Wallyford

History

The village was initially populated by coal miners and later grew as an overspill/commuter town for workers in Musselburgh and Edinburgh. A tribute to the miners can be found marked on a stone through the main road (Salters Road) of the village. A coal mine at Wallyford was worked for the profit of Mary, Queen of Scots in 1563 and also supplied coal for her own fire at Holyrood Palace.

The town is overlooked by the restored Fa'side Castle which was destroyed by the English after the Battle of Pinkie in 1546.

The town was formerly the site of Wallyford Greyhound Stadium, which closed in 1992. Plans to build a second greyhound stadium in Wallyford were eventually abandoned in 2021 after two decades of planning.

In 2016, construction began to regenerate the village. A new, replacement Primary School was completed in February 2019 and was followed by the new Wallyford Learning Campus in November 2024. A new village high street/centre will be created alongside a legible hierarchy of roads and footpaths, maximising connections throughout but in particular to the Village Centre and Community Woodland.

Like much of East Lothian, Wallyford has undergone significant population growth in recent years, with planning permission granted for over 2,000 new homes in the area, as of 2024. These new developments, in combination with the opening of new Primary and Secondary school facilities and proximity to Edinburgh, have seen Wallyford transformed from a village into a growing town.

Transport

Wallyford has a railway station with a park and ride facility, on the Edinburgh to North Berwick railway line, operated by ScotRail. Services operate on an average of once per hour (up to twice hourly at peak times) in either direction to Edinburgh Waverley and North Berwick, with five trains per day also operating to Dunbar.

The northern end of the A1 road passes by the town, offering easy access into Edinburgh and the Edinburgh City Bypass.

The town is also well served by buses. Lothian Buses route 44 has a terminus in Wallyford, offering service to Edinburgh and Balerno via Musselburgh. In addition, night bus route N26 stops in nearby Pinkie. East Coast Buses also offers both express and stopping services to Edinburgh, whilst Prentice Coaches has a number of routes around East Lothian which stop in Wallyford.

Landmarks

Musselburgh Racecourse is located nearby, with a free courtesy bus operating from Wallyford to the racecourse on racedays. Fort Kinnaird retail park is easily accessible from the town.

It has a primary/nursery school, secondary school, playgroup, community centre, churches, library, post office, a CrossFit Gym and a Miners' social club.

As of 2025, plans have been approved to build 10 new mixed-use retail units in the town.

Notable people

Sir William Binning of Wallyford (1627–1711) Lord Provost of Edinburgh 1675–1677.

Nancy Blaik, MBE (1936 - 2025) born Nancy Geekie in Wallyford on 30 May 1936, blind charity volunteer who founded the first children's hospice in Scotland.

Victorian writer Margaret Oliphant was born in Wallyford on 4 April 1828. Among her best-known works were Katie Stewart, The Carlingford Chronicles and Tales of the Seen and Unseen. She died in Wimbledon on 25 June 1897 and was buried in Eton Cemetery near Windsor.

Willie Park, Sr., the first and four-time winner of the Open Championship in golf, was born in Wallyford on 30 June 1833 and died on 25 July 1903.

Former footballer and football manager Jock Wallace, Jr. was born in Wallyford on 6 September 1935. He went on to have a successful career as manager of Rangers.

Gordon Hunter, professional footballer, played over three hundred games for Hibernian between 1983 and 1997. In his later career, played for a number of other Scottish clubs, plus a spell in Australia with Canberra Cosmos.

References

References

1. {{Scottish settlement population citation
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4. "Lothians Housing Evidence given by Robert Brown". Scottish Mining Website.
5. (25 November 2013). "Theres no reason to be board with Wallyford's History". East Lothian Courier.
6. [[Gordon Donaldson]], ''Thirds of Benefices'' (Edinburgh: SHS, 1949), pp. 146, 156.
7. David Caldwell, Vicky Oleksy, Bess Rhodes, ''The Battle of Pinkie, 1547'' (Oxbow, 2023), p. 152.
8. "FA'SIDE CASTLE".
9. (2021-09-03). "Wallyford greyhound stadium plan officially scrapped after 20 years".
10. Avril Campbell. (17 February 2019). "Pupils about to start life at new Wallyford Primary School". East Lothian Courier.
11. "Wallyford Learning Campus opens".
12. "East Lothian development Plan 2018". East Lothian Council.
13. (2024-10-03). "East Lothian could get as many as 9,000 more homes in the next 10 years".
14. "Trains to Wallyford". Trainline.
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17. "Musselburgh Racecourse - Find Us".
18. "Wallyford Primary School".
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20. "Wallyford Community Centre". East Lothian Council.
21. "Wallyford". UK Church Directory.
22. "East Lothian Libraries - Wallyford Library". East Lothian Council.
23. "Wallyford Miners Welfare Social Club".
24. (2025-04-30). "Supermarket among new units planned for expanding village as council gives go-ahead".
25. "Wallyford House".
26. (2025-07-16). "Scotsman Obituaries: Nancy Blaik MBE, charity volunteer who helped found first children’s hospice in Scotland".
27. "Margaret Oliphant 1828 - 1897". BBC.
28. Push Interactive. "Park Sr., Willie".
29. "Jock Wallace". The Rangers Football Club Limited.