EEN Nostalgia: Turning the tide at Cramond

Fed-up members of the local community believe people who become stranded and have to call the coastguard should make a financial contribution in return for their rescue, with one community leader branding them “flaming idiots”.

Last Sunday, a lifeboat was called out to rescue five women, three men and a three-year-old boy.

The stranded party were picked up uninjured and returned to Cramond’s harbour, where they were met by six fire engines, four special operations team vehicles provided by the ambulance service and one polic vehicle.

Cramond Island has always been a popular spot in the summer months, attracting scores of visitors.

And it’s not just people on foot who can find themselves in a spot of bother – a Land Rover and a Morris Minor got stuck for days in the mud and sand off Cramond Island back in June 1965. The latter vehicle had gone to the “rescue” of the Land Rover.

But not all visits to Cramond Island end in disaster. In 1958, a group were photographed safely making the walk back from Cramond Island at low tide.

In August the same year, crowds flocked to the beach to soak up the sunshine.

The beach was also packed out in July 1955, with holidaymakers enjoying some summer sunshine with their

deckchairs.

And in September 1962, two models in bathing suits were photographed with Val Padura, the Cramond ferry man.

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