A lovely way to spend an evening

In theory, it was a very warm evening. At 7pm the thermometer said 20C, but the thermometer had obviously not been told about the chilly wind that had been brewing up from the west. As it was, long-sleeved jackets and sweaters were in evidence, rather than t-shirts and shorts. But at least it stayed sunny and bright all evening, with clear blue skies all the way.

A photo op by the Usher Hall

Ten riders turned up for our summer solstice ride. It's true that the actual solstice was the day before. But Friday seemed like a better option for an evening outing, especially given that at least one other evening run had been organised for the Thursday.

After the usual briefing and safety announcement, we set off towards the Roseburn Path – but not by the usual route involving bumps and zigzags, Instead, we headed west along Lauriston Place, then weaved through to the Usher Hall and across the busy Lothian Road. After pausing for a brief photo opportunity in Festival Square, we continued through the West End, then up the hill (steep but thankfully short) by the Gallery of Modern Art, and into Ravelston Dykes. We freewheeled down Garscube Terrace, eventually joining the Roseburn Path by a short flight of steps leading down from Coltbridge.

We stayed on the path only as far as the Craigleith junction. From there, we took Craigleith Hill Avenue – aka Quiet Route 20 – down past the Police Scotland HQ and into Inverleith Park. There was a lovely view across the Edinburgh skyline from here, with the Castle standing out prominently in the evening light.

Stopping to admire the Royal Yacht

Our next leg took us round the sides of the Royal Botanic Garden and back onto the bike path at Warriston. We continued to Five Ways and then on to Lindsay Road and past the cruise liner terminal. We stopped for nibbles in Ocean Drive, from where we had a fine view of the Royal Yacht Britannia.

After a short stretch along the Leith waterfront, we headed back to town by way of the Water of Leith Path, St Mark's Park and McDonald Road. At the Leith Walk traffic lights, we waited expectantly for the bike priority light to kick in. Sure enough, the green bicycle light came on before the lights changed to green for the general traffic, but only about two and a half seconds before - better than nothing, I suppose.

A bit more weaving found us in Royal Terrace, on the northern flank of Calton Hill. I've always thought that this is a particularly attractive road, with fine houses on one side and an open outlook on the other. But some elements of our group seemed more concerned about the rough going on the cobbled surface (don't blame me; I didn't build the road). Fortunately the cobbled section was quite short, and we soon reached our next stopping point, the Stones of Scotland.

The Stones of Scotland is a circular monument, completed in 2002, which commemorates the rebirth of the Scottish parliament. There is one stone from each of Scotland's 32 local authority areas, and the whole thing is dramatically situated on high ground, looking over the parliament building and towards Arthur's Seat. If you are passing that way, it is worth a stop.

The Nelson Monument on Calton Hill

And so to the climax of the evening: the climb to the summit of Calton Hill. Actually, it's not that hard a climb. We took the relatively easy (and well-surfaced) route from Regent Road, and we all made it to the top without difficulty. We regrouped at the Nelson Monument, from where we could enjoy the superb outlook across the Firth of Forth and the Fife hills. The summit was teeming with people, including many tourists – not surprising, given the splendid weather.

For the final leg, we headed back down to Regent Road and then via the Bridges and Chambers Street, arriving back at the Meadows a little before 9.30pm. With just under 15 miles on the clock, it wasn't exactly a long ride, but it was a very sociable one in good company and with some interesting sites along the way. What better way to spend a mid-summer evening?




Leader, report and photos: Mike 
Map: Jim