East Lothian facts for kids

Quick facts for kids East Lothian East Lowden Lodainn an Ear Haddingtonshire
Bass Rock off the coast of East Lothian
Flag Council logo
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Country	Scotland
Lieutenancy area	East Lothian
Admin HQ	Haddington
Government
• Type	Unitary authority
• Body	East Lothian Council
Area
• Total	262.2 sq mi (679.2 km2)
Area rank	Ranked 18th
Population  (2020)
• Total	105,790
• Rank	Ranked 21st
• Density	403.41/sq mi (155.757/km2)
ONS code	S12000010
ISO 3166 code	GB-ELN
Largest city	Musselburgh

East Lothian ( Scots: East Lowden; Scottish Gaelic: Lodainn an Ear) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area. The county was also known as Haddingtonshire.

In 1975, the historic county was incorporated for local government purposes into Lothian Region as East Lothian District, with some slight alterations of its boundaries. The Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 later created East Lothian as one of 32 modern council areas. East Lothian lies south of the Firth of Forth in the eastern central Lowlands of Scotland. It borders Edinburgh to the west, Midlothian to the south-west and the Scottish Borders to the south. Its administrative centre and former county town is Haddington while the largest town is Musselburgh.

Haddingtonshire has ancient origins and is named in a charter of 1139 as Hadintunschira and in another of 1141 as Hadintunshire. Three of the county's towns were designated as royal burghs: Haddington, Dunbar, and North Berwick.

As with the rest of Lothian, it formed part of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Bernicia and later the Kingdom of Northumbria. Popular legend suggests that it was at a battle between the Picts and Angles in the East Lothian village of Athelstaneford in 823 that the flag of Scotland was conceived. From the 10th century, Lothian transferred from the Kingdom of England to the authority of the monarchs of Scotland. It was a cross-point in battles between England and Scotland and later the site of a significant Jacobite victory against Government forces in the Battle of Prestonpans. In the 19th century, the county is mentioned in the Gazetteer for Scotland as chiefly agricultural, with farming, fishing and coal-mining forming significant parts of the local economy.

Places of interest

Towns and villages

Civil Parishes

East Lothian or Haddingtonshire Civil Parish map.

East Lothian Council

East Lothian Council is based at John Muir House, Haddington

Council political compositions

• Labour - 10
• Scottish National Party - 8
• Conservative - 3
• Independent - 1
• Independent Nationalist - 1

On the 18th September 2014, East Lothian like most council areas, said "No" in the Scottish Independence Referendum at 61.7% with a 87.9% turnout rate.

Demography

The population of East Lothian as of 2019 is 105,790. This is an increase of over 6,000 since 2011 and this is projected to reach over 120,000 by the 2030s. The fastest growing district in East Lothian is the Tranent, Wallyford and Macmerry ward which is expected to see its population of just over 20,000 increase to just under 30,000 by 2026.

Ethnicity

Population by major ethnic group in East Lothian according to the 2011 Scottish Census is as follows:

Education

Loretto School's Pinkie House

There are a range of schools in the county, including six state secondaries: Dunbar Grammar School, Knox Academy (formerly the Grammar School) in Haddington, Musselburgh Grammar School, North Berwick High School, Preston Lodge High School in Prestonpans and Ross High School in Tranent.

There are two independent schools in the county. Loretto School is a day and boarding school in Musselburgh founded in 1827 and Belhaven Hill School, established in 1923 is a smaller preparatory school in Dunbar also providing boarding.

In 2007, Queen Margaret University began its move to a new, purpose-built campus in Musselburgh within East Lothian, providing it with its first university.

Transport

Road

The A1 road travels through East Lothian where it meets the Scottish Borders southbound and Edinburgh northbound. The A1 throughout East Lothian is dual carriageway and major junctions include Dunbar, Haddington, Tranent, Prestonpans and Musselburgh.

Starting in Leith, the A199 road also travels through East Lothian beginning at Musselburgh and passing through Wallyford, Tranent, Macmerry and Haddington before joining the A1 in West Barns.

Some non-primary routes in East Lothian are the A198, A1087, A6093 and A6137 roads.

Public transport

Dunbar railway station, before a bridge was built over the tracks and a platform on the other side.

East Lothian is served by seven railway stations: Dunbar and Musselburgh on the East Coast Main Line; and North Berwick, Drem, Longniddry, Prestonpans and Wallyford on the North Berwick Line. Rail service operators which travel through and stop at stations in the area include: ScotRail on both lines; and CrossCountry and London North Eastern Railway on the East Coast Main Line.

Bus operators in East Lothian are: Lothian Buses and its subsidiary East Coast Buses, Eve Coaches of Dunbar, Prentice of Haddington and Borders Buses. East Coast Buses is the main bus service provider connecting the towns and villages of East Lothian to Edinburgh. The company has depots in North Berwick and Musselburgh.

Images for kids

• 

  Dirleton Castle

• 

  County Buildings in Court Street, Haddington, the former headquarters of East Lothian County Council

• 

  Towns & Villages of East Lothian

• 

  Orographical Map of East Lothian

• 

  The Whiteadder Reservoir

• 

  Bass Rock in the Firth of Forth

• 

  Traprain Law

• 

  Geological Map of East Lothian