Cycling in Midlothian (and elsewhere)

This time of year, the chances for a good bike ride are few and far between, so we took advantage of a great forecast and headed out straight after breakfast in bright sunshine with only a slight breeze. There was some frost on the ground, but we were well wrapped up. Today’s plan was to cycle past Soutra Aisle for the first time.

We headed up the A7 to the Fala turnoff, then breezed along past Tynehead till we reached the A68. Our aim was to be on the main road as little as possible, so we took the first left after 0.2 miles and headed for Fala Dam. Colette was a bit worried about the possibility of the road being icy, so we didn’t race downhill here. That was a good idea, as a bin lorry was working right at the bottom. We squeezed past then started the climb back out of Fala Dam from a standing start.

The bin lorry overtook us as we crawled uphill, but we caught it again at Fala. There, we turned left, following the minor roads as far as possible until we came out at the A68 again, just 0.3 miles from the Soutra Aisle turnoff. The main road was quite busy, so I was glad to be on it for such a short time. As soon as we turned off and went past the quarry entrance, we were back on really quiet road. The road was fairly steep at this point – enough to feel the burn in my legs, in a good way that is, and we kept going as far as Soutra Aisle itself.

Soutra Aisle

We stopped for some tea from our flask, took a look around and read from the info panels (apart from the west-facing ones, which have been erased by the elements). This is an old burial chamber that lies on the grounds of an important medieval hospital that was run by Augustinian monks. The hospital went into decline following a scandal in the 1460s and was finally completely dismantled, leaving nothing to see now but the Aisle. The view must be just as good as it ever was, as we could see for miles across to Fife in the north and the Bass Rock to the east.

The perfect road for cycling

The weather was fantastic for our day out, as we rode on along the B6368. It was sheltered enough in places to feel some warmth from the sun and the scenery was delightful. We made sure not to hurry this part, as the road was so quiet and peaceful, and such a contrast to the main roads at either end.

Keeping an eye on us

A final steep descent took us to the A7, where I had intended cutting straight across the main road to meet up with the minor road that links Fountainhall with Heriot. However, our intended road was fenced off due to the Borders railway works, which cuts straight across it. The next joining road was also out of bounds, and we nearly reached Heriot before we could get off the A7.

We then made our way towards the Innerleithen road, pausing for a while at the bridge outside Borthwick Hall for a sandwich and more tea. A few miles further along at the T-junction, we turned right onto the A7007 and started climbing the Moorfooot Hills at a leisurely pace. We then had the long descent into Midlothian to enjoy, but not too fast, as the cold wind made my eyes water! All in all, a very pleasant 30 mile ride, and hopefully the weather will provide a good few more opportunities for similar outings over the colder months to come.

Earlier this week, we drove down to Moffat and with time to spare, we took the scenic route past St. Mary’s Loch for the first time. We were amazed at how beautiful the scenery was, and decided to come back with the bikes ASAP. As we prefer circular routes, we went for the most obvious one going round the loch. OK, it’s a bit of a short route, but it has a challenging climb in the middle.

We parked up a mile or so north of the loch and got the bikes ready on a cold (6 C) but sunny morning. Soon we were pedalling into a stiff headwind and I had to stop to put on my waterproof, as the layers I set out in weren’t up to the windchill. We overshot our route slightly to check out the Glen Cafe, which was open. Too early for a cuppa but we decided to come back after we were finished.

Then we crossed the bridge that divides St. Mary’s Loch and the Loch of the Lowes. This took us past the historic Tibbie Shiels Inn and joined up with the Southern Upland Way. The walking route at this point goes along the path of a long disused road that runs uphill from St. Mary’s Loch between the peaks of The Wiss (1932′) and Earl’s Hill. The road ran quite steeply at places but I didn’t find the surface too tricky – gravel at either side with grass inbetween. Maybe it was down to my new tyres, as Colette found it more difficult keeping a good grip. With the headwind coming into play, I ended up slowly cycling along at walking pace while Colette walked her bike up, also at walking pace. As long as it gets you up the hill, who cares!

Just pondering whether the locals are going to be friendly…

There was just one tricky bit, where a small herd of cows was encroaching on the path as they fed from a feeder alongside the road. We weren’t entirely sure they would be happy with us passing by so close. To add to the uncertainty, the immediate vicinity had been turned into a mud bath, so we proceeded with caution. As it turned out, the cows were completely unfazed by us, and the mud was only a couple of inches deep, so we escaped without incident.

After a comparatively short time, we reached the gates of the Berrybush conifer plantation. Here, we parted company with the Southern Upland Way and continued through the plantation on a forestry track made from hard packed stones and gravel. The ugly utilitarian track and densely planted trees made for quite a harsh change of scenery. After a while, we came across a well-preserved sheepfold situated at the side of the road, seemingly lost in the middle of the woods. We stopped there for some tea from our flask and marvelled at the abundance of mosses that had grown on the stones in the damp, sheltered environment.

Lichen jungle (or it is moss???)

Carrying on, the road reached its summit and we started a slightly bumpy descent along the stony track. Without any visible landmarks, it was useful that I’d brought a map, so we took the correct turnings to get us out of the wood and rejoin tarmac in the shape of the B709. We then enjoyed nearly 4 miles of glorious freewheeling along the east side of a small valley, full of late autumn colours, lit by soft, low sunlight. It was so good that it would have spoiled the experience to stop and take photos (we came back again later in the car for that!).

Autumn colours

The descent took us as far as the Gordon Arms Hotel at the crossroads, where we turned left and back into the headwind once more till we returned to the car to complete the short 13.5 mile circuit. Then it was back along to the Glen Cafe for some lunch. I’m sure it won’t be long before we’re back again for more!

With about 4 hours straddling lunch time to play with, we decided on an away trip today and took the bikes on the back of the car as far as Haddington. We parked in a small car park slightly away from the centre of town, to avoid the 90 minute time limit. Our idea was to follow cycle route 76 as far as Dunbar then reverse the route, which is precisely what we did…

To start with, we negotiated the one way system and picked up route 76, taking us over the footbridge near the Waterside Inn. We followed the route out of town on a very quiet country road. There was no more than a gentle breeze at this point though the day was overcast and rain was forecast for later in the afternoon.

