Skulferatu #82 - Braefoot Battery, Braefoot Point, Aberdour, Fife

On a sunny, but very windy day, I took the train out to Aberdour and then walked along the Fife Coastal Path towards Dalgety Bay.  The path wound its way through woods where birds chirped, insects buzzed, and everything swayed slightly in the stiff breeze.  The path then led me through a field, where I ended up by Braefoot Terminal.  A rather charming looking area of high fences and security where liquefied petroleum gas is stored and pumped out into the large tankers that dock there.  Following a path by one of the security fences I made my way into Braefoot Plantation, where the remains of Braefoot Battery lie.

 

The North Blockhouse

 

View inside the North Blockhouse

 

View through the woods to the North East Blockhouse

 

The North East Blockhouse

 

Braefoot Battery was a First World War coastal defence site that overlooked the Firth of Forth.  In early 1914, just shortly before the start of the war, the government bought the land the battery now sits on from the Earl of Moray.  It would seem however, that there had been plans for quite some time to build a battery there in preparation for any attack by enemy forces on the UK.  Construction then began with the battery being completed in 1915.  When finished it had two 9.2 inch guns, which could fire a shell weighing 55kg a distance of up to 26KM.  These large calibre guns were intended for use on enemy ships that may come into the Forth to attack either ships anchored there or the naval base at Rosyth.

 

Remains of one of the gun emplacements

 

Remains of one of the gun emplacements

 

Big bolts at the gun emplacement

Detail of the gun emplacement

 

Big metal ring at the gun emplacement

 

In 1917 the defence of the Forth was restructured and the guns at the Braefoot Battery were no longer needed there.  They were dismounted and put into storage, with one gun later being sent to Portsmouth.  The site was again used in WWII and several new buildings were added.

 

View down through the woods to one of the battery buildings

 

View down through the woods to battery buildings

 

View through the woods to the Royal Engineer store and workshop

 

View along by the barrack blocks

 

One of the battery buildings next to the barrack block

 

The toilet block

 

Urinal

 

A post war woodland plantation now grows all around the battery buildings and though this gave my walk a lovely woodland feel, the trees did obscure what once must have been quite spectacular views from the hill the battery is on.

 

Battery buildings

 

Hut in the woods

 

Drainpipe

 

After walking around the woods, I made my way down to the nearby shore.  Like almost everywhere along the coast of the Forth, probably the whole coast of Britain, there is a rather tragic story connected to this place.  A tale so horribly tragic that I just have to tell it...

 

...in 1887, on a sunny afternoon in mid-May, James Turnbull, a solicitor who lived in Aberdour, decided it would the perfect sort of day to sail out in his boat.  The perfect sort of day to get a good view of the construction work going on in the building of the Forth Bridge.  So, he invited his chief clerk, a Mr Ramsay, to comer along with him on this little jaunt.  The two men set sail and the weather was quite lovely, just until they got to Braefoot Point where a sudden squall caught them.  The small boat they were in was not built for these sorts of choppy waters and high waves, and it soon filled with water and began to sink.  The two men, both of whom were unable to swim, stood on the deck of the boat as the water first reached up around their ankles, and then up around their waists.  But behold, a passing steamer.  The two men on seeing the ship waved and shouted at it, hoping to be rescued.  On the deck of the steamer, the passengers thought they were seeing two bathers in the water waving as they went past.  So, they waved back, and the ship steamed on.  As the water reached up to their necks, both Turnbull and Ramsay realised they were doomed.  They said a little prayer, then their goodbyes to each other before the sea swallowed them up.  Now, on the steamer it so happened that three of the passengers who had been waving to the doomed men were none other than Turnbull’s daughters.  On their arrival home they excitedly chattered to their mother about their trip on the ship and having seen some bathers at Braefoot Point.  A friend of Turnbull’s was waiting in the house to see him and realising that he was not the most accomplished of sailors, had become concerned about how long it was taking for him to return.  On hearing the girls talk he had a sudden horrible realisation of what they might have in fact seen.  He quickly summoned some men, and they made their way to Braefoot Point.  There they found Turnbull’s boat washed up on the shore.  Shortly afterwards, as the tide went out, they found the bodies of both Turnbull and Ramsay.   Two men who quite literally had been not waving but drowning.

 

On the shore at Braefoot Point there stands an old pier.  I made my way out onto it and the wind, which had been getting up all day, battered me this way and that, making it difficult to even keep my balance.  The sea was rough, being whipped up by the wind and I understood how it could easily overwhelm a small boat like that which Turnbull and Ramsay had been sailing.  Feeling decidedly unsafe, despite being on dry land, I quickly made my way back and walked over to one of the battery pill boxes, which stood out on the rocks overlooking the Forth.

 

The pier at Braefoot Point

 

View to the pill box at Braefoot Point

 

Pill box at Braefoot Point

 

Pill box at Braefoot Point

 

There, in a howling gale, I left the Skulferatu that had accompanied me on my walk in a hole in the wall.

