The Lade Braes in St Andrews has a long, long history - as long as the town itself, I suspect. ‘Lade' means a body of water artificially channelled from an established river to a waterway that supports a mill, and the Lade Braes follows the mill lade that came off the Kinness Burn, which originally flowed to the priory at the edge of the sea. Braes are merely steep banks, or hillsides, running alongside a river, or coast.
This lade was constructed to take water from the Kinness Burn to the priory grounds, which were built on higher ground than the burn which burbled away further to the south. Although the St Andrews Cathedral Priory was established in 1140, there appears to be evidence of a mill on the site beforehand, so it may be that the lade is indeed older than the town!
This lade was constructed to take water from the Kinness Burn to the priory grounds, which were built on higher ground than the burn which burbled away further to the south. Although the St Andrews Cathedral Priory was established in 1140, there appears to be evidence of a mill on the site beforehand, so it may be that the lade is indeed older than the town!
The Priory Lade itself now runs through pipes directly underneath the Lade Braes Walk, which runs next to the Kinness Burn, and then splits up from the burn nearer the shore - the burn burbling its way to the harbour then out to sea, the Lade diverting further north through the Priory grounds.
A springtime walk along the Braes is always a pleasure; daffodils nodding their heads as you walk by, blossom and bracken filling the air with perfume, trees beginning to bud.
You can, of course, start the walk at the back of Madras College, but apart from a couple of pretty gardens along the route, there's not much to see, so I tend to start my walk at Cockshaugh Park - ground that was part of new landscaping work in the late 19th Century.
Just round the bend from the park you'll see a rather well-kept lawn with ponds across the burn complete with an interesting-looking structure or two, which is just a small part of the St Andrews Botanic Garden, and absolutely worth a visit should you venture to the East Neuk of Fife!
And then there are trees;
trees that give very decorative shade,
trees that reach across the burn,
trees surrounded by daffodils.
But, as you would expect, there are still remnants of some of the five mills (at least) that used to use the water off the lade, the most obvious being Law Mill near the outermost part of the Lade Braes. According to town records, there has been a mill on this site since Medieval times, its current form is from 1757.
Law Mill is mostly ruined, but the Law Mill Cottage next to it sits on a beautifully picturesque join of the Kinness, and Cairnsmill Burns, and worthy of a photo in any season.
The mill does keep several of its features, despite it being in somewhat of a decrepit state. The pyramid roof of the drying kiln is still visible, as is the metal frame of the wheel. Unfortunately the mill and cottage are both on private land, but you can still get a good nosy-in from the lade pathway!
The area around the mill is particularly pretty in Spring, thanks in part to the flowering cherry trees! I'm a sucker for blossom!
The last mill to avail itself of water from the lade closed at the beginning of the twentieth century, but water from the lade continued to be used until the 1950's; a sluice (that is still noticeable from the path) was opened up to feed a skating pond situated in a flat patch of ground between the lade and the Kinness Burn. Nowadays, it's just a flat area covered in young trees, but if you know the history it becomes very clear where the pond used to be!
The Lade Braes is a lovely walk without knowing the background of the area, but you know me, a little history makes Nic a happy walker!
And daffodils. Daffodils are happy-inducing too!
