THE first and latter stages of this ride are dominated by Berwick Law, at 187m (614 feet), one of the most prominent landmarks in East Lothian.
The climb to the top is rewarded by an incredible panoramic view of the Fife coastline, the Firth of Forth and the Lothians.
A memorial on the summit guides your eye and helps you to identify all the islands and the surrounding mountain ranges. T
hey include the snow-topped Grampians, the Ochil Hills, the Pentlands, Moorfoots and the Lammermuirs.
East and West Lomond, across the Firth in Fife, seem very close, but in fact are 38km away.
Many of the great individual mountains are indicated too - Glas Maol, 100 km to the north, Ben Vorlich, nine km further and Ben Lomond, the most southerly of the Munros, an incredible 121 km to the west. However, visibility would need to be first-class for that sighting.
Not surprisingly there is evidence of human occupation on the Law from the Iron Age, through the Roman period and possibly as late as the Middle Ages.
There are some historic finds in North Berwick museums. More recent evidence can still be seen. The old ruin near the summit is the remains of a look-out built in 1803 when Napoleon was threatening to invade Britain, and there are the famous whale's jawbones.
The present set was erected in 1936, but the first were carried to the top in 1709.
Berwick Law is a good example of the geological feature known as "crag and tail", formed by the movement of an ice sheet which covered this area during the last Ice Age.
The ascent on foot to the summit will put you on top of the crag.
However, the crossing of the tail by bike begins on the outskirts of North Berwick and reaches its highest point at Heugh Farm.
Leave the station and turn right along Station Road, then left and join Marmion Crescent.
Take the first right into Clifford Road which later becomes St Baldred's Road. Continue without deviation to the junction with Dunbar Road and turn right.
Here you are confronted with the classic view of the Law and the whalebone arch.
Climb up past the rugby club, then straight on at the roundabout into Heugh Brae, following the sign for East Linton, and up over the "tail" towards Leuchie House, a convent at the little settlement of Wamphray.
The hill you encounter is a short sharp shock so early in the ride, but the height gain puts you into new undulating country and that is the serious climbing finished for the outward leg.
Continue along this interesting road where, on my last trip, three mallards flew out of the wood on the right, then a pair of herons lifted from the tiny stream at the bottom of a hill.
Hidden away unseen in the grounds of Balgone House, which was built as a nunnery in the fifteenth century, there are a couple of large ponds, no doubt the source of good water and food for the birds.
Later the road turns east towards Whitekirk. The skyline then presents the Lammermuir Hills and the red roofs of Whitekirk. The village seems to have been hewn out of the solid rock. Some of the cottages even have their back gardens in the old quarry. You turn right at the T-junction by the telephone kiosk in the village, but take the time for a detour along to St Mary's, the historic parish church of Whitekirk and Tyninghame. It is an impressive old building.
Traprain Law, another volcanic outcrop, dominates the view as you ride west towards Waughton. Pheasants wandered idly out into the road as I arrived at Angus Wood, but there were no fatalities on either side.
Turn north at the junction near Waughton and watch out for other traffic. The road now rises stiffly again to crest the ridge near the ruined Waughton Castle. Turn left and immediately right, then up towards North Berwick. The ruined castle at Waughton is of fourteenth-century construction, with only part of one wing surviving. In 1536 it was sacked by the English during the "Rough Wooing" of Henry VIII.
Rocky outcrops in many of the fields underline the nature of the land, but the richness is there for all to see. The ruined windmill above Balgone Burns looks like some kind of giant chimney, then suddenly the Law monopolises the horizon again.
Soon you are close enough to see the white triangulation pillar on the top.
The Firth of Forth reappears, then the riding is steadily downhill to the outskirts of North Berwick, entering the town at Haddington Road which soon becomes Law Road.
Follow this road all the way to High Street. Park your bike and enjoy the many amenities of this very pleasant town. All that remains is to weave your way back to the station.
NORTH BERWICK TO WHITEKIRK
Distance: 16 km (10 miles). Circular route.
Start and finish: North Berwick Station.
Map: OS Landranger, sheets 66 and 67, and Spokes East Lothian Cycle Map.
Terrain: Minor roads. Undulating route with short steep hills.
Refreshments: None en route. Full facilities in North Berwick.
