Dunbar, which is a small town on the East Lothian coast 28
miles east of Edinburgh, may be quiet and peaceful these days, but it had a
turbulent past.
Generals taking armies between England and the Scottish
capital preferred the coastal route because they could keep their men supplied
from the sea, and Dunbar was therefore a place to be defended or attacked,
depending on whether one was Scottish or English.
In 1296 the defenders were routed by the troops of King
Edward I, but things were different in 1338 when “Black Agnes”, the Countess of
March and Dunbar, defended the town’s castle for six weeks from an attack led
by the Earl of Salisbury. She was relieved by a raiding party from the sea.
The bloodiest battle to take placed at Dunbar was in 1650, when
Oliver Cromwell’s Roundheads were trapped in the town by Scottish Covenanters
and outnumbered by two to one. The Scots held a strong position on Doon Hill
but unwisely abandoned it in order to prepare for a battle on the plain below
the hill. Cromwell spotted this move and surprised the Scots with a dawn raid
that completely defeated them.
Five years later Cromwell gave the town funds to enable them
to build a new harbour.
Today, Dunbar only has a small fishing fleet but is popular
with walkers and golfers. It was the birthplace of John Muir (1838-1914) who
spent most of his life in the United States, where he became a noted
environmentalist and the founder of Yosemite National Park. His birthplace in
Dunbar is now a museum.
The ruined 14th century castle overlooks the
harbour mouth.
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