Gullane ( or ) is a town on the southern shore of the

Firth of Forth The Firth of Forth () is the estuary, or firth, of several Scottish rivers including the River Forth. It meets the North Sea with Fife on the north coast and Lothian on the south. Name ''Firth'' is a cognate of ''fjord'', a Norse word meanin ...

East Lothian East Lothian (; sco, East Lowden; gd, 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 called Haddingtonshire until 1921. In 1975, the hi ...

on the east coast of

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

. There has been a church in the village since the ninth century. The ruins of the Old Church of St. Andrew built in the twelfth century can still be seen at the western entrance to the village; the church was abandoned after a series of sandstorms made it unusable, and Dirleton Parish Church took its place. Gullane Bents, the village's award-winning

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shell ...

, is backed by large sand dunes that in recent years have become rather overgrown by invasive shrubs like sea-buckthorn. Gullane is part of the John Muir Way, a

long-distance footpath A long-distance trail (or long-distance footpath, track, way, greenway) is a longer recreational trail mainly through rural areas used for hiking, backpacking, cycling, horse riding or cross-country skiing. They exist on all continents ex ...

along the coast between

Musselburgh Musselburgh (; sco, Musselburrae; gd, Baile nam Feusgan) is the largest settlement in East Lothian, Scotland, on the coast of the Firth of Forth, east of Edinburgh city centre. It has a population of . History The name Musselburgh is O ...

and

Dunglass Dunglass is a hamlet in East Lothian, Scotland, lying east of the Lammermuir Hills on the North Sea coast, within the parish of Oldhamstocks. It has a 15th-century collegiate church, now in the care of Historic Scotland. Dunglass is the birthpl ...

. The local population includes a higher than average percentage of elderly people, but also attracts young families and commuters for Edinburgh.

Urbanisation Urbanization (or urbanisation) refers to the population shift from rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. It is predominantly the ...

has led to some recent housing developments being approved on greenbelt land around the village, and Gullane is gaining popularity as a

commuter village A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many ...

for nearby

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

( away), despite the poor transport to the village. Amenities include the

village hall A village hall is a public building in a village used for various things such as: United Kingdom In the United Kingdom, a village hall is usually a building which contains at least one large room (plus kitchen and toilets), is owned by a local ...

and a variety of shops. There is a

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...

, and local children attend secondary school () away in

North Berwick North Berwick (; gd, Bearaig a Tuath) is a seaside town and former royal burgh in East Lothian, Scotland. It is situated on the south shore of the Firth of Forth, approximately east-northeast of Edinburgh. North Berwick became a fashionable ...

Toponymy

The

etymology Etymology () The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the form of words ...

of Gullane is uncertain. It may come from Scottish Gaelic word GualainnGaelic Placenames collected by Iain Mac an Tailleir (2003)
/ref> or A' Ghualainn. However, this could be unlikely, as East Lothian and surrounding regions were mostly outside of the Gaelic sphere of influence, even at the language's peak in the country around the 11th century. The region mostly spoke Old English,

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English ...

, or Early Scots, depending on the timeframe. The village used to be known as Golyn. So the name could come from a Brythonic language (likely

Cumbric Cumbric was a variety of the Common Brittonic language spoken during the Early Middle Ages in the '' Hen Ogledd'' or "Old North" in what is now the counties of Westmorland, Cumberland and northern Lancashire in Northern England and the sout ...

) word lyn or linn (cognate with the

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

word lyn/llyn, meaning lake.) This name may have come from a now drained piece of water that sat at or near the old parish church of St Andrews. The name Golyn may also come from the Middle English work gōl (meaning boundary or limit.) This could be because Golyn parish (the kirk being moved from Gullane to Dirleton in 1632 by an act of the Scottish Parliament) was one of the most northern parishes of Anglo-Saxon influence in Britain in early medieval times, as anything north of the Firth of Forth would have been under the control of the Picts or Gaels. It is unknown if the area was named Golyn before or after the Scottish annexation. The church that served the parish was built around 1170, after East Lothian had been annexed by the

Kingdom of Scotland The Kingdom of Scotland (; , ) was a sovereign state in northwest Europe traditionally said to have been founded in 843. Its territories expanded and shrank, but it came to occupy the northern third of the island of Great Britain, sharing a ...

