Day 50 - Carlops to the 'Big Apple' city of Edinburgh
Once again I've been overwelmed with the generosity of those owning the accommodations that I've been staying in. After providing me with a full Scottish breakfast including another tasty round of haggis (and after eating all that I needed to have a bit of a lie down in order to digest!), Annette donated the B&B money to my fundraising which means I'm now at nearly £1,150 since I departed Lands End. This morning once again the sun gods were shining down on me as the sky was blue albeit a little chilly in the breeze. There was just the small subject of the Pentland Hills to negotiate before hitting the big city but I'm proud to say that apart from a couple of rest stops, I ran the whole way up to the top of the hill (bit of huffing and puffing going on to get me up there though!) and once I got there, the view was phenominal with the Forth Bridge standing out. This was also the first time since leaving the coastal path on day 2 that I've seen the sea, this time the North Sea. As the weather was so nice and also being a Saturday, there were a lot of people either out walking or mountain biking as I ran back down into the valley on nice wide grassy paths. The route to Threipmuir Reservoir was quite spectacular down a steep hill lined with shady beech trees before a gradually descending lane into the village of Balerno where I picked up the Water of Leith walk/cycle way which followed the stream all the way into the port of Leith north of Edinburgh. There were more bikes on this route than I've seen in the whole 7 weeks so far! It was a really pretty run through shady woodland crossing the stream in several places and at one point I even went through the hillside via a 100m or so long tunnel which was a bit weird as I was suddenly plunged into virtual darkness from the sunny world outside. The trail actually went on for around 12 miles so after a while, although I hate to say it, I was starting to switch off and ignore my surroundings (bit like the last couple of miles of the Castlemain Trailway back to Ringwood which will be well recognised by my fellow BJ's!). A few miles from Edinburgh city centre I picked up the Union Canal (which would be my route on Monday over to Linlithgow) but first I had to experience another first : following the canal over an aquaduct about 50" above the road and running on a cobbled footpath with no edge into the water itself - again felt a bit weird and I was glad there was no-one coming in the opposite direction! After reaching the end of the canal (it literally came to an abrupt stop next to a rejuvenated shopping centre!) it was then just a case of negotiating the many lanes and streets through Edinburgh old and new town down to the 5* YH just off Princes Street. A couple of guys commented on my excellent tan and I don't think they really believed me when I said that I got in in England and Scotland - they were convinced it was a spray-on! Looks as if I've arrived here at the right time as there is a free film festival in the castle gardens (ET being shown at 5pm!!) and the moonwalk is taking place tonight. I'd heard in Jedburgh that Evita was being shown on stage and couldn't believe my luck when I discovered the theatre was literally opposite the YH....ticket booked for tonights show! Took a quick tour on foot but a couple of heavy showers put paid to any serious touristy things so grabbed something to eat and enjoyed the musical. Unfortunately got a bit of a rude awakening in the middle of the night as two others in my dorm decided to turn on the light when they arrived back from wherever they'd been - why do people do that 'cos it's not exactly the nicest thing to do to fellow campers!?
Mileage 16.7 and time 3.35