 

Skulferatu #82

 

Spot the Skulferatu

 

Skulferatu #82 in a hole in the wall at the pill box

 

Skulferatu #82 in a hole in the wall at the pill box

 

Map showing the location of Skulferatu #82

 

The coordinates for the location of the Skulferatu are –

 

Latitude 56.034242

Longitude -3.321253

 

what3words: throat.points.loved

 

I used the following sources for information on Braefoot Battery and Braefoot Point –

 

Dundee Courier - Saturday 14 May 1887

 

Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser - Monday 20 April 1914

 

Canmore

Canmore - Forth Defences, Middle, Braefoot Point Battery

 

Skulferatu #65 - Anti Tank Blocks, Gosford Bay, East Lothian

 

During WWII numerous coastal areas around the UK were seen as being potential landing places for a sea borne invasion by the German forces.  Given this, in many of these sites, man made obstructions were put in place to hinder any possible enemy assault.  Some of these were designed to make it difficult for landing craft to get into the shore and others were designed to slow down tanks and other vehicles if they got ashore. The Anti Tank Blocks that can be seen along stretches of the East Lothian coast line were one of the obstruction methods deployed.  These were large concrete blocks that were placed around vulnerable parts of the coast to impede and delay any tanks that were landed on the shore.

 

Anti Tank Blocks on beach near Longniddry Bents

 

Sands near Longniddry Bents

 

Anti Tank Blocks on beach near Longniddry Bents

 

Today, there is still a row of these blocks running along from Longniddry Bents to Gosford Bay.  Many are weathered and disappearing into the sand and pebbles of the beach, but others, such as those protected by the trees within the woods at Craigielaw, are still well-preserved and whole.

 

Anti Tank Blocks in the woods at Craigielaw

 

Anti Tank Blocks in the woods at Craigielaw

 

Anti Tank Blocks on the beach at Gosford Bay

 

Anti Tank Blocks on the beach at Gosford Bay

 

Anti Tank Blocks on the beach at Gosford Bay

 

As well as now being an interesting historical reminder of a dark and fearful time in the UK’s history, many of the crumbling blocks are now home to insect and plant life.

 

On my walk, I followed the row of Anti Tank Blocks along the coast and through the woods, from Longniddry to Gosford Bay. 

 

Last of the Anti Tank Blocks at Gosford Bay

 

I left the Skulferatu that accompanied me in a hollow in the last block standing amongst the rocks in Gosford Bay.

 

Skulferatu #65

 

Skulferatu #65 in a hollow in the Anti Tank Block

 

Map showing location of Skulferatu #65

 

The coordinates for the location of the Skulferatu are –

 

Latitude 56.004890

Longitude -2.889890

 

I used the following sources for information on the Anti Tank Blocks –

 

Canmore - Gosford Sands

 

Skulferatu #37 - Cramond Island, Edinburgh

 

I only discovered the joys of the walk out to and around Cramond Island during lockdown.  It was one of these places that I had always meant to go to though never quite got round to doing it.  I had cycled and walked along the front at Cramond and passed the causeway out to the island many times but had just never ventured out there.  One of the few joys of lockdown though was discovering new places to walk and making a point of actually going to places in my locale.  So, for maybe the third time in a year I went on a stroll out there today.  Before setting out I checked the tide times, crucial to avoid getting trapped on the island and wasting the time of the local Lifeboat crew.  I then took a stroll along the causeway to the island.

 

The causeway out to Cramond Island is a rough concrete path, raised a few feet up from the sand.  It is covered in cockles, and I found myself dancing around the path trying not to squash them.  Running along the side of the causeway is a very distinctive looking barrier of concrete pylons, this was built in WWII as an anti-boat barrier.

 

Causeway out to Cramond Island

 

Concrete Pylons built in WWII as an anti-boat barrier

 

Gun emplacement at the South Side of Cramond Island, by the Causeway

 

Gun emplacement at the South Side of Cramond Island

 

View over to Granton and Arthur’s Seat from Cramond Island

 

On the island there is a path that takes you all the way around, past a host of abandoned concrete and brick buildings.  These are the remains of the fortifications that were built here during WWII and are the buildings that housed various gun emplacements and anti-shipping searchlights.  On one of the beaches are two huge concrete blocks, these were anchor points for an anti-submarine net that stretched over to Inchcolm Island and then over to the Fife coast.  

 

Abandoned WWII building on the island

 

Inside view of one of the abandoned WWII buildings

 

Abandoned WWII buildings on the island

 

Abandoned WWII buildings on the island

 

View over the Forth to Fife from one of the buildings 

 

Bunker at north side of the island

 

Bunkers at north side of the island

 

Abandoned WWII building on north side of island

 

Ruined building and rusting doors

 

Concrete blocks on beach that were anchor points for an anti-submarine net

 

Detail of one of the concrete blocks

 

The WWII buildings left on Cramond Island pale in comparison to those that can be seen on the island of Inchmickery which sits between Cramond Island and the Fife Coast.  The island there is so covered in the concrete remains of WWI and WWII fortifications that it looks like a large battleship sitting out in the Forth.  At one point in time Inchmickery was famed for its oyster beds and the ‘rich profusion of sea-weed, mosses and lichens, on its beach and surface.’  Now these have pretty much all disappeared.

