08 December 2014 – Linlithgow for lunch

We had an interesting outing planned for this day with the Lothian Cyclists, heading over to Fife, going east along the coast then returning by an inland route. Sadly, the weather had other ideas. There was a lot of frost and ice around first thing, and after gathering at South Queensferry to discuss the options, the decision was made to avoid going across the Forth Bridge and do something completely different. So Fiona and Willie came up with a shorter run taking us to Linlithgow for lunch.

First, we headed towards Dalmeny, where we came across quite a lot of frost and some black ice. This worried some of us enough to consider turning back. The fact that two of our number were absent after hurting themselves on black ice a few days earlier was foremost in the mind.

However, our leaders reassured us that the rest of our route would be fine. So we carried on in the direction of Kirkliston, picking up an off-road cycle path on the way. The slightly muddy surface with light frosting of ice was much easier to less intimidating to ride on than black ice on tarmac!

Back on the road, we continued through Winchburgh in the direction of Linlithgow at a fairly gentle pace. It was just the right level of exertion to warm me up without breaking into much of a sweat. Despite bright sunshine, the ambient temperature was sitting at a degree or so above freezing, so getting damp wouldn’t be a great idea.

We arrived at Linlithgow around 11.30, which was technically a little early for a lunch stop, but none of us cared about that. The bikes were locked up to the railings outside the Burgh Halls cafe, just down from the entrance to Linlithgow Palace. This was a new venue to me, but the others knew it well and it scored highly due to having much better toilets than the alternative cafe in the town, which I’ve been to several times before.

Linlithgow Palace

Linlithgow Palace

The first thing we noticed about the cafe was the heat. I was down to my T-shirt in minutes. “Stop there” they all cried! Several of us chose the stovies, which made an excellent choice on such a cold day. Overall, a pretty good lunch stop: decent food, decent prices and yes, the toilets were much superior to the competition!

Colette snapped a few photos as we got ready to recommence the ride, then we headed north out of the town on the A903. We used pavement for most of that, but needed to keep a wary eye out for sections of ice that hadn’t yet seen any of the sun. Then, after going over the M9, we turned second right, followed by a descent into Blackness.

Turning right along St Ninian’s Way, we found ourselves at a grassy playing field which we crossed to reach the woods of Hopetoun estate. Here, we followed cycle route 76 along a sometimes muddy path; certainly the muddiest I’ve seen it, which was no doubt largely due to the tractors transporting timber along the path.

Riding through the woods

Riding through the woods

To our left was the Firth of Forth, looking its best at high tide. Across on the other side we could see the hills of Fife, covered in snow down to quite a low level. It all looked very picturesque in the afternoon sun.

The three Forth bridges

The three Forth bridges

After traversing the estate and negotiating the awkward gates one by one (which can take an age when there’s quite a few of you), we made our way into South Queensferry with the two and a bit bridges looming large ahead of us. A few patches of road hadn’t seen any sunlight but the ice didn’t cause any problems. But we got the feeling that the road would only get worse as darkness approached. So we were glad to get back to the cars and call a halt to proceedings.

Winter on the estuary

Winter on the estuary

It wasn’t what we had been expecting, but we all had a very enjoyable day out in the lovely winter scenery. Despite the cold we all felt comfortable on the ride, and most importantly, nobody fell over!

 

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