A visual Journey

Hi my name is Charlie I am from Bonnyrigg in Midlothian. My interest of angling has taken me out to many of the places in the Midlothian area, as well as many rivers in Scotland. I wanted to catch some of the essence of the area with the camera. To do so I thought it would be a good idea to view to area from "The Highs and Lows". Midlothian lies between two sets of hills, they are the Pentlands to the north

and the Moorfoots to the South.Both sets hills are very different to walk. The Pentlands are firm underfoot and undulate. There are a criss-cross of some stunning day walks giving views to Mid, East and West Lothian in their centre lie the reservoirs of Glencourse and Loganlea.

The Moorfoots by contrast as the name suggests are more flat on top and as a result have developed a layer of peat which is soft underfoot and this can make walking difficult (if not dangerous) especially in wet weather. In recent times some of this area has been developed into a wind farm for 24 windmills. The Moorfoots roll down to the Lammermuir Hills upon which was once a Roman camp. These walks were my original "highs" and as an angler the lows were to consist of some of the river walks along the two rivers in Midlothian the North and South Esk's so I started with a walk through Roslin Glen , an area where I was once a water baliff. I remembered the fine scenery through the gorge below Roslin Castle and Roslin Chapel, which runs down past Hawthornden Castle. In order to gain the best perspective I put on the Waders (fishing boots). I should point out this is not recommended for the foolhardy as it is dangerous and at places impassable requiring me to backtrack and climb up and over at several points.

Where next? The weather plays a roll in where and when you "Take a Hike" but because the Lothians are by the sea, The Firth of Fourth, there is normally, even in winter at least 2-3 hours of good walking weather. The weather was good in early summer so I decided to walk from Bonnyrigg up to Rosewell through Pardevine up to Edgelaw reservoir. I had lunch at Edgelaw then carried on up to and around Roseberry

reservoir returning to the dam end of Edgelaw and with failing light returned to Bonnyrigg.

My next two walks were easier on the feet. I went to Dalkeith Park where the North and South Esk's meet within the Buccleuch estate. I then walked up to Penicuik along the old railway track which means the path is straight with a slight incline and the engineers have kindly banked up, bridged and tunnelled for our convenience, it is a popular cycle route even for the inexperienced. I could not leave out Edinburgh. So at the start of the Edinburgh Festival I started from the Scottish Museum in Chambers Street and walked up to and over the Royal Mile coming down at the Art Museum on Princess Street just as the opening parade began. I walked along Princess Street past Scotts Monument then across Market Street then back up to the Royal Mile along Cockburn Street. I then went into the Scotsman Pub for a refreshment.

Refreshed I continued down the Royal Mile past the Scottish Parliament and Hollyrood Palace up onto Salisberry Crags in order to get the views of the Pentland Hills. It was during this time I decided to walk the Water of Leith as far as Balerno. I did this in three stages.

There is a well laid out path from the Harbour area of Leith all the way to Balerno. At a few places you must come off the path on to the road but the roads are quiet so it does not detract from the walk and you are never far from the river. On the third walk I reached Balerno with time to spare so I backtracked and walked up the Poets Glen to Torphin Hill and then along the "right of way" past an old Quarry towards Collington before returning home. I still wanted to walk the South Esk. This I did in two stages (with waders) and I chose to walk from Newbattle Abbey to Dalhousie Castle and then from Dalhousie Castle to Arniston.

There was a week between the two walks so I managed to squeeze in a short walk along the Wee Glen from Cockpen to Dalhousie Main Farm. Although it was a short walk distance wise the woodland has become overgrown and is difficult to traverse but it was good to see there were still trout in the burn. My sister she thought there should be one of the seaside so I put on my boots again and went to Portobello and walked along the coast to Mussellburgh where the two Esk's have combined and finally reach the sea.

WALKS IN MIDLOTHIAN