After a few miles, we were heading in the direction of Traprain Law, a large rocky outcrop visible for miles. The road leading up towards it looked quite steep, so it came as a relief that the cycle route then took a left turn in the direction of Hailes Castle. The road started out nice and flat and had been recently resurfaced, which made for easy rolling. Pretty soon, we reached the castle, so we stopped for a good look around.

Hailes Castle – how many people have gazed out over those fields down the centuries?

The site is free to enter and wander around, and much of the ruins remain. There are plenty of information plaques describing how the castle would have been used in the past. I particularly liked how much of the castle was given over to the alehouse, and that the average person consumed at least a litre of ale each day. I think it’s good to keep these traditions alive!

After a good look around, we hopped back on the bikes and continued east, with the “new” A1 dual carriageway making its presence felt. Our road went underneath it, then continued downhill to East Linton. From the wonderfully-named Phantassie junction, we carried on along route 76, which followed the dual-use pavement on the north side of the old A1. The next few miles were straight, flat and fairly boring, until we came to the turnoff for Dunbar (the A1087).

Belhaven Bay. Seen at high tide, this bridge looks a bit silly

The cycle route briefly shared the road with traffic, before taking a left and joining up with a path along the Beil Water as it flowed to meet the sea at Belhaven Bay. At the end of the path, we got onto Back Road, running alongside a golf course, which took us right into Dunbar town centre.

It was a little early for lunch but we fancied some chips from the chippie. Luckily they were already frying at 11.45am, so I popped in and got us a bag each. We trotted off down to the harbour and ate them sitting on a bench. They were just perfect – why can’t we get them like that near us??? There were loads of gull feathers blowing around the harbour, but the gulls themselves didn’t come a-begging for chips. If they had done, I would have given them some. That would have been a bad idea though, as we noticed a sign on the way back warning that feeding the gulls attracted a £50 fine! I guess it must have served its purpose as the gulls clearly didn’t expect to get anything from us.

Dunbar at the sea front

After our feed, we meandered our way through Dunbar until we came to the second golf course, where we turned around and started heading back where we came from. It was about high tide when we left, and Colette stopped for a few more photos at the shore in Belhaven before retracing our steps. As we headed back towards East Linton, we were on the lookout for a tea room. We passed a farm shop and went to investigate, but unfortunately it was one of the rare breed that doesn’t have a cafe. We continued to East Linton in the knowledge that there definitely is a cafe there, only to find it closed for half term. So we had to leave East Linton unrefreshed, with a couple of pauses to admire the lovely fountain and the view of the River Tyne from the bridge.

The ride back was quite easy, with none of the undulations in the road proving particularly troublesome. A mile or two out from Haddington, we passed along a oak-lined road, accompanied by the sound of occasional acorns dropping onto the tarmac. It looked like ideal country for spotting jays so I kept a good eye out, but didn’t see any sign of one.

We turned up back at the car park with just under 30 miles on the clock. As I packed away, the cold started to bite, adding to the urgency to head home ASAP for that overdue cuppa and a slice of delicious home-made carrot cake.

Day 1

Doing the Great Glen Way has been on the radar ever since we seriously took up cycling, and extending it to Beauly made sense for us, due to family connections there as well as at Fort William. So I worked out a route that included some of the off-road Great Glen Way and also some cycling on relatively quiet roads, with a stop-off at the Whitebridge Hotel at the end of the first day. For this trip, we teamed up again with Colette’s brother Damian for another west coast to east coast expedition.

Day 1 saw us getting up early and driving off in the dark towards Fort William with our bikes on the back of the car and fully packed panniers in the boot. We got there about 9am and as arranged, were parked in the driveway of the house on Achintore Road where Colette and Damian grew up. We caught up with Damian close to the Alexandra Hotel where he had stayed the previous night, and was waiting with the mountain bike he had hired from a local bike shop. The day was calm and dry and the sun was even threatening to come out, which we hadn’t dare hope for: a perfect start for our long-awaited journey.

Raring to go…

We started off by heading to the back of Morrisons supermarket and then past Lidl, which might not seem a very inspiring beginning, but it took us to a footbridge crossing River Nevis and into Inverlochy, picking up the Great Glen Way trail, which we continued to dip in and out of for much of the trip. This took us along past the Nevis Cycles shop and onto a single track road that ran parallel to the train track for a while. As we passed, there was the sound of coal being dispensed from a large bunker, possibly to fuel the steam train that runs to Mallaig.

Soon, we reached the Soldiers Bridge, where we dutifully dismounted and marched our bikes single file across to the opposite bank of the River Lochy. Once there, we turned left and cycled on through Caol and met up with the Caledonian Canal for the first time. The sun was now shining strongly from just above Ben Nevis, spoiling Colette’s attempt at photographing the mountain from this prime vantage. I suppose we can live with that under the circumstances!

Reflections on the Caledonian Canal

We cycled along the towpath for a short distance to Banavie and Neptune’s Staircase: a series of locks raising the canal well above sea level. From there, we continued on the right side of the canal along the towpath. The morning was just perfect and the canal reflected the scenery like a mirror.

Merry isthmus

After a few miles, we came to Gairlochy, where the canal opens out into Loch Lochy. We turned left there across the swing bridge, then right along the B8005. This quiet road took us up through trees and down close to Loch Lochy, past some houses with the most perfect lochside locations and on to Clunes. There we turned right onto a forest track that ran along the west bank of Loch Lochy. The track was slightly hillier than I’d expected, but nothing compared to what lay ahead later in the day. We rode for what seemed a good number of miles through the trees, with occasional glimpses of the loch to our right. Finally, the trees thinned out and we descended to the locks at South Laggan, where Loch Lochy ended and the Caledonian Canal took over again.

