Over the Pentlands
Remember when I mentioned I am going to have more adventures? And that I am going to fill up my diary with all sorts of fun things? Well, today was one of those adventuresome days! Even better, I managed to visit two of the 14 places BuzzFeed says I should try to see this summer. (Yay!)
The things on today’s list were Balerno and Malleny Garden, and I took my housemate along for the adventure. To get there, we had to take a bus from home on the east side of the Pentland Hills to the city centre, then get another bus to Balerno, on the west side of the Pentlands. But instead of returning the same way, we walked over the Pentland Hills. (I’m thinking of the expended energy as cross-training for September’s races.)
The weather for the day’s outing was a bit nicer than expected, which was a nice bonus. Especially as Balerno was a little uninspiring. Certainly, in my mind, not worth its own mention on BuzzFeed’s list. However, Malleny Garden (number 8 on the list) was certainly worth the visit!
After visiting the village and the garden, it was time to return home. Only rather than returning by bus, the return journey was made by walking across the Pentland Hills. The 8-or-so mile journey took me past a few reservoirs, ending near the Glencorse Reservoir that I walked around last year.
Along the way, I met a man who seemed to be looking for stuff along the shore with his dog. After a quick (well, not too quick!) inquiry, I was told he was looking for broken old ceramic smoking pipes from the 1800s when the workers building the reservoirs were camped nearby. He showed me his finds, much to my enjoyment. I only managed to find a yet-to-be-identified bit of metal. It looks like a tag of some sort, but I can’t read the writing.
Then, whilst eating my lunch along the shores of Threipmuir Reservoir, I met another dog-owning man who was walking his Labradoodles, Hamish and Fergus. Yes, it was certainly a nice day for dog walkers!
After finishing lunch, the goal was pretty much to get home as soon as possible – whilst stopping for a few photos along the way.
I am beat and tired now, but I had a fabulous day. I’ll be heading out on Sunday to complete another place on the list. It’s one I’ve been to a few times before, but I’m excited to be going back. Stay tuned to find out where the mystery place is!
And now for some pictures from today!
I loved the garden with all the lovely flowers. And, most of all, it was so nice to see all the green…it’s so brown over here right now. Thank you for sharing. It’s rather too bad that those flowers won’t be in bloom for my next trip across the pond. But if we do March, there should be a few spring flowers blooming.
Some of the flowers were looking a bit sad because of all the heavy rains over the last week but, yes, the green is really nice! There might not be too many flowers out if you’re here in March, but there will be some lovely early signs of spring at least. Plus there are some great year-round gardens that will have some fun plants – if not flowers.