. But the people of the time may have still viewed themselves as being Anglo-Saxons, or English, rather than Scottish.

Buildings of interest

Greywalls Hotel Greywalls is an Edwardian country house at Gullane in East Lothian, Scotland. It was built in 1901 for Alfred Lyttelton, to designs by Sir Edwin Lutyens. It has been run as a hotel since 1948. Greywalls is protected as a category A listed building ...

was built in 1901 to a design by

Sir Edwin Lutyens Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens ( ; 29 March 1869 – 1 January 1944) was an English architect known for imaginatively adapting traditional architectural styles to the requirements of his era. He designed many English country houses, war memoria ...

; the gardens were designed by

Gertrude Jekyll Gertrude Jekyll ( ; 29 November 1843 – 8 December 1932) was a British horticulturist, garden designer, craftswoman, photographer, writer and artist. She created over 400 gardens in the United Kingdom, Europe and the United States, and wrote ...

. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service formerly had their training school based at Gullane (which was relocated to new buildings in

Cambuslang Cambuslang ( sco, Cammuslang, from gd, Camas Lang) is a town on the south-eastern outskirts of Greater Glasgow, Scotland. With approximately 30,000 residents, it is the 27th largest town in Scotland by population, although, never having had a ...

in 2013). Gullane War Memorial was erected in 1914, reflecting both the immediate loss of life to the community, but also the emotional impact. Although not unique in having such an early memorial it is nonetheless unusual. Names were added as the war continued. The monument was designed by Sir Robert Lorimer.Dictionary of Scottish Architects: Robert Lorimer

Golf

Gullane is the home of

Muirfield Muirfield is a privately owned golf links which is the home of The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers. Located in Gullane, East Lothian, Scotland, overlooking the Firth of Forth, Muirfield is one of the golf courses used in rotation for Th ...

which has hosted

The Open Championship The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later t ...

on numerous occasions, most recently in 2013. In addition to Muirfield, Gullane is the site of several other

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...

courses in the village and surrounding area. At the Gullane Golf Club, three eighteen-hole links courses straddle a large grassed-over volcanic plug, of which a composite course hosted both the Scottish Open and Ladies Scottish Open in 2018. From the top of the hill on each course there is a fine view over

Aberlady Aberlady ( sco, Aiberleddy, Gaelic: ''Obar Lobhaite'') is a coastal village in the Scottish council area of East Lothian. The village had an estimated population of in . Etymology The name ''Aberlady'' has Brittonic origins. The first part of ...

and Aberlady Bay towards Edinburgh and the

Forth Bridge The Forth Bridge is a cantilever railway bridge across the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland, west of central Edinburgh. Completed in 1890, it is considered a symbol of Scotland (having been voted Scotland's greatest man-made wonder i ...

as well as the coast of

Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross ...

and the

Lomond Hills The Lomond Hills (meaning either beacon hills or bare hills), also known outside the locality as the Paps of Fife, are a range of hills in central Scotland. They lie in western central Fife and Perth and Kinross, Scotland. At West Lomond is the ...

. Internationally acclaimed artist

Frank W Wood Francis (Frank) Watson Wood (1862–1953) commenced his career as a Royal Navy officer, and was described in 1907 as "naval artist, Portsmouth". He went on to become an internationally regarded watercolorist. Early Life The son of Robert and A ...

painted a view of Gullane in 1933. Abutting Gullane Number 3 course is the Luffness Golf Club course and a Children's Course.

Notable residents

Ronnie Corbett Ronald Balfour Corbett (4 December 1930 – 31 March 2016) was a Scottish actor, broadcaster, comedian and writer. He had a long association with Ronnie Barker in the BBC television comedy sketch show '' The Two Ronnies''. He achieved promin ...

, comedian and TV personality * Andrew Driver, professional footballer *

Quintin Jardine Quintin Jardine (born 1945) is a Scottish author of three series of crime novels, featuring the fictional characters Bob Skinner, Oz Blackstone, and Primavera Blackstone. Biography Jardine was born in Motherwell, Lanarkshire, and in Glasgow ...

, celebrated crime novelist * Sydney Mitchell, architect * Ann Stokes, the ceramicist was born here at the manse in 1922

References

External links

*
East Lothian Council - ''Walks around Gullane''
{{Authority control Villages in East Lothian Tourist attractions in East Lothian