Nostalgia: Rural pride that lives on

IT is safe to say that Edinburgh's rural outskirts today are vastly different from their past. Rewind 50 years or so, venture to the many Lothian towns and villages and, chances are, the contrast is dramatic.

Admittedly, many of the architectural features remain comfortingly familiar and nostalgic – even if the basic car designs, the lack of traffic congestion and roadways, not to mention the fashions, are long since gone.

Traditional community events such as town fetes, themed festivals and community celebrations still remain strong today in many areas. But look closer at the dwellings and the once rural towns are more akin to cosmopolitan dormitory towns for Capital commuters in search of a peaceful rural lifestyle.

However, while there may be a contrast from past to present, each Lothian town's proud heritage is energetically maintained and the sense of communal pride remains.

This fascinating era has been brought back to life in the new book, Edinburgh and the Lothians in the 1950s, which explores many of the nostalgic photographs held in the archives of the Evening News and The Scotsman, and offers a look back in time.

Today, in what is the second in a series of excerpts from the book, we see that the 1950s out and about in the Lothian towns offered a more simplistic and innocent way of living.

Countrified and humble, people were contented getting by week-to-week rather than having high expectations.

From the sights such as the fishing boats in Cockenzie harbour thronging with local fishermen out to make a living, the sounds of the marches and processions, to the smells of the coal burning in the chimneys, rural Lothian had it all.

Here, we see the traditional Fishermen's Walk in Musselburgh, which saw proud fishwives and children parade through the streets, following their husbands who were dressed in dark blue jumpers. Pipes and banners were in abundance and the buildings would get decorated with flags and a pennant marked Primrose.

The Riding of the Marches procession through Linlithgow attracted as many crowds. The annual civic festival, which still takes place on the Tuesday after the second Thursday in June, is centred around the procession which has been held since the mid-16th century and involves young and old in the tradition of checking the burgh's perimeter, including the town's historic port of Blackness.

From Bo'ness, Dalkeith, Loanhead, Bathgate, Newtongrange, Musselburgh, Haddington, North Berwick to Dunbar, each and every town had its own celebrations and processions, drawing in the crowds and creating a party atmosphere.

Dunbar was the place to be and, come the weekend, it was religiously thronging with locals out checking the local stores, snapping up fashions, accessories and homeware. Cafes were bustling, queues for ice cream would snake down the street and the grass banks would be a mass of bodies, enjoying picnics or simply people watching. The open-air swimming pool, overlooked by the remains of Dunbar Castle, was the ultimate destination and, no matter how cold the waters were, the locals braved it and enjoyed themselves, diving into the icy waters or relaxing with makeshift dingies.

• Edinburgh and the Lothians in the 1950s is available to readers at a special offer price of £9.99 (£12.99) by calling 0808 180 2008 or visiting www.shop.scotsman.com/1950book.