Not a lot, perhaps. Today it would be the old A1, but both towns are, thankfully in many respects, bypassed. In the eighteenth century, it was the main road from Edinburgh to Berwick upon Tweed, which in George Taylor and Andrew Skinner’s 1775 map shows the towns incongruously side by side and has to be one of the more fascinating road maps of its time. Being a strip map it aims to portray the roads of Scotland in the late 1700s as efficiently as possible. Their map shows the towns of Tranent and Dunbar in an unusual vertical projection, which would make taking a bearing somewhat of a challenge, or so you would think. On the contrary, the maps are remarkably clear and very easy to interpret and one supposes easy to navigate. The modern day equivalent are the not quite legendary Coast to Coast strip maps produced by the Ordnance Survey, which show a strip of 1:25,000 detail for the whole route. For just over a tenner you can buy an A2 Taylor and Skinner print from NLS. Brilliant.
Dunbar may have been bypassed, and the connection between the two towns now merely an administrative one, but Dunbar is really well connected. Dunbar has the only railway station in East Lothian that connects with mainline services, which means you can be away in almost no time and vice-versa, arrive and enjoy it entirely by public transport. From April 21st 2014 Dunbar will be connected officially by the new John Muir Way, which will run for 134 miles across Scotland. The new coast to coast walking & cycling routes starts (or rather ends) right here in Dunbar and hugs much of the East Lothian coastline for long stretches and wends its way to/from Helensburgh over on the Clyde, linking dozens of villages and towns with a fascinating and rich heritage, as well as world class habitats, geology and landscapes. Cyclists and walkers will no doubt celebrate, but my only question is where will they stay and where will they eat when they get here? By the look of it and judging by the amount of accommodation available over at Visit East Lothian, they could be staying in North Berwick. They are missing our wee holiday flat at Templelands, but Templar thinks there’s a real need for a lot more quality accommodation in the years to come. Templar recommends you invest now.