East Lothian (Year 3) (Closed)

Friday 6 February 2004

11 November 2003

East Lothian covers an area of approximately 270 square miles and has 43 miles of coastline, stretching from the eastern edge of Edinburgh to the waters of the North Sea. It is bounded in the south by the Lammermuir Hills and stretches eastwards to the boundary with Scottish Borders at Cockburnspath. It has a population of approximately 90,000.

The largest town is Musselburgh with a population of 20,000, although Haddington is the administrative centre. Prestonpans, Cockenzie, Port Seton and Tranent are the other major towns.

The area's economy was built on farming, fishing, coal mining and general manufacturing. Today East Lothian hosts a number of modern industries including electronics, chemical research and printing. Agriculture remains important, and tourism supports a range of hotels, bed and breakfast and catering establishments.

The Council actively promotes golf in the area, which increases the catering trade, and the Open Golf Championship is held periodically within East Lothian. Throughout the summer months East Lothian hosts many local galas, festivals, fetes and agricultural shows.

Although the fishing industry has declined in recent years, locally caught fish and shellfish can still be found at Dunbar and Port Seton.

Whilst the Authority has a number of ethnic restaurants, language differences do not in general present a problem in the area.