Forestry track alongside Loch Lochy

Arriving at the Eagle Barge, at Laggan

I had heard that there was a floating pub / restaurant at Laggan, so we looked around and found the Eagle Barge. It was displaying a closed sign, but there were signs of life.  We were in dire need of a cup of tea and bite to eat,  so we were greatly relieved when the place opened up a few minutes later. The barge is run by a young couple who have made something a bit special in this wonderful location. The bar is small, but boasts several real ales and the cosy dining area is booked solid every night. We took our tea and excellent fruit scones on the top deck, overlooking a large yacht in the process of refurbishment. This was another project that the couple were undertaking: converting the 1960s yacht, originally sailed round the Med by Dutch nobility, into a floating bunk house. Along with the floating pub, that would make Laggan into a perfect stopover point for the future!

We then continued along the canal path, which rose well above the canal and through a wooded area which made for a very pleasant ride. The path took us to North Laggan just south of the lock leading into Loch Oich. There, we crossed the A82 and headed towards the Great Glen Water Park. However, we skirted along the side and followed the Great Glen Way sign that took us up to an old, long disused railway station. The path ran along the east side of Loch Oich through what looked to be native woodland. It was a bit muddy in places, but the main problem was tree roots, which made our progress very bouncy. At one point, Damian’s bike got stuck in the middle of a mass of roots and ejected him sideways, in what looked like slow motion, onto a patch of grass at the side of the path. No major injuries, but annoyingly the fall put a hole in his new cycling trousers.

Roots were a feature of the path along Loch Oich

On a slight downhill section I got up a bit of speed and surprised a small animal on the path, As it scurried off, I could tell it was a red squirrel – the first I’ve ever seen in the wild. Luckily, it only went as far as the nearest tree, so it was still there for Colette and Damian to see when they caught up.

Further along the path was a section of grass alongside the loch set aside for “trailblazers”, with areas to build campfires and further up the hill, a composting toilet. I investigated the latter while Colette and Damian explored an abandoned cottage that stood alongside.

Our journey then continued north along the Great Glen Way until we reached Bridge of Oich at the head of Loch Oich. We stopped for a few moments to inspect the old 19th century suspension bridge, then pressed on along the eastern canal bank. After a mile or so, we crossed to the other side using a lock and cycled the remaining few miles to Fort Augustus and the southern shores of Loch Ness.

We headed round to the abbey, where Damian had spent a few of his school years, so he could show us some of the sights. Alongside the stone pier is the Boathouse restaurant, where we thought we might get something to eat. It was about 3pm and it looked as if they were tidying up after lunch. We weren’t all that hungry anyway, so ended up getting tea and fruit scones again. The scones were fine, but not as good as those at the Eagle Barge. We watched boats going in and out of the canal, but Nessie was nowhere to be seen. Damian told us that some of the monks he spoke to at the abbey were convinced they had seen the monster. It would be nice to think there is something hiding there in those deep, dark waters.

Tea at Fort Augustus. Damian: “Look at the state o’ me strides, guv’nor”

After that, we got ourselves ready for the final leg of the journey: going northeast along the B862 in the direction of Whitebridge, where we were going to spend the night. Damian wanted to pick up some things from the shops in the town, so he suggested that Colette and I go ahead and he would meet us at the hotel. So we did that and headed towards the main challenge of the day – a huge 5 mile climb which took us from the shores of Loch Ness up to a height of nearly 1300 feet!

The climb started off gently enough, but soon ramped up to a seriously steep gradient that saw me quickly changing down to the lowest gear possible. I was aware from looking at maps that the climb was separated into three sections of just over a mile each, with respites inbetween. So I resigned myself to just grinding it out at more or less walking pace – with a degree of effort that I could just about maintain over at least a mile. In fact, I have to say that I quite enjoyed it – after all the planning and thinking about it, I was actually doing it! Colette managed it too, but at a slightly slower pace. I stopped at the top of the first section to let her catch up then we enjoyed a brief downhill respite before the hill started again. The second section seemed just as hard as the first, and I was getting really tired by the time the road flattened off as we reached Loch Tarff. We stopped there for a few minutes then tackled the final section, which was thankfully less severe. Just over an hour after leaving Fort Augustus, we reached the top, where we found a great viewpoint over the surrounding hills and lochs. What was even better, we could see our road snaking off into the distance, going downhill as far as the eye could see!

Downhill all the way to Whitebridge

So we set off again and freewheeled downhill pretty much all the way to the Whitebridge Hotel. We got our bikes stowed away in a shed then went to our room for a shower and got changed for dinner. Looking out the window, we saw Damian arrive, who had taken an off-road option for part of the route and managed to go even higher than we did!

The hotel itself looked in need of some modernisation and repair work, but the welcome was warm. The big question was what would the food be like, as we were starving. We all met up in the bar for a drink and ordered from a standard-looking menu. The bar was really quite busy for a Thursday tea time, with lots of people eating. We were very pleasantly surprised by the standard of the food – my steak & ale pie was delicious – a real high point of the day. After that however, our exertions caught up with us and we headed up for bed around 8.30pm!

Day 2

It was hard to sleep, thinking about another exciting day ahead. Colette and I got up a bit early and went down for breakfast, and while we waited for Damian to join us, we went outside to look at a collection of falcons that had been arranged on the lawn by their owners. This group of falconers were staying at the hotel along with their birds and dogs, which they had been taking out onto the moors to hunt for grouse. They were delighted with the weather this year and had got out virtually every day of their holiday, although with mixed success on the hunting front.

Peregrine falcon

We shared the breakfast room with the falconers and were treated to a perfect cooked breakfast with barely a trace of grease in sight. I probably had a little to much to eat but it would soon be worked off when we got going.

Leaving the hotel behind, we headed in the direction of Foyers and stopped for about 30 minutes while we explored the red squirrel trail (on foot) and checked out the waterfall. Sadly, we didn’t see any red squirrels this time. The road out of Foyers was steep and rapidly took us down to water level as we progressed north along the east shore of Loch Ness on General Wade’s military road. The road here was flat with gentle undulations, meaning we made comparatively rapid progress and reached the top of Loch Ness at Dores in time for a nice cup of tea, courtesy of the Dores Inn. We decided not to have any more scones, and took some lemon slice instead.

