So far, March has been much busier than February, with wee bits and bobs here and there. As a result I think I'm dropping behind with my 5-miles-a-day intention (I also had a neck issue that set me back a few days - it's slowly on the mend!).
However last week brought two longer walks that eased my itchy feet slightly.
The first was a bit of an epic. The first was a 22-miler - just a snippet of the almost-100 mile walk my wee bro Ross did last week.
He set off on the John Muir Way from Helensburgh last Monday, and by Wednesday night had made it to Linlithgow. His first day, to Balloch, had been quite short, so the next two days had been very long. There's a lot of tarmac on the Way by the sounds of it, what with the canal paths, and his feet were suffering.
Mum and I planned to walk out from South Queensferry on Thursday to meet him on route. We hoped to reach Blackness Castle and jump out as he walked past - he was expecting to see Mum but not me.
We left Mum's car in South Queensferry and started walking around 10.20am. It was a pleasant stroll towards Hopetoun House, and we stopped to take photos of the third Forth Bridge as we went.
We skirted around the grounds of Hopetoun House, walking through this impressive gate, then getting wee glimpses of the house itself.
Shortly after passing the house, we joined a track. Suddenly I spotted a walker coming towards us in the distance. Then I realised it was Ross! So much for jumping out from behind a castle.
It turns out Ross had left Linlithgow at 6.40am (!!!), getting an early start as he had a 30 mile day ahead of him! When we met him he was limping - he'd done around 12 miles and had 18 to go, but didn't look in good shape for the challenge ahead!
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| Back through the fancy gate! |
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We plied him with sweeties (and later ibuprofen) and Mum and I retraced
our steps back to South Queensferry. We got there around 1pm, and had
lunch in Mum's car as the rain came on.
After a half hour lunch stop, the three of us continued onto the second 'half' of the day, 15 miles to Edinburgh. Ross had done 15 miles by this point, Mum and I had done 7.
You can't tell from the photos but it was pretty drizzly at this point. Not heavy rain - that would come later!
We enjoyed a nice path along the edge of the Firth of Forth. We said bye to Mum at one point (I can't remember when - it's a bit of a haze!) and she turned back to South Queensferry.
As our day continued, the rain got gradually heavier. We walked past the impressive Dalmeny House, and also the delightfully named Barnbougle Castle.
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| Dalmeny House |
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| Looking back to Barnbougle Castle - just visible on shoreline |
From here it was a fair trudge towards Cramond. We turned away from the coast and a tarmac road took us to the main A90. Obviously we were on the flight path to Edinburgh Airport - it was slightly disconcerting to have these huge loud jets flying so close overhead!
Then we crossed over the Cramond Brig, and began our trudge through residential Edinburgh. This was quite torturous - we knew we were in the city and just needed to get across it. However in the rain on a rubbish Thursday, having already walked a long way (especially in the case of Ross!), we didn't seem to make much progress with each step.
At least the houses of East and West Barnton Avenue kept us entertained - there are some extremely impressive properties around there! I'd never been down this way before - doesn't JK Rowling live round there somewhere?!
We were walking through one residential area after another - Davidson's Mains, Clermiston and soon Corstorphine. Now we just had a wee jaunt up Corstorphine Hill to do in the ever-heavier rain. Joy.
In the end, it was short and not too painful. And although it was an awfy dreich day, the views across Edinburgh were tremendous. I couldn't believe that I'd never been up Corstorphine Hill before - must go back on a better day!
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| Tower dedicated to Sir Walter Scott! |
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| A bit grey, but in the distance Edinburgh Castle and Arthur's Seat are just visible |
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| Are we nearly there yet? |
Ross said that one of his low points was reaching Murrayfield Stadium and realising we still had about 3-4 miles to go. Our flat in Polwarth we were heading for is much closer to Murrayfield as the crow flies, but the John Muir Way had other ideas. We were taking the Water of Leith path to Slateford/the Visitor Centre, before joining the canal all the way to Polwarth.
I can see why this would be a blow, especially after 26 odd miles!! For me, I was relieved to be back on familiar territory (the Water of Leith path and the canal were favourite walks of mine when I lived in Edinburgh) and was ready for a head-down trudge to the flat.
The rain by this point was pretty heavy, and morale was low.
The last photo I took is of Ross at the allotments just near Slateford. After that it was just too dark and too wet to take anymore.
We reached the flat at 6.50pm - more than 12 hours after Ross had set off!
I had done 22 miles and was feeling jiggered. Ross had done 30 - and 60 plus the 3 days prior - and must have been feeling it. Ross I'll say this, you have some determination!
We were soaked to the skin. It took a hot shower, a curry and a beer to feel somewhat normal again.
Ross had planned to walk to Dunbar over Friday and Saturday but made the right decision to end his walk - for now - at Edinburgh. He'd done so many miles on hard ground over the past few days, and his feet were pretty wrecked. He knew he wouldn't enjoy the next 40 miles. There will be another time to complete this last part - now it was all about rest and recovery!
It took me a few days to even want to walk again! My hips were the sorest part. However on Sunday I walked round Loch Leven
again, this time with Dave and his mum. It was a very pleasant Sunday morning/afternoon walk.
It was fun to watch the gliders up there enjoying the thermals - and hard to believe I'd been in one of those myself
back in 2013!
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| Thank goodness for that fence between us! |
Post-walk I had the pleasure of Toffee the dog's company to watch the rugby (we'll not talk about Saturday's game...)
The past few days have been spent dog-sitting my parent's dog Robbie, who doesn't walk too far but is great company!
So two very enjoyable walks last week, great company although not so good weather. I'm in awe of what Ross achieved, and hope to challenge myself in a similar fashion soon.
March is getting busier and busier but all in a good way. And the final word of the post today is to wish my Dad a very Happy Birthday - I won't reveal his age but it's a landmark :)
