“From Pit to Pitch: A Story of Coal Seams and Football Dreams”
Watch the recording of the talk given by Ray Lafferty (Curator at the National Mining Museum in Newtongrange) given on 4th December 2025
Ray explores the links between mining and football in Scotland with a particular focus on Midlothian and East of Scotland clubs.
Coal mining communities across central Scotland were the incubators of great footballers and a series of successful football club managers.
Working day in day out in a dangerous environment, miners were reliant on each other for safety which naturally fostered a solidarity within mining communities. Resilience, hard work and teamwork, all traits commonly found within the coal mining workforce, are important characteristics of professional football. Mining created strong and fearless players, rich in character and resolute in their loyalty.
The talk reveals Scotland’s linked mining and football heritage and legacy.
The Last Battle Between the Independent Kingdoms of Scotland and England.
David Caldwell gave a talk to the Esk Valley Trust on 4 |September 2025 about:
The Battle of Pinkie, 1547
This battle was of considerable importance in shaping the future development of Britain. It has been much studied by military historians but should also be better known and understood more widely, especially those living in the area where the battle and campaigning took place. It is remarkably well documented in early sources, including illustrations made by participants.
David is now retired from his career in the National Musuem of Scotland, latterly as Keeper of Archeology and Keeper of Scotland and Europe. Most of his research interests focussed on Medieval and Post-Medieval Scotland. Since retiring he has taken on various roles including the chairmanship of OnFife, the presidency of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland and serving as a board member of the National Trust for Scotland.
In 2023 he co-authored, with Vicky Oleksy and Bess Rhodes, a detailed study of the battle (The Battle of Pinkie, 1547. The Last Battle Between the Independent Kingdoms of Scotland and England; Oxford: Oxbow, 2023).
To watch the recording of David’s talk click here.
George Forrest – A Scottish Plant Collector in China
Watch this video about George Forrest (1873-1932) who was born in Falkirk, educated in Kilmarnock, lived in the Esk Valley as an adult – but made his name as an adventuring plant collector in China.
In 1904, through his connections to the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Forrest was given the opportunity to travel to the province of Yunnan in southwest China to collect plants and seeds on behalf of nurseries and estate owners, becoming one of the most successful and prolific collectors to do so. It is likely that most of our gardens will contain plants that have had something to do with George Forrest. The process of collecting plants in China was always interesting but never straightforward, and amongst his archives held in the Library of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh are thousands of letters and photographs that help to tell his perilous and fascinating story.
George Forrest’s story is told by Leonie Paterson who has been the Botanic Garden’s Archivist for over 20 years. She says that her favourite part of the job is working with the Forrest archive and telling his incredible story. – and this rings out as she takes us through the adventurous life of Forrest as a plant collector in remote parts of China in the early part of the twentieth century.
Ian Gardner’s talk from May 16 2025 covers the conservation of the Chapel and recent restoration project at Rosslyn Castle.
Ian has been Director of the Rosslyn Chapel Trust since 2012. In addition to his role at Rosslyn Chapel Ian is the current Chair of Midlothian Tourism Forum.
To see the recording of this talk simply click here.
The recording started just a short while after the talk started – so there is a short part of the talk missing, but you will see that the recording is well worth watching.
Learn about the history of papermaking in Penicuik.
Penicuik was the most important location in the UK for papermaking.
To watch Hugh Munro’s talk about ‘Papermaking, the history and the role of Penicuik (1709-2004)’ simply click here
After a career in the pharmaceutical industry Hugh is now a volunteer at the Penicuik Papermaking Heritage Museum and a committee member and past chair of the Penicuik and District u3a.
His talk covers the history of papermaking and how it came from China to Penicuik. Along the way you will hear how papermaking progressed from hand-made paper to industrial scale and the people who made it happen with a focus on the six mills in Penicuik and Alexander Cowan, the philanthropist – along with the impact of the industry on river pollution, fire hazards and the development of local railways.
The talk emphasises the local and worldwide importance of Penicuik in papermaking.
A recording of David Kerridge’s talk on James Clerk Maxwell can now be seen in ‘Stories of the Esk’
James Clerk Maxwell ranks alongside Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein as one of the founding fathers of modern physics.
James Clerk Maxwell was the nephew of Sir George Clerk, 6th Baronet of Penicuik, whose brother John, James’ father, appended ‘Maxwell’ to his name when he inherited the family estate of Middlebie, Kirkcudbrightshire, in 1793. James grew into a pre-eminent physicist developing theories underpinning many modern technologies – and ranked by many alongside Newton and Einstein as a founding father of modern physics. The inspiring life, career, character and many achievements of this Scottish genius are discussed in Dr David Kerridge’s excellent talk.
