Aberlady and Gullane. Not a firm of local solicitors or estate agents but two small villages on the east coast of Scotland, the location of our 6.5-mile hike in late April sunshine. “What a cute rickety old bridge!“ shouts one of our thirteen strong group as we pull on our boots in the Aberlady Nature Reserve car park in readiness for an enjoyable day’s walk.

The Scottish author Nigel Tranter called it the ‘footbridge to enchantment’ in his autobiographical country notebook of the same name and today it became our portal to a magical world: Sliding down dunes topped with spikey marram grass to golden sands fringed by a deep turquoise glittering sea that seemed to stretch to the horizon. Hunting down the spectral remains of two midget submarines uncovered by low tide that resembled beached whales. Watching hundreds of blindingly white gannets hunting for fish, diving from great height like fighter aircraft. Exploring tiny hidden coves hugged by algae covered blocks of sedimentary rock speckled with pink thrift as shells crunched beneath our feet. Enjoying the company of a diverse group of ramblers with a similar interest, exchanging stories, anecdotes and good-humoured banter as we poured coffee from our flasks and munched chocolate treats.

A truly special day spent with special people that will live long in the memory.