Something different this Saturday

For our bike ride this Saturday (9th Feb), Jim has come up with something entirely new. We will be visiting the little-known Covenanters Wood in the south west of the city. I was surprised to learn that this ancient woodland is home to a rare group of giant redwood trees - something you associate more with California than Caledonia. There are also some archaeological excavations dating back to the two world wars and a couple of other sites of historical interest. Jim will no doubt be telling us the full story of these when we get there.

After that, we will continue westward on a more familiar route through Currie and Riccarton before heading back to town via Edinburgh Park and the Corstorphine railway path. The total distance will be about 21 miles. The route should be fairly easy apart from a few short climbs and a couple of rough stretches that might be a little muddy.

For lunch, we will stop at the Heriot-Watt campus. The café there serves a reasonable range of soup, baked potatoes, sandwiches and hot drinks. It also has plenty of indoor seating for those of us who prefer to bring our own food.

The meeting time and place are, as always, 10:30 at the north end of Middle Meadow Walk. We should get back to the Meadows well before dark (sunset is at 17:00), but it might be wise to bring lights just in case, especially if you have some distance to travel after the ride. Needless to say, the ride is free and open to all, with no need to book.