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Musselburgh Links lies to the east of Musselburgh. At one time the Links were covered by the sea and an old feu charters the sea covered the low grounds of Pinkie to Inveresk Hill. (In 1856 a well was being sunk in the grounds of the nearby school (Loretto) and the remains of an old oak ship were discovered. This would suggest that the sea was 1/2 mile further south of where it is today.) The Links is common land and was granted to the people of Musselburgh from time immemorial for recreation and leisure purposes. It is land which for years Musselburgh people grazed their goats and geese. land which their womenfolk would dry their washing and it was land where they would play football, practice archery and play the ancient game of golf.
While the golf course was being prepared for one of the Open Championships in the 19th century, human remains were found near to the first green (now the second). It was thought that these were mid 16th century remains from the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh which took place near to the Links in 1547. A battle plan of that dates shows English ships landing(?) on the shore at the Links.
In 1650,Musselburgh was taken possession of by Oliver Cromwell, who encamped part of his foot on Musselburgh Links, where they remained for nearly two months—the site of his own tent being, according to a report in the Second Statistical Account of Scotland, supposedly opposite Linkfield House. Use of the Links was interrupted again in 1803 by a military camp established during the Napoleonic Wars.
The name ‘Musselburgh Links’ appears on John Adair’s map of Midlothian of 1682.
In the late eighteenth century the Links were used for drilling and training the 2000 soldiers based in barracks on Linkfield Road. The barracks were located in a large field adjoining Pinkie Mains. When the barracks were full, the soldiers were billeted on the inhabitants of Musselburgh or accommodated in tents on the Links.
In 1906, WC Maughan wrote “The links of Musselburgh enjoy a peculiar charm of their own... where can you find a finer breadth of delightful old turf, sprinkled over with clusters of bluebells, perchance single flowers peering from the grasses beside tufts of whins vainly struggling for a precarious existence, while the modest yellow trefoil and scented wild thyme, give touches of colour”.
Musselburgh Racecourse
Racing has taken place on the Links for many years. It is reported that a maxiumujm value of £50 was placed on all horses entering races in 1680. In 1711, the winner received the prize of a saddle. In 1816, the racecourse was built around the golf course - no opposition to this event is recorded. Racing, apparently, moved from Leith Sands, near Edinburgh, because of rowdy spectators. The first recorded meeting, a six day meeting, took place on the present course on 7th October. In 1987 the first National Hunt meeting took place on 5th January.
In the 1800’s the September Races were the principal event with a mixed company of gentry and local people. Two hundred bookmakers were said to attend. Visitors were entertained by ‘jugglers, organ grinders, fortune tellers, acrobats and itinerant musicians’. Fishwives sold shell-fish, oysters and crabs; loaves called “penny bricks”, ice cream and sweetmeats.
The New Year Sprint, formerly known as the "Powderhall", is a unique event in the annals of sporting history being the last of the old time pedestrian galas. It has been an annual New Year event since 1870, the heyday of pedestrianism (professional footracing) then the sport of the people.
A handicap race held over 110 metres, the Sprint has been staged in Scotland on or around New Year's Day annually since 1870. Competitors, both amateur and professional, vie for prize money totalling over eight thousand pounds.
The 131st New Year Sprint held in December 1999 was held at Musselburgh Racecourse - the first time the Sprint had ever been staged at such a venue. Bad weather thwarted attempts to stage the final alongside the Christmas National Hunt meeting, as it did the following year. In December 2001, for the 133rd New Year Sprint, runners and horses finally competed in the same meeting.
Musselburgh Fair Day Races
Musselburgh Fair Day Races are held at Musselburgh Racecourse. The very best pacing and trotting horses from the U.K. and abroad come to Musselburgh to race. The event, famous for its unique atmosphere and enthusiasm of its supporters, is traditionally held on a Tuesday evening and the following Wednesday afternoon during the first two weeks in August. According to Musselburgh Town Council records, the first documented running of what became known as The Musselburgh Fair Day Races took place on Musselburgh Links in August 1893.
The Royal Company of Archers
The Royal Company of Archers originated from a private archery club formed in 1676. Since its appointment as the Sovereign's 'Body Guard in Scotland' for George IV's visit to Edinburgh in 1822, the Royal Company of Archers has served as bodyguard to each successive Sovereign.
The Royal Company of Archers still functions as a private archery club. In return for being endowed with "perpetual access to all public butts, plains and pasturages legally allotted for shooting arrows", the Royal Company is required to present to the Sovereign three barbed arrows on request.
On Musselburgh Links, in June of each year, the Royal Company of Archers shoot for the Musselburgh Silver Arrow and the honour of adding a medal to this trophy. Although entry has been restricted to the ‘Archers’ since 1676, the oldest medal dates from 1603. The Musselburgh Silver Arrow is reputed to be the oldest sporting trophy in the world still the subject of regular competition.
The John Muir Way
 Dunbar, East Lothian, a few miles down the coast from Musselburgh Links is the birthplace of John Muir (1838-1914), the pioneering conservationist, founder member of the Sierra Club and one of the driving forces behind the establishment of National Parks in USA.
Muir, who loved and understood the coastal environment, would have been aware of the Links and their important role in nature for the plants, animals and birds of the littoral. The Links and the reclaimed areas of the ash lagoon represent a small but important area for a large range of wildlife and provide a demonstration of how woodlands on a brown-field site can regenerate the environment. John Muir would surely have approved.
“ When I was a boy in Scotland I was fond of everything that was wild… I loved
to wander the fields to hear the birds sing, and along the shore to
gaze and wonder at the seaweeds, eels and crabs in the
pools when the tide was low..”
John Muir
It is ironic that East Lothian Council, which promotes the county’s historic links with this farsighted environmentalist, should also be behind proposals which will irrevocably change and damage one of the area’s historic natural sites. What could have been a first class example of how to turn a brown-field site into an environmental asset is now going to disappear under paths, buildings, sports pitches racetracks and ugly intrusive lighting.
In its Community Planning Process, the East Lothian Council is committed to:
“Seek to protect, conserve and improve the diversity of wildlife, plants
and habitats in our coast, countryside, towns and villages.”
Community Planning, Working together for a better East Lothian,
East Lothian County Council publication
Can such a bold environmental policy really put bookies before birds?
“Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and
pray in where nature may heal and give strength
to body and soul alike.”
The Yosemite (1912) John Muir
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