After a bit of a look around at the Nessie Hunter’s shack, which is parked next to the inn, we got back on our bikes and headed onwards towards Inverness. This section of the road rose steadily uphill through more cultivated land than we had seen before. From the top, there followed a long descent into Inverness, the final part of which was along the east bank of the River Ness. We then left the road to go halfway across the river along a footbridge leading to a long, thin island. At the other end of the island, we completed the crossing to the west bank of the river, then followed the road on the left until we came back to the Caledonian Canal. The towpath took us all the way to the end of the canal at Clachnaharry, and we decided to carry on as far as we could, to the final lock where the canal flowed out into the Beauly Firth. On our way there, we noticed the funnels of a large 1:10 scale model of the Titanic, and we decided to go back and investigate the Titanic museum, but not before having lunch at the Clachnaharry Inn.

The end of the Caledonian Canal at Clachnaharry

After a large, rather stodgy lunch and a certain amount of beer, my stomach was saying that it wasn’t time to get back on my bike just yet. So the Titanic museum sounded like a good idea. The museum is one man’s labour of love, fuelled by an obsession with the Titanic in particular, and seafaring in general. The museum has taken over most of his house, into which entry is free, at your own risk (and there is scope for tripping or banging your head if you’re not careful!). You could spend a whole day there and not discover everything there is to see; the place is packed with models, plans, pictures and snippets of information, as well as audio-visual displays. Going down to B-deck there is a fun area with dressing up and a lifeboat and small motor boat to play in. The latter is hooked up to a speedboat simulator game, which Colette and I both had a good go at. As we left that part, we exited to the back yard and straight in front was the massive titanic model. There we met the “curator” Stan Fraser, who blew the foghorn to signal that he had just put the kettle on. He was leaving to pick up his kids from school and told us to just help ourselves to tea and coffee. I made myself a nice cuppa and sat down to drink it in the Parisian cafe, located inside the Titanic model. We had to go back in and increase our donation before we left, we were so impressed!

At the wonderful Titanic museum

However, we had to leave and get back on the road for the final leg of our journey along the A862 to Beauly. This was the least pleasant part of the route, with quite a lot of traffic to contend with, although the road itself was quite flat. We finally rolled up outside Colette’s mum’s house feeling tired but very proud of ourselves, and with memories of a wonderful trip that we will remember for ever.

As for the stats, the trip measured up to a total of 84 miles according to Mapmyride, with 44 on the first day and 40 on the second. The off-road cycling was preferable to the on-road stuff, so there is scope for doing it again and sticking to the mountain bike route. Whenever we do it, we would be hard pushed to match the beautiful weather we enjoyed on this trip. Amazing!!!

Recently I came across some videos online showing some great-looking trails in the Loanhead / Bilston area. We decided to go there and try some of them out, but we would strongly advise anyone NOT to follow our route to the letter; all will become clear further down…

First thing was getting to Loanhead, so we chose the most direct route, down the A7, across to Bonnyrigg,  down through Lasswade and up to Loanhead. Just past the LO-GY centre there is an access point to a cycle path that uses the old railway line joining Loanhead and Roslin. We got there in just over 40 minutes, then joined the path, looking for a little off-road fun.

Almost immediately, the land on the right opened up into a wide clearing: the site of former industrial workings. There were lots of paths leading away from the course of the old railway and through that clearing, so we left the paved cycle track behind and went off exploring. We were drawn to one path running through woods, and followed it for a few minutes, until we spotted a nice narrow track heading uphill and alongside a ploughed field. This was a fun little twisty path to follow, which we did until it ran between some very sharp thorn bushes. Just before this point we paused and noticed a massive bramble patch. This patch was in full sunlight and full of ripe brambles (in contrast to many of the other bushes we have seen recently, which are still at least a week or two behind). We filled a tub to the brim with the juicy berries before getting back on our bikes and retracing our steps back to the cycle path.

Bilston Viaduct

We now carried on over the Bilston viaduct: a very substantial white-painted iron structure traversing a surprisingly deep gorge. As soon as we crossed, we took a left turn into woods again, following a signpost for Polton. This was a pleasant and fairly easy-going ride. Pretty soon we stopped to look at an information board on our right. Through a gate, this was next to a narrow path leading to Hewan Bank. We vaguely remembered walking this path a good few years ago, so we decided to follow it on our bikes. This was our big mistake!

We got as far as the steps leading down. I thought if this is a dead end, I don’t want to be carrying my bike all the way back up those steps. We headed back for a moment, then looked at the map provided by the sign. It showed paths leading on to Roslin and Polton from the bottom, so we decided to risk it after all.

After carrying our bikes down, we reached the River North Esk. We broke out the flask and sipped tea while contemplating the information imparted by yet another information board, which explained that this was the site of a bloody battle in 1303, where countless Englishmen met their gory fate in the river. The modern name for this place (Hewan) comes from “The Hewing”, which the area was called after the battle. It made me shiver thinking about it.

River North Esk looking tranquil

We could only see one obvious way forward from this place, which was up-river. So we carried on in that direction, although the path was very narrow and tricky in places. Pretty soon, the obstacles got more difficult, and we were off our bikes more than on them. I guess we could have taken the hint at that point, but we kept going, in the hope that the path would soon widen out into something more respectable.

It was more obstacle course than cycle path

Fallen trees were all over the place – some of them pretty massive and needing teamwork to get the bikes one-by-one over or under the obstacles. The opportunities to get onto the bike even for 20 or 30 yards at a time became fewer and fewer. At one flattish section  I took my chance and started cycling along the narrow path. But the ground under my rear wheel gave way, causing me to fall off to my right, into some very soft undergrowth. Colette caught me up and we both had a laugh. I got back on, then promptly lost my balance again, falling against a fence on my left. The fencepost was rotten and gave way, spilling me off to the left this time. I just lay there and laughed – what on earth was I doing here with a bike!

We carried on regardless, and as we progressed further, the path went right down to the riverside, which meant we had the additional problem of areas of erosion. The path got down to a foot wide in some sections, which would be bad enough for a normal walk, but pushing a bike, it got quite scary. On the final section alongside the river, we had to negotiate a narrow rock ledge running alongside a rock wall, like a miniature Andean pass but with slighlty less of a drop! At the narrowest point, some kind soul had installed a metal grab rail, which gave us a little bit of security.

