A castle and a chilly picnic

For the opening 20 Milers Extra ride of 2016 we headed out to Blackness Castle in west Lothian. A dry, cool but overcast day greeted the 19 rides that assembled at the Craigleith start point. It was good to see a few new faces mixed in amongst the regulars and more familiar participants. We made good progress as we headed west on the Blackhall path, through Silverknowes, Davidsons Mains and Barnton. We were soon having our obligitory halt on the bridge over the River Almond. From there we made our way on to the path beside the A90 and onwards to the village of Dalmeny. From there a mixture of paths and roads took us to South Queensferry for our comfort stop. We left South Queensferry behind and rode under the new Queensferry Crossing and into the Hopetoun Estate. In the estate there is one difficult to negotiate gate that is a real bottleneck for group rides. A new approach by the leader meant rather than wait until everyone was through, everyone went through and carried on. Such a simple approach avoided wasted time and will be the norm from now on. Just as we were leaving the estate, we suffered our only puncture of the day. It was agreed to push on to our lunch stop and leave the victim in the capable hands of our mechanical maestro, Alan Orr.

We arrived at Blackness Castle and looked for picnic tables and benches that would afford us some shelter from the cool wind blowing off the Forth. Some were successful in their search; others less so. The two held up by the puncture soon joined us. The small castle shop sold more teas and coffees than ice creams on this ocassion. It wasn't the weather to linger over a leisurely picnic, so we finished up and headed off. Within a few minutes we were warming up on the toughest climb of the day. We then made our way to Philipstoun where we joined the Union Canal. After a few miles on the bumpy towpath, we left the canal and made our way to Kirkliston. From there paths and back roads took us to the edge of the Dalmeny Estate and the path beside the A90. Again we stopped on the bridge over the River Almond where three children were busy playing Pooh Sticks. From there we returned to Craigleith on the route we had taken out earlier.

Thanks to Mike for leading the first 20 Milers Extra of the year. There will be more to come as the summer progresses. Lets hope we can have weather that feels more like summer.


Leader: Mike
Report: Glenn
Photos: Glenn
Map trace: Jim

Christmas morning in the city

Nine and a half miles in a little over two hours is not exactly a reckless pace, even by 20-Milers standards. But our Christmas morning rides are meant to be sociable rather than speedy, with several sight-seeing and refreshment stops along the way. Today's event was no exception. Eleven riders turned up (including one Santa impersonator), on an overcast morning, with the Middle Meadow Walk thermometer-cum-bike-counter showing 6C.

Our first stop was the Castle esplanade, where we enjoyed fine views to the north and south (a dusting of snow was visible on the Pentland summits). We then had a rapid descent of Ramsay Lane (very steep) to Market Street and Waverley Bridge. Next came a double traverse of Princes Street – westward as far as Castle Street, then back the other way to Waterloo Place. There were a few buses and taxis around, as well as a couple of council cleansing vehicles, but almost no other traffic.

In Regent Road, we paused to look at the Stones of Scotland Monument (a circle of 32 stones, one from each of Scotland's local authorities, commemorating the rebirth of the Scottish Parliament). Then came the hard work of the day: the ascent of Calton Hill. At the summit, we lingered to take in the panoramic view. This was our main refreshment stop, with mulled wine, home-made mince pies and chocolate truffles all in evidence.

We left the hill by way of the path-cum-steps that goes down to Greenside Church. We then weaved through the back doubles to St Marks Park and the Water of Leith, then headed west via King George Park, Canonmills, Stockbridge and Dean Village. After the recent rains, the Water of Leith was unusually fast, and the path was muddier than usual.

At Roseburn, several members of the party went their separate ways. The remnants of the company headed back to town via Haymarket Terrace, West Maitland Street and Rutland Square. By the time we reached the Usher Hall, only three riders remained, so we declared the ride officially over. Judging by the feedback along the way, it was another successful event.

Leader, report, photos and map trace: Mike