Gilsland was bought by Dr Robert Macnair, a GP in Leith, Edinburgh.
When he saw that the old fever hospital outside North Berwick was for sale, he believed its clean, fresh seaside air would make it the perfect place for his patients to convalesce.
At that time, there were no caravans. Accommodation was whatever people could get their hands on! A train carriage was lovingly converted into living accommodation, as was a single-decker bus.
The “on-site facilities” consisted of a water tap in the middle of the field, while everyone supplied and attended to their own privy. The grass was kept short by a small flock of sheep, and people cooked and kept warm around coal or gas stoves.
People were definitely tougher – and perhaps easier to please – in those days!
Grandpa John and Granny Pat made Gilsland their home, raising their young family of Bill, Johnny and Wendy while running and developing the park.
With a lot of hard work, they cleared an area previously used for pigs and growing vegetables to make room for more caravans, which were becoming increasingly popular.
The 1960s saw the arrival of the toilet and shower block. Grandpa was incredibly proud of it – and it was a brave investment, taking just about all the money they had at the time.
Granny introduced a number of holiday caravans at the top of the site, often welcoming the same families back year after year. The grass was now cut by mowers, see-saws and swings appeared for the children, and there was even a large colony of guinea pigs.
Then there was Wendy’s goat, Toffee, who caused mayhem wherever she went – headbutting children on their way to the toilets and nibbling any unattended wellies!
Granny opened a shop in one of the old hospital wards, selling everything from meat, milk, bread and newspapers to sweeties, buckets and spades. Aunty Bessie later ran the shop for many years, opening at 7.30 every morning. It was a busy place in the days when many visitors had neither cars nor fridges.
Uncle Bill (senior) cleaned the toilets and cut the grass, while the second ward took on a variety of roles over the years. It became a TV lounge – with one black-and-white television switched on for a couple of hours each evening – then a prize bingo hall and, later, a very successful fish and chip shop run by Aunty Bessie and Uncle Bill. The best fish and chips in North Berwick!
That very same bingo hall would eventually become home to me, my wife Lucy and our two sons, Freddie and Paddy.
The donkeys were another big part of Gilsland life. My dad, Johnny, had four – Chips, Cherry, Jenny and Sandy – and for many years gave donkey rides around the site and on the beach.
Wendy later took over as donkey girl, and Grandpa eventually found donkeys for the grandchildren to continue the tradition. He even managed to find Jenny again. By then she was very old, but she remained the best working donkey we ever had.
Then there was Cindy – the pretty one; Pepe – the little one; and Neddy – the completely neurotic one!
Gilsland was a busy place, but great fun. Much of the hard work and development happened on Sundays, when friends and family were drafted in to tackle whatever needed doing, with the promise of a slap-up Sunday roast from Granny afterwards. Her gravy was legendary.
Granny and Grandpa retired to a house by the sea, and Grandpa’s eldest son, Bill, and his wife Anna took over the running of Gilsland.
Granny was happy to retire, enjoying the views and finding more time to paint. Grandpa found it rather harder to let go. He continued to visit Gilsland every day, walking around the park and telling everyone how things should be done!
By now, caravans had changed beyond recognition, with central heating, double glazing and even their own bathrooms.
It became clear that the old site needed to change too. Bill and Grandpa began making plans to expand and develop a new static caravan park with all the modern facilities visitors had come to expect.
The new park was completed in 2002, and the two sites continued to operate alongside each other until 2012. After 23 years running Gilsland, Bill and Anna decided it was finally time to retire.
In 2013, another new chapter began for Gilsland when I, Adam Macnair, became the latest generation of the family to take over the reins.
Since then, there has been a strong focus on growing and developing the holiday side of the business, with a wider range of accommodation allowing more visitors to enjoy the park, North Berwick and this special part of the East Lothian coast.
I’m proud to have my own place in Gilsland’s family history. We continue to develop the park for the future while staying true to the family values passed down through the generations before us.
Nearly a century after Dr Robert Macnair first came to Gilsland, the park remains in the same family, still surrounded by mature trees and open grass and still just fifteen minutes down the hill into North Berwick.
Some guests who first came here as children now return with their own grandchildren. That continuity, across both our family and theirs, is the part we are proudest of.
Lodges, holiday homes and glamping pods, on the hill above North Berwick beach.
One mile from North Berwick’s beaches, harbour and High Street.
