Dalkeith Delights

Our destination for today's run was Dalkeith. That's somewhere the group often ride to – we visited it as recently as last April. But this time, under Alison's leadership, we managed to add a little variety to the route with a couple of interesting variations.

Nineteen riders turned up, including three newcomers – all very welcome. The first eight or nine miles were on familiar territory: the Innocent Path, Bruntstane, Newcraighall and Musselburgh Station, then on the new-ish bike path to Monktonhall and then onto the River Esk walkway. We paused for the customary breather at the top of the stiff climb up to Cowpits, then on through Whitecraig and the bike path past the Dalkeith school campus and along Salters Road.

Normally we would head straight into Dalkeith town centre from this point. But this time we turned off the road just before the bridge over the South Esk, taking a pleasant path through Waterfall Park. After crossing the Maiden Bridge, we continued through the woods next to Newbattle golf course. This is really a delightful spot. We normally approach it on the return leg from Dalkeith. Seeing it from the opposite direction made a welcome change.

The final leg of the morning took us across the busy Abbey Road and so into King's Park for our lunch stop. A few of the group headed to the nearby supermarket cafe, while most settled for a picnic lunch in the park.

Up to now the day had been dry, sunny and reasonably warm. But as we saddled up for the return leg, clouds started to appear and a few drops of rain were felt. This continued as we cycled through Dalkeith town centre. By time we reached the entrance to Dalkeith Country Park, the rain was much more in evidence, so we paused in the Restoration Yard to give those who hadn't already done so a chance to put on their waterproofs.

Re-opened gate

When cycling through Dalkeith Country Park, we normally head for the gate in the north east corner by Smeaton Farm. This takes us onto a busy stretch of road towards Whitecraig. This time, we were able to avoid the traffic by turning left just before the gate, taking a winding route through pleasant farmland to another gate, at Old Craighall. Older members of the group will remember that this used to be our normal route out of the park, but that gate was closed in 2013 and remained closed until a few weeks ago. It was good to be able to go that way again, if only for the sake of variety.

From Old Craighall, we took a shortcut through a new housing development and were soon on the path leading back to Musselburgh Station. By now the rain had eased off and blue skies were again in evidence. For the rest of the ride, we retraced our outward route back to the Meadows.

Despite the rain, it turned out be a very pleasant run, made more interesting by the variations to the normal route. Thanks to Alison for planning the route (helped by Alan) and for stepping in at short notice to lead the ride (not for the first time this year).

Leader: Alison

Report and photos: Mike 

A last minute change

For today's ride we were meant to head to Musselburgh via an interesting and unusual route. Unfortunately, the leader was unwell which necessitated a last minute change of plan. The in-depth and combined knowledge of the group's organisers meant a new route and leader were in place by the time riders began to gather at the meeting point. Apart from the change of destination, the alteration went seamlessly thanks to all those involved. For the second ride in a row, we were blessed with lovely weather - long may it continue. Clearly helped by the weather, we had a very respectable turn out of 25 riders. Along with the regulars were some riders we hadn't seen for a while along with some new faces.

With the leader's briefing over, we headed off towards Dalkeith. We took that well-worn route towards the Innocent Tunnel. But, rather than turning left to head to the tunnel, we swept past and into Holyrood Park. Along Duddingston Low Road, a right turn, down the steep path and we were on the Innocent Railway Path. Crossing several roads, we stayed on the path as far as Musselburgh station. After a brief rest, we headed down the lovely smooth path, crossed under the railway twice and were soon waiting to cross the busy B6415. Crossing took longer than usual thanks to four-way temporary traffic lights. With everyone safely across, we continued through the Ferguson housing estate, crossed the bridge over the River Esk and were on the Grove heading towards Whitecraig. We took our customary breather at Cowpits to recover from the short, sharp climb to the road at the end of the path. The leader took us on an unfamiliar route through the houses in Whitecraig to join the path to Dalkeith. We meandered through the backstreets of Dalkeith to avoid busy roads as far as possible, and were soon at King's Park for our lunch stop.

