East Lothian – Links to the Past
The famous distilleries, the spectacular coastline, and more iconic golf courses than you can shake a hickory stick at, including the oldest in the world, East Lothian is golf travel for the purist.
While Edinburgh is a perfect base from which to explore some of Scotland’s finest courses, a short drive north east and you’ll be utterly immersed in the world of links golf. There are swathes of East Lothian where you could hit a golf ball in any direction and hit a fairway. Or, probably more likely, given the challenging winds whipping in from the North Sea, the rough. Still, the level of greenery, manicured and otherwise, is appropriate for an area known as The Garden of Scotland.
This ‘garden’ notion is also celebrated at the Glenkinchie distillery, a thoroughly enjoyable and informative diversion from all things golfing. Part of the Johnnie Walker company, their “walking man” statue clutches a real posy – “we grow rosemary outside,” explains guide Janette McIntosh, “and use it in our cocktails” – and the tour features a bracing walk outside to explore their reedbed ponds, which filter much of their wastewater before it’s returned to the Kinchie Burn, the water source from which the distillery derives its name.
Glenkinchie’s commitment to reducing, reusing and recycling also extends to the building. The tour is dotted with comments such as ‘this used to be the maturation warehouse’ or ‘where you’re standing was the tractor shed’. The repurposing of the buildings is impressive – and won an architectural award in 2021 – but the commitment to the whisky is as true to the days founders the Rate brothers started their first legal still nearby in 1825. And, quite possibly, a less legal one before that. From such humble beginnings grew a fine business, and one of Glenkinchie’s claims to fame is having the largest wash still – 21,000 litres – in Scotland. While big doesn’t always mean better, the results here are excellent. Glenkinchie is remarkably light and floral – it’s a very approachable whisky for the newcomer – with a rich sweetness: “I always think burnt butterscotch when I try it,” says Janette.
Head a short way north of Glenkinchie, onto the coast, and you’re into the region’s golfing heart. Quite where the epicentre lies probably depends on who you meet first. People from North Berwick can point to their famous course, and tell you that the 15th hole, Redan, is the most copied golf hole in the world. They can also point to the famous 13th, Pit, where a wall – the border of the old course – remains as a somewhat unexpected challenge to reach the green.
People in Gullane, meanwhile, can tell you that people have been playing the links there for 150 years before North Berwick even thought about digging a bunker. They could even gloat that Gullane – pronounced ‘Gullen’ by the way – has three courses, but they probably won’t. For, while there is a little local rivalry – between neighbouring towns and the various regions we’re covering here – it is very much of the friendly variety. The mutual support is obvious, with encouragement to try every course you can. And, in the case of Gullane, that can involve a whole new take on the game.
At the Jack White shop, Boris Lietzow has a remarkable collection of hickory golf clubs for sale. Sourced from all over the world, some dating back to the early 1900s, they’re all carefully renovated and restored by Boris, by hand. It is not, however, an antiques shop. “We don’t play with hickory clubs because they’re old,” he explains. “We play with them because they’re good.”
Boris discovered the joys of hickory golf around 12 years ago. “There’s not much variety in the modern game.” He gestures to the clubs. “These are much more fun. Scoring isn’t the main thing, it’s the swing, the tactics. You’ve got to let the ball run. Even in this,” – he nods outside to the predictably Scottish weather – “if you keep the ball low you can get a good run, you don’t need super long clubs to get there.”
While the shop is small and by appointment only, Boris, his colleague Ian Butcher, and a bag of historic and remarkably varied clubs – including at least one banned for being “too dramatic” – feature on the Golf Traveller itinerary as does the Jack White Putting School, a couple of hours that will entertain and maybe even improve your game at the same time.
Just around the corner from the Jack White shop sits The Old Clubhouse. Which is exactly what it once was: the 1890 home of the Gullane Golf Club. These days it’s a very relaxed, and very good, restaurant celebrating – almost inevitably – the local larder. The fish and chips is enormously popular (for good reason) and the squid is excellent and surprisingly local: you may associate it with warmer climes but Scottish waters actually have a thriving squid population.
Local – together with “seasonal” – is the watchword at Lawn, the restaurant at the Marine North Berwick Hotel. As executive chef Chris Niven explains, “we’re all about the produce. We select on quality, not price. The beef comes from 10 minutes away, and is a minimum 35 days dry aged. Fish is local. And we let the hero ingredient shine. There aren’t ten things on the plate, or foams, or purées, or tuilles. The halibut is a good example. A piece of good fish, a sauce, a nice garnish. That’s it.” Great golf. Great people. Great whisky. Great food. It’s no mystery why Scotland is calling…