I found a handrail and tested to make sure it was secure

Then along came a couple of guys, who seemed quite surprised to see us lugging bikes along the path. We explained our predicament. They though we might be best retracing our steps, but that wasn’t what I wanted to hear! However, they told us that if we carried on, the worst of the riverside rock scrambling was just about over.

That was true, but we still needed to lug our bikes up stepped rocks as the path rose steeply from the riverside. The sweat was pouring off me by the time we’d got to the top of the path. The guys had told us to take the left turn at this point, which we did, and wearily walked our bikes down the slope to the next obstacle.

An eager springer spaniel caught up with us there, quickly followed by his owner, who very helpfully explained how to get out of the woods. We let her go in front and followed on, only to catch her up again as she was explaining the path to some German tourists. Front then on, she led us through the woods towards civilisation and being a local from Roslin, she was able to tell us some interesting facts about the locale at the same time. The path took us to the foot of Roslin Castle, then finally across a footbridge and into Roslin Glen country park. We thanked the lady very much and took a well earned rest on a bench.

Roslin Castle

There was now the small task of getting ourselves home, but being exhausted after spending over two hours lugging our bikes through inappropriate terrain, we called our daughter Lucy to come and rescue us. Unfortunately, there was no signal at the bottom of the glen, so we rode up to the car park at the south end of the glen road. In doing so, we passed the site of a recent accident where a cyclist was killed. Very sad.

Once at the car park, Colette tried phoning again and was successful this time; Lucy was happy to drive the car to get us. While we iwaited, we got a good view from there over to Roslin Chapel on the other side of the glen, with all the scaffolding recently removed. Soon Lucy arrived, the bikes were secured and we were driving home. We had only done 15 miles at an average speed of 4mph, but we were done in!

We have thought for a while that cycling to North Berwick, although quite a challenge, should be within our capabilities. A few weeks ago, I devised a route using the coast road to get there and returning through the middle of East Lothian. Yesterday we tried it out for real.

The morning was cloudy but bright when we started out: a bit colder than of late but with the promise of the sun possibly breaking through at some point. Firstly, we headed for Pencaitland, which is now quite a familiar route for us. On the way there, the only difficult section is the climb out of Borthwick. I took it as gently as possible in low gear, trying to pace myself for the remaining 50+ miles.

On leaving Pencaitland, we branched off to the left taking the road signposted for Longniddry. This took us through Bogs Holdings, which isn’t as bad it sounds, then Penston, where we were very taken by the garden of the last house (called Brigadoon), which contained a romantic ruined cottage.

We then crossed over the busy A1 by a series of roundabouts and then passed underneath the east coast railway as we entered Longniddry. We turned north out of Longniddry heading for the sea, with the impressive gates to Gosford House estate on the right as we passed.

After a quick stop at Longniddry Bents to take some photos, we carried on along the coast road (A198). We paused for more photos outside another picturesque gate to Gosford estate, which explicitly states “NO CYCLES”. Ah well, this seems a common theme in East Lothian.

Aberlady Bay

So we carried on as far as Aberlady, where we stopped for a lovely cup of tea from the flask that I had packed. The tide was out, giving a good view of the stream bed meandering through the sands towards the sea, and the gulls and wading birds feeding from it.

After our break, we hopped back on the bikes and continued along “Scotland’s Golf Coast” to Gullane, where we had the luxury of a cycle lane most of the way. When Direlton came up next, we had the idea of taking a detour away from the main road and through the village for a photo opportunity of the castle. However, it turns out that you can’t get a good view from this side and we didn’t feel like doubling back, so no photo this time!

Craigleith island from North Berwick

Pretty soon, we were entering North Berwick (about 27 miles from home in just over 2 hours). We paused in the hazy sunshine for a look across the sands to the harbour and Craigleith island, before picking up something for lunch from Greggs. We should have eaten it there and then by the seaside, but it was only just after 11am, and I thought we should continue for another half hour or so, looking out for a nice place to stop by the side of the road.

Getting out of North Berwick via Law Road involved consulting the map and negotiating a few back streets, in order to avoid going round the one-way system again. When we reached Law Road, it was a bit of a shock to the system to find ourselves going uphill again. The road (B1347) took us up, past Berwick Law and carried on in the direction of Haddington, through the centre of East Lothian.

Berwick Law

All the time, I was looking out for a good place to stop for lunch, ideally with a picnic bench, but nowhere looked really suitable. Eventually, we came across signs for the Museum of Flight at East Fortune. I thought we should head there, as it was a good bet that there would be a car park and picnic benches at the entrance. As it happens, the entrance is about half a mile down a lane, so we decided to take a chance and headed down the lane. This took us the the museum, which was not exactly what we expected. It is actually a collection of sheds, hangars and Nissen huts of what looks like WW2 vintage, and clearly there was a significant airfield here during the war. Most of these huts were housing specific exhibits, so visitors spend their time flitting from one to another.

All of this meant that we were right in the middle of the museum already, with no intention of paying, but simply wanting somewhere to sit down and eat. We found a bench outside one hut (the bus stop), but at the same time noticed an official-looking pair of eyes gazing in our direction from the aircraft restoration hangar. As the last thing we wanted to do was pay £9.50 each for admission, we sat down on the grass on the other side of the hut and hastily scoffed our Greggs steak bakes. In retrospect, we were back on our bikes way too soon and we would pay for that later on.

After leaving East Fortune, the road took us down to meet the old A1 (now A199), which runs alongside the “new” dual carriageway for a mile or so from where we joined it to Haddington. Once we entered Haddington, I wasn’t very sure of exactly where we were, but didn’t want to take out the map in the middle of some busy traffic, so we followed the signs for Humbie. This worked perfectly in guiding us through the town and out again on the right road. Leaving Haddington was quite tricky, crossing  a single lane bridge with traffic queued up behind us, going sharply uphill then turning right with that constant stream of traffic now trying to overtake us. It was good to get away from the town and onto the quieter country roads again. Colette spotted a signpost for Humbie, proving that we had managed to get through on the right road. It said Humbie was 7 and 7/8 miles away. Good, we thought, that won’t take us long.

