North Berwick Law

North Berwick Law, sometimes abbreviated to Berwick Law, is a conical hill which rises conspicuously from the surrounding landscape (this is the definition of the Lowland Scots word "law").[2] It overlooks the East Lothian town of North Berwick, Scotland, and stands at 613 ft (187 m) above sea level.

North Berwick Law
North Berwick Law seen from
the seafront of North Berwick
Highest point
Elevation187 m (614 ft) [1]
Prominence168 m (551 ft) [1]
ListingMarilyn
Coordinates56°02′55″N 2°42′57″W 
Geography
OS gridNT555842
Topo mapOS Landranger 66
Berwick Law from the east

It is considerably steeper (1:1 gradient) on its north side.

Geology

Geologically, the law is a volcanic plug of hard phonolitic trachyte rock of Carboniferous (Dinantian) age.[3] It has survived the scraping glaciers of the ice age. It is a crag and tail with a prominent tail extending eastwards.

History

The summit bears remnants of an Iron Age hill fort, and the ruins of later military buildings that were once used by lookouts in both the Napoleonic Wars, and in World War II.

Since 1709 the law has been topped with a whale's jawbone.[4] The bone was replaced three times until being removed, due to safety concerns, in 2005.[4] On 26 June 2008, a fibreglass replica whale bone, the same size as the one that was removed in 2005, was airlifted into place to give North Berwick Law back its landmark.[5] The funding for the replica was donated by an anonymous friend of North Berwick.[4]

Access to the summit

The summit of the hill can be reached by a foothpath starting from a car park located at the foot of the law. The round trip takes about one hour's walk. In order to reduce soil erosion it's warmly recommended to hikers not to leave the established path.[6] The hill top with clear weather offers a stunning view on the Firth of Forth and on the nearby Bass Rock island[7]

See also
  • North Berwick Law, North Berwick, East Lothian
  • Berwick Law, seen from the town
  • The whale's jawbone as it sat on top of North Berwick Law
  • The replica of the original jawbone
  • An anonymous friend of the town donated the replica jawbone
  • Viewpoint indicator on North Berwick Law, with the Bass Rock in the background

References
  1. "North Berwick Law". Database of British and Irish Hills. Retrieved 2018-10-03.
  2. "Law". Dictionary of the Scots Language. Retrieved 2015-05-28.
  3. Read, W. A. et al. (2002) Carboniferous, page 294 in Trewin, N. H. (2002) The Geology of Scotland, 4th edition, London, The Geological Society.
  4. "'Whale' jawbones put back on hill". 2008-06-26. Retrieved 2018-08-30.
  5. Scotsman.com
  6. Bardwell, Sandra; Megarry, Jacquetta (2018). John Muir Way: A Scottish coast-to-coast route. Rucksack Readers. p. 76. Retrieved 2018-10-06.
  7. Sawyers, June Skinner (1999). Maverick Guide to Scotland. Pelican Publishing. Retrieved 2018-10-06.
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