David is the current Chair of the James Clerk Maxwell Foundation. After a degree in physics at Cambridge University, and postgraduate research into the origins of the Earth’s magnetic field at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, he joined the British Geological Survey in Edinburgh in 1983. At BGS he worked with academia, industry and the UK Government on projects mostly related to geophysical hazards, including seismology, volcanology and space weather. He became a Trustee of the James Clerk Maxwell Foundation in 2022.
To watch a recording of the talk, given on February 6 2025, click here.
There is a slight hiccup at the beginning of the recording but be patient for a few seconds and you will enjoy a superb presentation.
Jonathon Louis talks about ‘Opportunities for natural flood management in the Esk River catchments
Jonathon’s talk was presented via Zoom on 21 November 2024
Jonathan is a Co-Director of the Forth Rivers Trust and has worked
with the Trust to improve rivers around the Forth for 11 years. His
background is in Sustainable Environmental Management and Countryside
Management. As Co-Director, Jonathan helps lead the Trust’s work
whilst supporting project development, funding and stakeholder
relationships.
His talk explores the opportunities for nature-based solutions
within the Esk catchment, how this could aid biodiversity and make the
catchment and communities more resilient to climate change. He
highlights examples of work carried out elsewhere that could be
delivered within the Esk catchment whilst outlining opportunities to
work in partnership for a more resilient and biodiverse Esk catchment.
James Simpson talks about Mavisbank House and the Villas of the Esk
A video recording of James Simpson’s talk to the Esk Valley Trust on 3 October 2024 is now available to see.
James is a very well-known architect who has helped with restoration projects at many of the ‘Villas of the Esk’.
He is a leading advocate for the architectural heritage of the Esk valleys. His talk uses the concept of the ‘Villa’ (as envisaged by Sir John Clerk in ‘The Country Seat’) to reflect on Mavisbank House and other major Villas in the Esk Valleys.
The talk was the opening event of the 2024 Midlothian Outdoor Festival.
The Esk valleys have a rich artistic heritage. In October 2021 Joanna Soden, a former Collections Curator at the Royal Scottish Academy of Art and Architecture, gave this fascinating introduction to some elements of that heritage.
As an independent art historian Joanna has a special interest in Scottish art since 1900. Her previous talks hosted by the EVT as part of the 2018 and 2019 Midlothian Outdoor Festivals were ‘sell-outs’. This one is part of the 2021 Festival and draws in writers as well as visual artists from along the North Esk in particular. This is a journey through some of the rich artistic heritage of the Esk valleys.
Just click on the recording below to see this talk.
This talk was presented to the Esk Valley Trust in June 2021. It lays out the background behind plans to manage the pollution of the river North Esk from the outflow of mine water at Junkies Adit in Dalkeith.
Sadly pollution has been a recurring feature of the Esk Rivers for many years. In recent times discharge of contaminated water from old mine workings is a big problem. In particular discharge from Junkies Adit in Dalkeith, which has links to the now closed Bilston Glen mines, is having significant impact on the health of the river.
The background to, and what is being done and planned to monitor and resolve, the problems was covered in a talk to the Esk Valley Trust on 24 June 2021.
A recording of this talk can be seen:
The talk was given by Dr Anna Griffin of the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA), and her colleagues Paul Butler, SEPA Principal Hydrogeologist and Mining Sector Lead and Annette Lardeur, Principal Project Deliver Manager from the Coal Authority.
Anna has a background in ecological restoration and catchment working and has been part of a national team which co-ordinates the river basin planning process in Scotland since 2005. She develops river restoration projects and work to improve fish access on the catchment scale in partnership with others.
Paul has worked as a hydrogeologist for 30 years and has been involved in a range of coal and metal mining issues. As SEPA’s Mining Sector Lead, he is committed to working with partners to reduce the impacts of mining. He also hopes that the heat contained in the water in former mines of the Central Belt can play a key role in meeting Scotland’s future energy demands.
Annette has a civil engineering background with experience in renewable energy, river engineering/flood defence, mine water treatment and urban regeneration and has been with the Coal Authority since 2017, leading a team to deliver major new interventions and refurbish assets to prevent and alleviate the pollution from historic mine water treatment, both from legacy of coal mining and abandoned metal mines.
