North Berwick Law v Kilimanjaro – by Sheila

I mentioned North Berwick, a beautiful town on the coast near Edinburgh in the blog post of 30th May.  I referred to four of my aunts regularly meeting up there every summer in their old age.  Actually, my family has had connections with the town for five generations, and some of them still live there.

I remember hearing stories about family trips to North Berwick in the 1920s and 1930s.  Sometimes it would be just a day trip, but in addition, my grandparents would rent a big house there for the month of July – that is when the school holidays are in Scotland – and the whole family would decamp there.  All of the necessary household equipment would be packed up, such as bedding, cutlery and dishes.  A van would be requisitioned from the woollen mill where my grandfather was director and it would be sent on ahead with some of the household staff to get all the beds ready and prepare food ready for the mass arrival.  The family would then be driven to the coast by the chauffeur to take up residence there.  I guess there must have been more than one carful of them, given that I had three grandparents (see the blog post of 27th April) and they had eight children, plus of course a cook and numerous maids would have gone too.

I have some photographs of the family on the beach from that time, and also a snip of a film made there.  What I love is that not only are the family children on the beach, but so are the children of the chauffeur!  The film shows the driver – still wearing his official hat – with his trousers rolled up, splashing about in the waves with my aunts and also his own two daughters.  My grandfather ended up successful and wealthy, but he always maintained that he was a socialist; clearly he did not forget his own humble roots.

I love to think of them all on the beach: it is often pretty chilly and windy there, but that has not prevented family visits there by me and many of my family during the last ninety years.

One of the features of North Berwick is The Law.  As a child, I thought North Berwick Law was a big mountain, and climbing it was always one of the highlights of any visit there.  At the top are the jawbones of a whale, which seemed pretty exciting.  Well, they are replicas now, but real ones were there when I was little.  I thought it might be worth comparing climbing, what to me once seemed an enormous mountain, with the challenge of climbing Kilimanjaro.  So in the spirit of Baby v Mountain (1st March) and Marathon v Mountain (29th April), here is North Berwick Law v Kilimanjaro!

The similarities:

1. Both are volcanos formed millions of years ago.
2. Kilimanjaro is the highest free standing mountain in the world and the Law is the highest free standing hill in North Berwick.
3. Both look very beautiful from a distance and have truly amazing views from the top.
4. Both are conical in shape
5. You get a great “high” from climbing both.

The differences:

1. You can climb the Law (187 metres) before breakfast: it will take us seven days to climb Kili (5895 metres).
2. You can climb the Law as a toddler in nappies – Oscar’s brother Milo did – but (unless you lie) you are not allowed to attempt to climb Kili under the age of 10.
3. You need a guide and porters to mount an expedition up Kili: the Law can be attempted unassisted, although a piggy back is sometimes nice, if you are little.
4. If you feel the call of nature on Kili, there are some bushes and rocks to protect your modesty: on the Law, you are in full view of the whole town.
5. You might raise a few thousand pounds for charity by climbing Kili, but unless you are very tiny, you are unlikely to raise much by climbing the Law.

No doubt those of my family who still live in North Berwick will be able to add to the list!