As it turned out, the B6368 that we were following was just one hill after another. None were particularly difficult, but after 30-odd miles and not enough rest, it was beginning to get tiring. Although the scenery was nice, as we headed towards the Lammermuirs, keeping going was all we could think about. It was very demoralising when after what seemed like an age, we came across another sign for Humbie that said it was still 6 miles away!

The final approach to Humbie village is a short downhill, round the monument, then steeply uphill again. I crawled up there and ground to a halt outside the Post Office. We had seen a sign advertising teas and hot & cold food the last time we passed, so we went in for a cup of tea. Colette paid and shortly afterwards, our teas were brought out to us at one of the tables outside. We took the chance to have a proper rest this time.

Cycling out of Humbie, I felt refreshed in a way, but unfortunately my left knee was feeling quite painful, so the last leg of the journey wasn’t going to be so enjoyable, especially as there were a few hills left. After Fala, we turned right onto the A68, then left onto the B6458, which had been closed for months but was recently re-opened. It seems as if this road was designed as a short cut for trucks, as lorry after heavily laden lorry thundered past in both directions. I definitely preferred this road when it was closed!

Finally, we reached the A7 and turned right for home. By this time Colette was well ahead of me, as I was now only capable of minimal effort in the pedalling department. At last we rolled up outside the house, where ibuprofen and showers were taken in short order. Not sure why we found it quite so hard, but now, the day after, with my knee feeling a bit better, it’s time to start planning the next one!

There are lots of roads in East Lothian just waiting to be explored and many places that we have rarely if ever visited. So this route was an attempt to discover some of this new territory by bike.

Our first destination was Haddington, which we approached by the same route as we did earlier in the year. The day was calm, with sunny intervals and pleasantly warm. Also, the road was relatively quiet, which made for an easy run all the way there without any stops. It took just 1 hour 10 mins to get into the centre of the town – at an average of nearly 14mph! The route as far as Haddington is predominantly downhill, it has to be said.

We grabbed ourselves some “subs” from Subway and stopped beside the river to eat our early (11am!) lunch. Sadly for the black headed gull family that was hanging out nearby, we had absolutely no leftovers.

Next, we headed over the bridge next to The Waterside restaurant and turned south in the direction of the Lammermuir Hills. There was a noticeable incline to the road from this point, but fairly gradual and not too taxing, especially as we were now taking it easy. We met up with the B6369 at Cockles and continued southwards and upwards. A few miles of climbing (and some descending) later, we passed the Chippendale School of Furniture and soon after that rolled into Gifford.

Tea and lovely carrot cake at “Love Coffee …and Food” in Gifford

Historic Gifford

We stopped off at the cafe in Gifford for a cup of tea and some delicious carrot cake. The people running the cafe were looking after a cute wee one-year old boy, who had just woken up and was looking all confused. After a while he was up on his feet, and we watched as he toddled over to the door and made his way outside to examine our bikes. Don’t worry, he was well supervised throughout this by the cafe folk. We said bye-bye outside the shop and went on our way.

We didn’t go far though, as Colette took some pictures around the village. Gifford has a lot of history and is best known for tales of goblins that inhabit the “Golbin Ha'”, part of a nearby castle. We visited it last about 30 years ago but didn’t have time for it today. It would have also required some walking, which Colette’s sore foot would not have been able to cope with.

They don’t make them like this any more. Really must try that route to Lauder some time!

So we carried on in the southeasterly direction after leaving Gifford, along a single track road which took us to Longyester farm. There was a fantastic old-style signpost there, with distances given to the nearest eighth of a mile. We were right at the foot of the Lammermuirs here, and the sign indicated routes “impassable for motors” running right over the hills, which we may investigate at some time in the future. However, the plan for today was to keep to the roads running closest to the foot of the hills as we made our way back west towards home.

Carrying on, we soon noticed an interesting-looking building on our right in Pishwanton Wood. It was a series of low domes roofed in turf, looking like a modern take on a hobbit hole. Further along there was an entrance and a notice board, showing a set of paths running through the wood. That’s just our kind of thing, so we decided that we should take some time to explore the tracks and started by heading round by the turfed building. It turns out that this is a visitor centre for the “Pishwanton Project”, a kind of alternative spiritual re-connecting with nature concept. Once there, we were stopped by a woman who told us bikes were not allowed in the woods, due to the presence of disabled people. We were told that we were welcome to leave our bikes and walk around the woods, but this was not possible due to Colette’s foot, so we left feeling a little miffed. In actual fact, a look at the map when back home showed the wood to be quite small, much smaller than we had first thought, and in retrospect, we were shattering their fragile idyll and it was best that we left them to it after all.

Our route took us west for a few more miles along the foothills before heading through Humbie and onwards to Fala. There, we picked up the A68 and headed north. We stopped at the junction with the B6458 on our left. This was our best route home but the road was closed due to resurfacing work. However, we noted that it was just the edges of the road that were being resurfaced, with the middle left by and large untouched. We took a gamble that we would be able to get through somehow on two wheels, and it paid off. The work seemed to be halted temporarily at Saughland, and we sailed past the works vehicles without any delay. This was good, as tiredness was beginning to set in. At the end of the road, we turned right onto the A7 and were back in North Middleton in no time at all.

OK, so this certainly isn’t Midlothian, but it is definitely the highlight of our cycling outings so far. We were looking for a challenge to stretch ourselves and liked the idea of a coast to coast route. The road from Torridon to Beauly is “only” 50-odd miles, further than we’ve ever cycled before, but certainly doable in a day, even at a fairly sedate pace. We mentioned the challenge to Colette’s brother Damian, who was keen to join us, and so a plan was hatched to arrive at the Torridon Inn on the 25th July and do the deed the next day.

As time rolled on, the seemingly endless summer weather broke and the weather forecast began to look very gloomy. Our drive up to Torridon the day before the ride was in heavy rain, and with lorries on the busy section of the road kicking up huge amounts of spray, I began to wonder whether I shouldn’t have packed a snorkel and mask!

Arriving at the Torridon Inn, we found Damian in the car park astride his trusty road bike, reeling from just having climbed a local Munro on his way there. He went off for a bath while we, since the rain had stopped, went for a quick hour’s cycle round the local roads. We caught a heavy shower on the way back and after we got changed, joined Damian in the bar to discuss the job ahead of us and try not to think about the weather forecast. We were just going to do it regardless.

When the day dawned we headed for a full breakfast to stoke the boilers. Another couple of cyclists were there bright and early too; they were tackling a much more adventurous route than us, including the legendary Bealach na ba crossing to Applecross. We wished each other well, made final preparations and then off we went.

Ready for the off!

Our start point from the inn was actually in the village of Annat, just outside Torridon at the head of Upper Loch Torridon. The tide was full as we left, with the Torridon Hills looming large around us and the sun mercifully shining. It was a magical start to the ride.

Upper Loch Torridon

We made our way up Glen Torridon along the gently sloping single track road. It was moderately busy so it was a good thing that there were ample passing places, but with scenery as magificent as this most people were in no hurry. Damian was able to tell us the names of the peaks and explain some of the geological features. Many photos were taken!

The mountains were rocky and impressive

Glen Torridon

Damian was our guide

From the head of Glen Torridon, the road sloped downwards towards Kinlochewe where we turned right onto the A832. We paused there for Damian to get some supplies from the local store, and thought about the climb that lay ahead: Glen Docherty. As we left Kinlochewe, the road began to climb very gently, but as we headed further into Glen Docherty, it gradually got steeper bit by bit. On the positive side, the road was double track and very well surfaced, so it wasn’t too tricky to keep up a steady pace and we didn’t have to stop to let cars past. On the negative side, this is where Damian began to run into trouble. His bike, a sleek vintage Raleigh racer, had been pared down and modified for London cycling by removing the smaller chainring, leaving him no easy gears to call on when the going got tough. With some effort, Colette and I reached the viewpoint car park and took a rest while we waited for Damian to catch us up. After the car park, there was another steep stretch to complete before we topped out and could enjoy the free ride on the other side.

Glen Docherty – it was a long way up!

Soon we were cruising along the side of Loch a Croisg on a fairly straight and gently undulating road. We made up a good bit of time here and quickly arrived at Achnasheen. Here, we headed straight for the Studio tea room, to enjoy the most delicious and refreshing cup of tea ever. What’s more, we were over a third of the way there and the sun was still shining!

Our first pitstop – the Studio tea room in Achnasheen

Suitably invigorated, we continued our journey on the A832 through the wide green Strath Bran. From Achnasheen onwards, we started running more or less alongside the train line, which goes from the Kyle of Lochalsh at one end, all the way to Beauly and beyond to Inverness. The road continued to undulate, but the undulations were somewhat steeper than before and caused Damian some difficulty. We made a plan that we would stop for a rest and bite to eat once we reached the Tarvie tea room, which I had noticed the day before on the way out, so we carried on.

The A832 then joined up with the A835 at Gorstan, where we turned right. This is the stretch of road I was looking forward to least. The road runs through mostly wooded country, so there wasn’t much by way of a view to see, plus it was much busier than the A832, with frequent heavy lorries and not many straight stretches for them to overtake easily. We soon arrived at Garve, where the train tracks crossed our path to run along the left hand side. At one stretch, the tracks were practically within toucing distance. It would have been fun if the train had gone by just then.

What wasn’t so much fun was a sudden increase in hilliness. This would have been OK on most of the roads we ride, but here, with a heavy lorry hissing and spitting behind as you try your best to power up a steep incline, it was something that just had to be endured. Eventually we hit a downhill section that took us to Tarvie, heralded by a clap of thunder and some spots of rain. Colette and I waited for Damian to catch up and eventually I headed back to see if he was OK, when I met him coming the other way. He had had some pain in the hips and needed to take a bit of a rest before continuing. Luckily, the Tarvie tea room gave us all a good opportunity to regain our strength. The tea was fine, although the tea pots and milk jug had an uncanny ability to dispense their liquid contents in unexpected directions, requiring the use of copious napkins to mop up the consequences. The food was average at best, but was eagerly devoured nonetheless.

After a good rest, Damian felt able to get back in the saddle. Also, the threatened rain had failed to materialise so we packed our rain gear away unused before continuing. We rode on along the undulating road till we reached Contin, then shortly after took the right turn signposted for Muir of Ord, where the A832 reappeared from “underneath” the A835. It’s what they call multiplexing (look it up!).

Moy Bridge

Colette and I waited for Damian here, then all three of us crossed the Moy Bridge heading towards Marybank, where another hill, which felt way steeper than it looked, separated us from Damian again. The road from there to Muir of Ord was very wet, indicating that we had just missed some significant rain. Instead, we were treated to some warm sunshine as we cycled ever closer to our destination.

We paused again in Muir of Ord for Damian to arrive, then we continued at Damian’s pace for the remainder of the journey. A couple of flat miles later, we arrived in Beauly, then rode in formation the last 50 yards to Colette’s mum’s house. There, we grabbed a beer and flopped on the sofa. We had just ridden our bikes right the way across Scotland: 53.5 miles in 6 and a half hours. What is even more incredible is that we managed to miss the rain entirely!

Every time we cycle past Arniston House, I think that one day we should really go in and explore the grounds. At this time of the year it is open to the public on Sundays (also Tuesdays & Wednesdays) so we decided to give it a go.

We entered the estate via the main gate and headed straight for the hall along a very long driveway. The house is impressive in a solid kind of a way, without fancy flourishes but large and imposing and (outwardly at least) in a very good state of repair. Realising as I write this that I lack any kind of expertise in architectural description I have just looked up the Arniston House website for some help, so I can now tell you that it is a Palladian-style mansion house, designed for the Dundas family by William Adam and completed by his son John Adam in the 1750s. A lot of restoration work has been done since the 1950s and is still ongoing. The best view was actually from the rear, as the front view was spoiled somewhat by scaffolding and a disabled ramp.

Arniston House from the rear

After Colette had taken her fill of photos, we then headed north along a track in the direction of the Lion and Elephant Gates. We only got so far before being confronted by high fences and barbed wire. Quite a formidable obstacle and one that we weren’t going to be able to lift the bikes over. So back we went to the house again and continued south from there, following signs for the garden. We must have missed the final sign, as we found ourselves going along towards the lion gates at the southwest edge of the estate. After doubling back, we saw a path leading left across the grass and disappearing into trees. Following that path, we came into the garden area, where we found a great view across to the rear of Arniston House.

By this stage, we were pushing our bikes so we didn’t leave any tyre marks on the grass. A small path led us downwards into the sunken garden, which is mainly grass with some very old yew trees and is bisected by a small meandering stream, where I rested on one of the ornate stone bridges while Colette went off to take photos. We have come across this sunken garden before on walks from Gore Glen, fairly random nose-following affairs; it was good to join up the dots with the rest of the estate. A small waterfall-like feature is hidden underneath the bridge which produced a lively burbling background noise as I waited for Colette to return.

Ornamental bridge in the sunken garden

We then left the garden through a small metal gate and continued by bike along a quite overgrown track. If this part of the estate were cleared, it would be an absolute delight – the path meanders to and fro across the stream (the River South Esk) by means of 3 or 4 more stone bridges. At this time of year, there were lots of nettles and we just couldn’t avoid getting our legs stung as we rode along the path. After a while, we stopped caring!

At one point, there were too many fallen branches lying across the path to safely ride on, so the bikes had to be safely led over before continuing. A while later, Colette stopped, looking concerned and asked “Where’s my camera?”. She had put it back in her camera bag, but the bag was now empty.

We retraced our steps, fearing that we might not find it, but finally Colette spotted it hanging by the strap from a branch. That branch had deftly pickpocketed her as she carried her bike over the difficult section! Relieved, we carried onwards and found ourselves in a meadow with a wide strip of grass cut through the middle. There were signposts with arrows to show us we were following a public path.

The path continued to another bridge across the water, this one a bit more substantial, the river having been augmented by joining with Redside Burn just upstream. At the end of the meadow, we came to a wood and were forced to push the bikes up a steep incline before continuing along the track. We were thankful that it hadn’t rained much recently as this would be very muddy in the wet.

On either side of the narrow path, the nettles and brambles were a good 3 or 4 feet high, brushing into us as we went past. This might explain why we saw nobody else on this part of the track. A couple of fallen trees had to be negotiated before we came to a fast downhill section for a brief adrenalin burst. That took us to another bridge, again bigger and grander than the last, where the path widened and we came across several groups of people out for their Sunday walk.

The odd fallen tree slowed us up a bit

Cycling along these paths was, for us, quite difficult but managable in all but few sections. I chickened out of one tricky-looking steep downhill section fearing that I might buckle my back wheel on landing. I was also afraid of falling off!

We finally emerged from the woods at the small parking area at the north end of Gore Glen and drank lots of water before tackling the steep section of road that stood between us and Carrington. From there it was onto the Temple road, then across Braidwood Bridge, heading back in the direction of Arniston House. At the lion gates, we turned right for the steep uphill taking us home. About halfway up, we heard beeping and were grateful for a stop to chat to neighbour Alison who was going past in her car. A bit further on, we joined up with Alison’s husband Malcolm, who was out on his bike and heading home too.

All in all, it was quite a short trip in terms of miles (15), but I reckon that a mile off-road is worth two on tarmac. Anyway, it was about all we could cope with in the heat, so I quickly grabbed a cold drink and sat down, my outstretched legs tingling like crazy.

The trip we did recently to Innerleithen was nice, but it was a “there and back” type of route, rather than a circular one. So this time we made it into a circuit, taking in Peebles as well.

We set off on a day that was forecast to be hot and sunny, but began with an overcast sky and some mist. We put rear lights on our bikes before setting off and made our way up the A7 then right towards Innerleithen. As the road climbed up into the Moorfoot hills, the mist turned to fog, and the visibility was getting really quite low. There was little point stopping at the viewpoint layby so we carried on to the highest point marker before stopping for a breather. This was also the point where the mist disappeared, giving us a great view over the hills bathed in glorious sunshine.

The descent was fun, then we were quickly into the next climb. Without any headwind, it was easier than the last time, though we did pause at the top for a rest and to chat to some cyclists arriving from the opposite direction who were on the final day of their trip from Newcastle to Edinburgh.

The run in to Innerleithen was quick and peaceful, with little traffic on the road. We made a beeline for Adams bakery again for more of the cakes that we had on the previous trip. The ladies who served us didn’t know what our new fave confections were called, only that they were very popular. With lunch loaded onto our bikes, we carried on along the main street then turned left in the direction of Traquair, following cycle route 82.

The amazing mystery cake from Adams Bakers in Innerleithen

Shortly after leaving Innerleithen, we went past the entrance of a set of mountain bike trails. Looks worth a visit in future, but we couldn’t afford too many detours on today’s route. The one detour we did allow ourselves was to visit Traquair House, as our route took us straight past the entrance. We stopped at a bench, where we ate our lunch and Colette took some photos of the house, which dates back to 1107. With other attractions like a proper hedge maze and its own brewery, this is one place that we will be revisiting when we have more time. However, we needed to get back on the road, and continued our trip in the direction of Peebles.

Traquair House

Our route took us through pleasant countryside, with the trees of Cardrona forest to our left and the River Tweed flowing past on our right. Arriving at Peebles, we stopped at the toilets just before the bridge, where we filled our water bottles from the tap. Then we went on into the centre of town, which was very busy, stopping for a long-awaited ice cream.

Ice cream in Peebles

The next part of the route I wasn’t looking forward to very much, as we headed north along the A703. After about half a mile or so, I commented to Colette that the road was actually much quieter than I’d expected. When it comes to tempting fate, that was a bit of a rookie mistake. Following that, the road narrowed, the road surface deteriorated, slowing us down, and traffic began building up behind us. It was also very hot, so our water supplies took a bit of a dent.

We were very glad to finally see the back of the A703, as we turned right onto a minor road signposted for Temple and Gorebridge. This took us steeply uphill over a recently resurfaced and gravelled road. The climb looked a bit daunting on the map, but was quite achievable in low gear, though I was gasping for more water at the top. From there, it was a fairly easy run past the entrance to Portmore Loch, round Gladhouse Reservoir and home.

That round trip was 46 miles long (another record) and we did it in just under 5 hours, which was pretty good going considering that included all our stops. Mind you, we felt wiped out the next day!