Geology map of East Lothian.

A Long History of Productive Geology

If you were to dig down into Winton’s past, you might be surprised by what you find!

  • 25 meters Crocodiles roaming the tropical swamp, 250 million years ago.
  • 75m Hot tropical river plains.
  • 200m Amazon-type river delta.
  • 290-540m >16 volcanic eruptions from the Garleton Hills 362 – 290m years ago.
  • 800-930m Semi-desert.

Volcanoes to Coal Mines

Since the Garleton Hill volcanoes, with all the deposition of sedimentary layers including the limestones and coal seams, we had ice that carved the ground to leave a blanket of boulder clay when it melted around 10,000 years ago. It contained sand, clay and stone boulders, levelling out the ground to its present flattish state. Within the seams are oil, gas, coal, sand and limestone; extraction of these has helped shape the land and our community.

In the heyday of coal mining, there would have been at least eight local mines with up to 150,000 tonnes of coal being hauled by steam trains to the ports at Leith or to Lauderdale and the south each year. Most shut before World War I; the last deep mine to shut was at Chancellorsville just to the west of Winton Castle.

For more information, you can download these geology maps of East Lothian: