Saltoun Forest - East Lothian

I took Missy for a walk here earlier today and it was great . It's just outside West Saltoun in East Lothian and I will definitely go back. The weather wasn't the best as it was raining on and off , but Missy didn't mind getting wet for a change as she was having a great time racing about through the trees . We had to drive along a long , unsurfaced track to get to the start of the forest. There's a small car park on the left at the end of the track , and a gate straight into the forest from there.
After walking along the main forest track for a while , we decided to explore one of the many smaller tracks. I think that took us right round the forest , but it was a really nice walk. I did find some marker posts part of the way round , so I followed them until I got back to the main track. It's lucky I have a fairly good sense of direction as it would be easy to take a wrong turning and walk round in circles forever . We found our way back to the car after an hour and a half , and had a decent walk in that time. I will have to go back and suss out different routes as you could make a walk as short or as long as you like . I've taken pictures of this walk so will post them soon. I just need to upload them to my photobucket account . Try this walk if you are in the area , it is pure wilderness .

Sounds a great walk, will have to look it up. We are always looking for new places to go

Sounds like you had a great time. Looking forward to the pics. Did you have the forest to yourselves?

Hi Lionhound , this is a brilliant walk if you are ever in this area ! I can give you directions if you like. There must be some good walks over your way too. If you ever want to meet up for a walk , just let me know . Looking forward to meeting you in August when youngstevie comes up to visit .
Hi Werewolf . There were a couple of young guys with motorbikes at the start of the walk but they stuck to the bigger tracks and didn't stay for long. Apart from that , we had the whole forest all to ourselves .
Here are some pics as promised. I took 71 altogether . I only uploaded 47 to photobucket though. I won't post them all at once though as it will take ages to load the page if I do that .
The first few pics are of the road into the forest. These are in reverse though as I took them when I was leaving. Just imagine you are driving towards the camera .
Coming through West Saltoun (which is round the corner on the left of the pic) , you would turn Right into this track just after the last house.

There's a grass triangle in the middle of the junction with this sign. ( The road ahead in this pic goes to East Saltoun).

Follow the track past this house (which will be on your Right as you drive in),

and keep going until you come to a fork in the track. Follow the fork to your Left for the car park.



The car park and the gate into the forest.


The start of the walk is on a wide track with a hard grit surface.

There are a number of tracks leading off the main track. This is the first big junction with a wide track to the right. We followed the road ahead.


We eventually came to a "crossroads" . Again , we carried on straight ahead.

The track gets rougher as you get further in , more hardcore rubble than hard grit.
There was a pond on the right which is full of tadpoles.

As usual , Missy found a stick

We eventually came to a clearing on our left. That's where we left the main track to follow smaller grassy and dirt tracks.

This area was covered with heather and rhododendrons. It must be beautiful here when everything is in flower. Missy was jumping about in the heather acting like a right nutter .


Then she found another stick



I'll post the rest of the pics later.

Looks and sounds great! I am definitely going to go there sometime soon. Is it all larger tracks or are there some smaller footpaths too? I will just have to look up East Saltoun now and work out how to get there from here.

Thanks for the pics Missysmum.

Hi Moobli . There are lots of smaller tracks through the woodland. I'll post more pics of the route we took. I'm definitely going back to explore more as it is a brilliant walk. Where is it you live ? If you drive along the B6355 to Gifford and follow the road through there until you reach East Saltoun. Go straight through East Saltoun until you come to a junction to your left. There is a church on the corner of this junction marked on my OS map . Turn Left here. It may be signposted to West Saltoun , Pencaitland and maybe Glenkinchie Distillery. I found the signs on these smaller roads are quite small ! If you follow that road towards West Saltoun , just before you reach the first house on your left , there is a small junction with a grass triangle on the left. That's the entrance track to the forest . The road from East Saltoun isn't numbered , it is marked in yellow on my map (OS Landranger). It is the last road on the left as you get to the end of East Saltoun. If you miss that turning , keep going and you will come to a little cross roads. Turn left to West Saltoun then turn left again at the end of that road. That's you in West Saltoun so keep going until you find the forest track , just after the last house on your right from this direction.

What a brilliant walk......now mine would love that Fantastic photo's Hun and one very happy dog.

it looks a smashing walk , missy sure has enjoyed her self ,she looks all pleased with her self

I am up in the Lammermuirs above Gifford, Missysmum. We overlook the Whiteadder Reservoir if you have ever been up here?

It does look a fab walk. We will have to arrange a Dogsey meet there

Your directions are great - I know where it is now.