From the village of Gladsmuir on the A199 take the small road south
which is signposted to Butterdean Wood. You can park at N
55.56.780 W 002.52.008 on the access path to the wood. Be
considerate; and be careful when you reverse back onto the road.
Visibility is not good. There is also a map and information board.
This tells you that the earliest record of Butterdean Wood dates
from 1682, when it was part of Gledsmuir (“the moor of the black
kites”) and appears mostly to have been willow and birch. But there
is a much more interesting - and earlier - reference quoted in an
article in the Woodland Trust's magazine "Broadleaf", which tells
us that "At 10 o’clock one night in 1649, the story goes, Isabel
and Margaret Bartilman met the devil and danced with him at
‘Butterdam’. "
In the 18th century a church occupied part of the south east
corner of the site but was demolished in 1790.
On 6 August 1850 ‘it was resolved that a hospital should be
established for the reception of poor, sick and strangers during
the harvest’. There are no visible remains of Butterdean House
today, although a local resident remembers it as a ruin when she
was a girl in the 1920s.
The wood was purchased by the Forestry Commission after the
Second World War and part of the area is still dominated by
characteristic ranks of conifers.
Since 1988, when most of the wood was purchased by the Trust and
part by East Lothian Council, it has been managed with a view to
returning it to native broadleaved trees.
More information about the Woodland Trust can be found at
The
Woodland Trust website
You can do the cache on an “out and back” route, but it is worth
taking the circular walk. The circuit of the wood makes a pleasant
45 minute or so stroll and a couple of rounds give a good short
run. The area is a popular choice for exercising dogs and children.
It is basically flat going but the paths can be very muddy and
there are plenty of obstructions – so don’t try pushing a buggy!
When it is quieter, there is plenty of wildlife to be seen,
including roe deer and badger at the right times (you can spot a
large sett from the path). It is a wood, so the tree cover may well
interfere with GPS reception. But the area where the cache is
situated gives a clear view of the sky. By the same token, it is
open to observation, so take care when retrieving and rehiding the
cache.