http://www.prestoungrange.org/arts-festival/html/murals/muralstrail.html