Duke Street

in the historic village of Belhaven

Many centuries ago the shore at the foot of Duke Street was a sheltered place to beach boats, and so Belhaven was the port for Dunbar. Now Dunbar has its own harbours, and land has been reclaimed between Belhaven and West Barns, forming part of the John Muir Park.

Looking north over Duke Street, 1st June 2002

©Skyviews 2002

Six hotspots here
The central building is known as "Belhaven Gardens",
but the postal addresses of the four flats in it are 13A, 13B, 13C and 13D Duke Street,
so they are often confused with 13 Duke Street, the one with the white door.


The building on the extreme right dates from the 18th century. Recently repainted in a pale colour, it is now part of the 'Pumpkin Patch' baby nursery.   The building next to it probably dates from the very early 19th century, when dwellings were provided for workers in the nearby cotton factory.  Our building, 13, may once have been a much smaller structure. A thick stone wall, like the outside walls, separates the front and rear parts of the ground floor.
The upper storey is a completely separate pair of apartments, 11a and 11b Duke Street, entered from garden level via a bridge:

Two great iron hooks under this bridge may have been used for butchery purposes in the days when the front of the building was a general store for village shopping.   Until 2001, when a steel joist supporting the bridge was repainted, swallows nested every summer between the bridge and the top of the old wash-house.  An outside toilet between the wash-house and the main building would have served all three dwellings. In the Scottish manner, the three dwellings are in completely separate ownership and each may be referred to as a 'house'.

Self-catering in Duke Street

Flat A, Belhaven Gardens: the lower left flat in the Belhaven Gardens block has one double bedroom, a sittingroom with a sofa-bed and another large sofa, and a splendid kitchen with dining recess. The dining table can be lowered to align with the seats and form a platform where another two can sleep. The kitchen window looks out to the large attractive garden. This flat is now (summer 2006) available for self-catering, and I will pass on any enquiries to its owner if you email me.

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Except where otherwise stated, all aerial photos on this site are copyright © Skyviews, 2002, and all other pictures are copyright © WS/RMS, 1998-2005

Hotspots
A hotspot in the picture is an area which I have identified as specially interesting. The title I gave it appears when you hold your mouse pointer over that area for a fairly short time. If you click on the area, a new, small window may open with a further picture or text, or with a new page in this or another website. When you click again on the original picture, the extra window goes behind your main window. So far I have not discovered how to close this extra window automatically; you have to click on the 'x' at its top right-hand corner.
If the titles stop appearing in the aerial photo, click anywhere in its margins, and then move over the photo again.
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