 

Inchmickery Island

 

Cramond Island has a history stretching back into the mists of time.  It is believed that the Romans would have used the island during their time in Cramond, however no archaeological evidence of this has been found. 

 

View out over the causeway from top of hill on Cramond Island

 

In 1596 the island was the site of a duel which ended a long running feud.  The feud came about after Mary Queen of Scots had fled to England leaving behind various factions in Scotland who were hostile to each other.  Some supported the Queen, while others supported James Stewart, the Earl of Moray, who was acting as the Regent.  One of those who supported the Queen was Stephen Bruntfield, the Laird of Craighouse, while one of those who supported the Regent was Robert Moubray, Laird of Barnbougle and an arch enemy of Bruntfield.  In 1572, Moubray, who was hoping to ingratiate himself with the Regent, lay siege to Bruntfield’s castle at Craighouse.  Bruntfield held out for a while but surrendered to Moubray when he was promised by the Regent that his life would be spared, and he would keep his property and estates.  Moubray however saw Bruntfield’s surrender as a perfect opportunity to get rid of someone he despised, and while escorting him to Edinburgh, to meet with the Regent, he ran him through with his sword and murdered him.  Bruntfield’s widow was so overcome with grief at the death of her husband that she retired to her rooms within Craighouse Castle, draped them in black and never left them again.  According to those who knew her, she then spoke of nothing but having revenge on Moubray for the murder of her husband.   This obsession with revenge she passed on to each of her three sons who each took a turn in duelling with Moubray.  The eldest, Stephen, was the first to try his hand and Moubray slew him at a duel just outside Holyrood Palace.  A couple of years later, her middle son, Roger, fought a duel with Moubray and seemed to be gaining the upper hand, but he slipped and fell and Moubray struck off his head as he lay on the ground.  A few years after this, the youngest son, Henry, also challenged Moubray to a duel.  There was some debate about whether a duel could be fought given that Moubray had already fought twice over the same issue, but as Moubray was keen to fight again it was agreed that the duel could go ahead.  On Cramond Island, a spot was chosen close to the northern beach with a raised area behind it where spectators could gather.  The duel then took place, and it was bloody and long with both duellists seriously wounding each other.  Eventually as both were stumbling with fatigue Henry found a last reserve of strength, lunged with his dagger drawn at Moubray and stabbed him through the heart.  Moubray gave a sigh of surprise at having lost and fell down dead.  Henry’s mother, on hearing the news that Moubray had been killed and she had been revenged, promptly dropped down dead as well.  Henry then later married Moubray’s niece and inherited much of Moubray’s wealth and property.  

 

Cramond Island has also been the scene of many tragedies involving ships coming to grief on the rocks around it, or people being drowned when caught by the tide while making the crossing to and from the island.  In 1954 a Gunner who was stationed on the island, drowned while making his way back after a day’s leave.  The incoming tide caught him as he tried to wade out to the island and his body was found the next day lying in a rock pool.

 

For many years, the island was used for farming and grazing sheep.  Though now uninhabited, up until the 1930s people lived on the island, and an article in the West Lothian Courier of 1923 describes it as being the only inhabited island in the Forth.  It goes on to describe there being ‘several small red-tiled cottages upon the island.  In the most sheltered corner they lie, and were built, it is said, out of the remains of a large house which used to stand there.’ 

 

It was rumoured that there was an underground passage on the island that led, get this for a nice and vague description, ‘somewhere’.  This secret passage was described as having been lost for centuries and it is probably no surprise to hear that no trace of this has ever been found.

 

The island was also one of the favourite haunts of the author Robert Louis Stevenson and in his youth he and one of his friends would regularly canoe from Granton out to Cramond Island.

 

Cramond Island has also been the site of the DIY ‘Island of Punk’ festival.  The festival lasts for a day with the audience helping the bands to carry their equipment across the causeway to the island.  Various punk bands have played there including local Edinburgh favourites such as Oi Polloi and Bloco Vomit.

 

On my trek today around the island I left the Skulferatu that accompanied me in the ruined wall of the Duck House, a building that was once a shelter for shooting parties and later rented out as holiday accommodation.  Now it is little more than a wall facing out to the Forth Bridges.

 

Remains of the Duck House

 

Skulferatu #37

Skulferatu #37 in crack in wall at the Duck House

 

Map showing location of Skulferatu #37

 

The coordinates for the location of the Skulferatu are –

 

Latitude 55.994815

Longitude -3.291634

 

I used the following sources for information on Cramond Island -

 

Cassels Old and New Edinburgh, Vol 3

By James Grant

1883

 

The Book of Scottish Story

Various Authors

1896

 

The Scotsman 4^th June 1925

Favourite Haunts of R.L.S.

 

West Lothian Courier – Friday, August 3, 1923

Cramond Island – An Appreciation

 

Belfast Telegraph – Monday, August 16, 1954

 

Wikipedia

Wikipedia - Cramond Island

 

 

Article and photographs are copyright of © Kevin Nosferatu, unless otherwise specified.