Pressmennan Wood (Part One- the short circuit)

This is one of the bigger woodland areas managed by The Scottish Woodland Trust in East Lothian, and is one of my absolute favourite places on Earth!

The car park is signposted and located at the end of a long (bumpy!) track- it is reasonably large and I have never struggled to find a space in it (although one time, my husband attempted a 3 point turn in our then-new self build camper van and lodged it firmly within a ditch where it remained for several hours despite various attempts to remove it, until the wonderful occupants of a local house finally managed to tow it out with a Landrover Defender whilst very kindly offering us home-baked cake and tea in their home! So that was an eventful visit!…)

There is a map at the entrance to the wood that details the main routes to walk around the woodland but having spent many an occasion exploring this wonderful place, I have since discovered an additional trail which I will also detail here at some point. From the carpark you can take one of 2 routes into the forest- the top route links with the bottom to form a slightly longer walk, or you can take the bottom trail to take a different circular trail (there is also scope to extend this one too). To make things easier to understand, I will break the pathways down into separate distinct walking routes.

Route 1- Fairy houses and swans (the shortest route)

Take the lower trail through the gap in the fence right next to the route map sign. This leads you onto a wide muddy path running right through the heart of the woods. Dogs can run freely here- mine enjoy tearing through the woodland off the beaten track, chasing each other and exploring the undergrowth, disappearing from sight regularly only to reappear 100 yards or so away down the steep hillside to the left of the path- tongues out and ‘happy faces’ permanently on! This walk is super child-friendly, there are plenty of ‘things’ to see and collect- pine cones are strewn along the path and there are plenty of twigs lying about for on-the-go sword fights/ spell casting/ pole-vaulting whatever you fancy really! A couple of hundred meters into this walk there used to be a carved wooden frog at the left side of the path, whos body was decorated with hundreds of pennies that had obviously been hammered into the wood- my kids used to love ‘cuddling the frog’ and trying with all their might to pull the pennies out to no avail. Sadly though, following the coronavirus lockdown, it would appear that the poor frog has been destroyed, and on our last few visits all that is left is his plinth- sad times indeed! A little further down from here you might notice a little path that leads to a tree on the left where you will find the first little fairy-house of the trail up in the tree.

The change in the seasons- it really is magical here all year round!

Continue to this way for maybe 20 minutes or so, enjoying the serenity of silence interspersed with the crunching of leaves the squeltching of mud, the odd birdsound, and the whistling and creaking of the trees in the wind. Keep your eyes peeled for quirky carved seats and fairy clearings- a particularly cute one can be spotted on the right hand side with a tiny signpost pointing out the directions to the treebound homes of ‘Odon and Bombi’ and ‘Jenfrey Hoolups’! Continue to follow the path but be on the lookout for a strange wooden ‘bollard’ with a large round hole marking a pathway to the left heading downhill- and follow that path.

The ‘bollard’ marking the turning point in the path

This new path is a tad steep and uneven in places but clearly marked and winds its way over prodruding tree roots, through forests of ferns, sunlight-sparkled tree tunnels offering occasional sneak-previews of the stunning Pressmennen Lake to your right. Eventually as the path reaches the lakeside, you will find another fairy house in a tree (you need to scramble down the makeshift steps to reach it), and then prepare to be forced to climb over a long fallen tree log, now fashioned with carved out makeshift steps, pass (or jump across!) some little tree-stump stepping stones, cross a small wooden bridge, and finally emerge at a beautiful wooden bench with a equally beautiful memorial plaque- the most magical, peaceful spot to observe the stunning white swans who frequent this hidden mirrored gem.

A stunning spot for sitting and stillness…

Continue along the banks of the lake and you will eventually stumble across an old, disused boathouse, surrounded by reeds and with definite an air of mystery to it, immediately after which the path winds left alongside a freshwater burn and back up to the car park (the end of the path is marked with a bright yellow rock) where I absolutely guarantee you will return to your car with a feeling of fresh tranquility and light in your soul that can only be obtained by spending some time in this absolute peace-haven!

Hopetoun Monument, Haddington

Brock Wood, Spott