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Edinburgh Live
Edinburgh Live
National
Sean Murphy & Alexander Smail

The East Lothian beach with mysterious remains of WW2 'midget' submarines

Taking a bracing winter walk along the beach can be the ideal way to clear the head this month, and it's all the better if there's a little intrigue to be had while doing so.

That's why one stunning beach, just under an hour's drive east of Edinburgh, could be the ideal destination, as it offers something truly interesting awaiting to be discovered as you wander along it.

Aberlady Bay in East Lothian, which lies between the village of Aberlady and the popular seaside town of Gullane, is where you'll find strange skeletal remains jutting upwards from its golden sands.

The remains on the X-craft 'Midget Submarine' at Aberlady Bay (James T M Towill/CCbySA2.0)

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No, they aren't the remains of some mysterious sea creature but instead those of a pair of World War Two X-Class 'midget' submarines, reports the Daily Record.

Their wrecks can be spotted as the tide goes out – so check for low tides to be able to explore them properly – as the rest of the time they will be submerged beneath the waves.

It's important to keep an eye on the tides as they can come in quickly.

Where did the World War Two X-Class 'midget' submarines come from?

The badly deteriorated wrecks have been there since the 1940s and were actually originally used as target practice by RAF aircraft gunners to test their weaponry on submarine hulls to see their effectiveness at penetrating the metal plates.

Towed to the Bay in 1946, they were tethered to a large concrete block where they could fired upon away from the general public.

Since then, their remains have been left on the beach waiting for future generations to discover. And though the wrecks have been affected by the decades, elements such as the opening hatch are still clearly visible, making them fascinating for kids (big and small).

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