Following a delightful picnic lunch in the warm sunshine, it was time to begin our journey back. Down the path at the side of the park, across Abbey Road, into the new housing estate and we were soon queuing to get through the kissing gate. In Alan's absence, Sakhib did a sterling job of manning the gate to let 24 riders and three golfers through. Through the woods, over the Maiden Bridge, past the far-from cycle-friendly barrier, through a couple of parks, and we were soon heading into Dalkeith Country Park where we had a comfort break. Given the lovely weather, the paths in the park were busy. But the number of walkers decreased the further we got from the car park. Leaving the park behind, there followed a brief stretch on the busy A6094 before turning off and heading to Cowpits and following the Grove down to Musselburgh. A further comfort stop at Fisherrow Harbour, and we were soon on the Brunstane Burn path. From there we headed back to the Meadows on the paths we had headed out on earlier. But this time we went through the Innocent Tunnel. At the Meadows, the leader declared the ride officially over.

Thanks to Alison for stepping in at short notice and providing a ride enjoyed by all. Thanks to Yaz for back marking, and thanks to the weather for being kind to us for the second time in as many rides.

Leader: Alison

Report: Glenn

Photos: Glenn

A Dalkeith Debut

For today's ride, we followed a well-worn route to a familiar destination. But the day was not without incident. It was characterised by a fierce wind that always seemed to be blowing in the wrong direction, and a potentially dangerous situation involving drawing pins, of which more later.

As we assembled at our meeting point, we became aware that something big was happening on the Meadows. That "something" turned out to be a huge gathering for an Orange Order parade involving 35 marching bands. It was later to occupy the whole of Middle Meadow Walk, not to mention completely clogging up Forrest Road and George IV Bridge  (according to a later press report). Fortunately, it didn't really get started until later in the morning, so we weren't greatly affected by it.

Our leader today was Alison, making her debut as a ride leader. Seventeen riders turned up, including a couple of new faces and a few older ones that we hadn't seen for a while. At this point, the day was dry and reasonably sunny, but very windy and with heavy showers forecast for later.

After Alison briefed us on the route and the lunch arrangements, we set off towards the Innocent Tunnel and the familiar NCN route via Brunstane and Newcraighall. All was going well until we were approaching Musselburgh Station, at which point the cry "Puncture!" was heard. For reasons too technical to go into, and despite sterling efforts by Alan and others, the puncture turned out to be unusually difficult to deal with. It was a good 20 minutes before we could continue. But with tasty home-made cakes being distributed while we waited, the time went quickly.

It transpired that the puncture was caused by no fewer than three drawing pins that had become embedded in the victim's front tyre. We later heard that there had been reports of drawing pins being scattered on various bike paths around Edinburgh, including one particularly nasty case in the Barnton area. It's not clear whether this was the result of carelessness on someone's part or (more likely) a deliberate act of mindless vandalism by some idiot with a grudge against cyclists. Either way, it was clearly very dangerous. Fortunately for us, the punctured tyre was the only casualty, but it could have been worse.

Once the puncture was dealt with, we set out again, heading now for the River Esk path, Whitecraig and the railway path to Dalkeith. It was on that path that we hit the first of the day's heavy showers. This continued as we skirted Dalkeith town centre and reached our lunch stop in the King's Park. With the rain now easing off, most of the group opted for a picnic in the park, but a few headed for the comfort of the café in the nearby supermarket.

Lunch over, and with the sun shining again, Alison led us on a twisty route through the woods to the south of the King's Park, emerging just east of the town centre. We then doubled back along a main road before turning into Dalkeith Country Park. We continued northwards through the park – no problem with the locked gate that had caused some difficulty for us on a previous visit here – before reaching Whitecraig. The wind was much stronger and very much in our face as we now retraced our earlier route back to Edinburgh via NCN 1.

As we approached the scene of the morning's puncture, Graham volunteered to ride ahead in search of any remaining drawing pins. He managed to find around 20 of the offending objects, which he dutifully removed from the path. Good work.

On the last section of the Innocent Path, we were hit by another sudden shower. This was heavy but short, and had cleared up by the time we reached the Meadows a few minutes later. Despite the wind, the rain and the other incidents, it was a very pleasant ride, at a comfortable pace and with a good lunch stop – and a successful debut for our leader.

Leader: Alison

Report and photos: Mike