Weekend pictures

Some pictures from the weekend. From Arthur's Seat, early in the morning:
Skies over Midlothian, from the Pentlands:
A cold snowy day, with better winter conditions than I've experienced on hills twice the height. And on the way down, some big icicles:

Snow

My flat has a nice view, but I find it hard to photograph. You really have to see it. Here's quite a nice picture of Blackford Hill from this morning anyway.

In other news, snow and ice on Arthur's Seat reduced my time to 17 minutes. On the way down, a walker on his way up warned me of the ice. "I know!" I answered, and did a standing glissade down the path towards him. We did a short dance of awkward laughter and skidding feet until we were both stable again.

Arthur's Seat

Better pacing today bought me to the top in 14 minutes.

In fairness to my previous comments, I should point out that there were a couple of local lads on top, who asked me where lots of things were before I got my breath back.

Arthur's Seat

It's a lovely day today. I went up Arthur's Seat this morning (and how many cities have their own mountain, albeit a small one?). I used to do this fairly regularly and in a nerdy but harmless way, would measure the time from my doorstep to the top. I think 21 or 22 minutes was the record. This is only my second ascent since moving, so I think I should start making the exercise more regular. And my new benchmark is 16 minutes from the park gates to the top.

It is an exceptionally clear day. From the top, a line of peaks in the Highlands were visible, where normally there is cloud or haze. The summit viewpoint indicator actually misses quite a few out, but I had prepared with a crib sheet. Some of the more impressive sightings were Ben Bhuide, Ben More and Stob Binnean, Ben Lawers, and a bit of Beinn A Ghlo.

I had a chat on top with a German student about hills and Edinburgh. It's always noticeable how few natives you meet up there.

I didn't have my camera, so no nice pictures, I'm afraid.

PS: Just realised how similar this is to a previous post. Clearly, I'm becoming very predictable.

Day out

Last weekend's fix took place on the Moorfoot hills. Not exactly one of the greater ranges, but you have to use what you've got available. The Moorfoots form a boundary to the view when I travel to work in the mornings, filling as they do the gap between the well-known but flat Lammermuirs, and the popular and more eye-catching Pentlands. And some tiny fragments are visible from my flat. A while ago, I formed the idea of a Moorfoot traverse that joined the A7 to the A703. So that's what I did.

It was a day of wind generators, quiet backroads that you didn't need to share with much traffic, and quite a lot of dead things. As well as roadkill pheasants and a badger, I found a still-living lamb on the hill with its eyes pecked out. Enjoy the view.

That's Gladhouse reservoir with Arthur's Seat behind. There were Whooper swans on the reservoir, which (according to a passing birder) were in Iceland the day before. On the 62 bus home, an 82 year old called Irene filled me in on local gossip, how the trams were going, and what shops used to be on the site of the St James centre.

2007: the story so far

I thought some exercise was in order, so I climbed Arthur's Seat. I coincided with high winds and a squall of very cold rain at the top. Who needs to go away at the weekend, when severe mountain conditions can be got twenty minutes from my front door? As I had risked it without a waterproof, I was carrying a lot more weight by the time I got down again. The now-traditional Triathalon was just starting as I passed the commonwealth pool. Actually, the first time I passed, they were appealing for more marshals to come forward (you get your own yellow reflective vest - quite an incentive), and the second time, the children's race was underway, which meant that a lot of competitive parents were shouting at their offspring.

Cool

I've just discovered a website with beautiful panoramas. I can foresee some wasted hours ahead. My sighting of Ben Lawers from Arthur's Seat now looks quite tame.

A guid new year to ane an' aw...

For once it is a nice day too. Assuming that I'd been well enough to go somewhere interesting for Hogmanay, it would have been possible to go for a decent walk today. But that's too many subjunctives and most New Year trips that I can remember consisted of watching drizzle fall from low cloud on Jan. 1st, while attempting rehydration.

The wheezing is somewhat better, which meant I did manage to ascend Arthur's Seat. All the far away hills that one can so unexpectedly see from here were visible, including Ben Lomond, Ben Ledi, and Ben Lawers. I still can't quite get over the amount of Scotland that this view spans, but then we do live in a small country. As usual, the summit was full of tourists, and also as usual, I ended up taking pictures for a few people. It's sad how few of the good folk of Edinburgh take advantage of the exercise on their doorstep.

There was also a triathalon in the park today, which gives you some stupidly fit people to stare at.

A high traverse

I have just invented the Portobello Haute Route. This consists of Newington to Portobello, via Arthur's Seat and Dunsapie. Figgate Park is quite nice too, with lots of seagulls sitting on frozen ponds.

A lovely health and safety violation

I keep a kind of mental list (actually, more of a bag, as list implies an ordering) of quirky places to go. On Sunday, what should pop off my stack but the Hopetoun monument. This can be seen on an averagely clear day from North bridge in the centre of Edinburgh, somewhere behind the twin chimneys of Cockenzie power station.

Walking from Drem station, I was reminded what good soil there is in the Lothians. A succession of neat and clearly productive fields were divided up by shelter belts, with some more mature forestry covering low hills. I was very pleased to discover that the spectre of health and safety had not caused this unmanned monument with its dark and uneven steps to be closed. The steps were liberally covered with bits of twig, presumably by some birds who wanted to move in. And finally, the top, with a nice balustrade, an amazing view, and some of the poorest viewpoint indicators I've come across. I know these things are meant to be somewhat schematic, but Arthur's Seat just isn't that shape. And how could you not point out the Forth bridge zig-zagging across to Fife? But enough! It was a nice day with flocks of geese resting in the fields after lunch, and some people buzing around in microlight aircraft. And on the way back, a few deer in the woods.

Do I look like a twig?

Just back from a walk around Holyrood Park. On descending the hillside, I heard a rustling, flapping noise just behind me. It sounded like a plastic bag being blown around. After turning a few times I found that it was actually a crow flying around my head. It didn't seem to be actually agressive--it could have dive bombed me much more assertively if it had wanted to. It kept pace with me for quite a distance, always seeming about to land on my head, but not quite doing so. I wonder if there was something aerodynamic going on--some kind of eddy created behind me by the stiff breeze that could comfortably accommodate a crow? Or was it just trying to weird me out?