Advantage of not cycling with Fat Mac

An advantage of not cycling with Fat Mac is that I don’t get drunk.  With Fat Mac, it’s a case of:

“Where shall we bike to, Mac?”

“Weez kin gang tae Balerno.  Ah ken ra route, an it’s doonhill baith ways!”

“Are you sure you know the right cycle-path?”

“Aye.  Ah wiz oan it twa week ago.  It’s braw.”

What happens is that, after a mere ten minutes, Mac stops his bike and exclaims:

“Ah’m totally loast, Rodz.  Weez kin go that track instead, ah thunk.  It should go tae thon bar in Cramond where they sell cheap beer.”

And we end up in the Cramond Inn.  Two hours later, the inevitable has happened.

“Rodz.  Ah’m rat arsed.  Ah kinnae go ma bike.  Weez should have anither pint an sober up.”

This is a theory that sounds plausible at the time, but has been shown again and again not to work.

Today, instead of ending up in the pub with Mac, I cycled some backroads that lead eventually to Fa’side Castle.

The castle is mostly 15th and 16th century, but it is sited on a hill giving broad views across to the Pentlands and Edinburgh, and I bet that there was a construction there in ancient times.

I can remember the castle from the early 60s, when it was a ruin.

Berries

There are lots of berries on the bushes, just now.

And no-one seems to be picking them.  I took the above snap of berries near Musselburgh the other day, on the path past the River Esk floodplain below Inveresk.  As you can see, if you look closely (click on the image), hardly a single berry has been picked.  I like cycling that track because it takes me past the site of the Roman temple at Inveresk.

Sgairneach Mhor & Beinn Udlamain

Two fairly easy Munros the other day, up near the Drummochter Pass: Sgairneach Mhor & Beinn Udlamain.

Looking east from Beinn Udlamain

I was impressed with this geological feature.

We saw a number of ptarmigan, many grouse and one hare.   On that estate they set traps (legal) for predators.

Vango Force Ten Classic Mk3

Whilst I had the comfort of the campervan up at Garva Bridge, JD was as pleased as a bug in a rug to be crawling into his 45-year-old classic Vango which we had previously found in a cupboard.

Geal Charn

Geal Charn isn’t a particularly interesting mountain to climb from Garva Bridge, where we had camped, but once at the top there are views for many miles in every direction.  The approach was pretty boggy, and we were thankful for having taken gaiters.

Geal Charn

A nice web in the early morning dew

We met this chap on the way up

Summit of Meal Charn

I found it difficult to identify any of the mountains in the distance.

The most impressive feature was the corrie holding Lochan a’Choire.

Morning mist at Garva Bridge

On Thursday evening I felt ill and stayed in bed all day Friday, which resulted in me missing a Fringe show in which a distant relative had a role.  I also missed a Book Festival show on Saturday morning, but managed to go with Lindsey and JD to see Geoff Dyer in the evening.  By Sunday I was feeling better, so headed for the hills with JD, camped at Garva Bridge, and slowly but surely walked up Geal Charn the next day.  The early morning mist at Garva Bridge, built by General Wade, was atmospheric.

Arbor Low henge and Gib Hill

Arbor Low is a Neolithic henge not far from Monyash.  It is a very ancient construction, and an important prehistoric site in Derbyshire, dating from a long time before Stonehenge.

There is (working outwards) a couple of stones in the centre, then a stone circle of weathered limestone blocks, a ditch and then a bank.  The stones are all as prone as Fat Mac after ten pints, but were almost certainly once standing stones.  It could be a fortified position as well as whatever else.  The simple fact is that we don’t know for sure about such constructions.

Nearby is Gib Hill, a burial mound which probably pre-dates Arbor Low.