Stockbridge in the countryside

The area where I live in Edinburgh is known as Stockbridge, after the old bridge crossing the Water of Leith.  Originally it was a hamlet, just up the river from the Dean Village where there were lots of mills.  Now Stockbridge is considered one of the trendier parts of Edinburgh and it benefits from a great location (only 10 minutes' walk both to Princes St and the Royal Botanic Gardens) and lots of wee independent shops and bars/restaurants.  The walking/cycling paths along the Water of Leith are also very accessible from here.

Today I cycled through another Stockbridge, but this one is a much smaller settlement.  It is really only a small group of houses and a nursery business, situated just outside Dunblane off the main road leading west to Doune.  It was a very wet morning but by early afternoon it cleared up enough to justify donning the waterproofs and setting off on the bikes.

We cycled first through the town and past the cathedral and over the Allan water (on a very steep, curved bridge which is still too much of a challenge for my skills!) Once we had left the town there was a short section on the main road and then we turned off on the road past the Stockbridge Nursery.  We carried on for a bit on a good tarmac road and spotted this small church on the horizon.

When we checked the map later I saw that it is Kilbryde Chapel and it looks likely to be connected with the nearby Kilbryde Castle.  

The road continues past a few isolated houses and climbs up a fair bit although there were not too many steep gradients.  There were nice views towards Doune and in the other direction we could see the summit of Dumyat hill near Bridge of Allan.  Eventually we stopped and turned back once we had passed a cattle grid and the road had begun to become more rough and felt more private.  We met a wee girl on a pony being led by her mother and they told us that it was possible to carry on further but essentially it was a dead end.

The whole trip took around one and a half hours and was about 12 miles.  It was interesting to cycle on quiet roads in another area close to the town and we decided that next time we will take the map and carry on along the old railway line to Doune as would be a loop rather than the same route there and back (although freewheeling was fun on the return!)

Further afield in the city!

Today was dry and clear so it was a good opportunity to go on a longish city ride with my friend J .  I had another first when I bravely cycled on the main road down to her house even though there were lots of cars.  So far I have kept to cycleways and very quiet sidestreets and simply got off and pushed the bike on busier roads.  I'm sure confidence will come in time.

J is a regular cycle commuter and has a good knowledge of all the possibilities for cycling off-road yet accessible from the city centre.  We cycled on the local cycle/walkways which are mostly based on redundant railway lines.  These criss-cross a large area and include a path to Victoria Park and also following Edinburgh's mini river called the Water of Leith leading down to the port of Leith.

We did  a couple of loops down to Leith and around the park and then J took me further west along the path leading to Drylaw and I saw parts of the city which I have never seen before  - mostly because they are not on roads I would usually drive along.  Our route took us towards the sea again and we briefly crossed over the main road at Granton to look at this modern sculpture  - a family group complete with dog, all heading for the beach.

It was great to be out in the sunshine and we made the best use of the lengthening day.  I was happy to finish up at J's house to help her eat up the last of her Christmas cake!

First country cycle ride of the year!

The weather this holiday period has been mild but very wet and windy so it has not been a good  time to do much cycling which is a shame as usually there isn't much opportunity to cycle in daylight at this time of the year.

I had originally planned a longer city trip with a friend on Friday but we had to cancel as it was much too nasty outside to be enjoyable. No bikes yesterday when I met a friend in South Queensferry for lunch and a walk through the Dalmeny estate along the coast of the Firth of Forth.  It was muddy underfoot but the path is mostly under the shelter of trees so it was good to get some exercise and a chance to catch up. 

By the time we returned to the town it was dark but it was the right time to take an atmospheric shot of the first Forth (railway) Bridge.  The cafe where we had eaten had framed newspaper reports of the opening of the Forth Road bridge in 1964 - I am just old enough to remember what a big event that was as it replaced a ferry and quickened the road journey from Fife to Edinburgh.  My friend's husband is currently working on the project to build a the second Forth road bridge which will take some of the pressure off the increase in vehicle numbers on the existing one.

But today I did get out on my mountain bike and we did a longish ride from Dunblane, along the Glen Road and through the woods towards Bridge of Allan and back.  Rather drizzly and misty so no photos to prove it!  We've done the Dunblane-Bridge of Allan circuit a few times on different roads.

This time it was via the golf course which required a long hill climb and the lowest gears for me - although it was much easier on the way back down I felt my stamina was faltering.  However I was pleased to see that I can now negotiate the rough patches in the road in the woods which had thrown me off the bike last year - I feel much more in control of the bike now.  Whilst wearing my helmet I didn't really notice the rain and it was a real pleasure to come back to a lovely cosy house and dry off with a cup of tea in front of a wood fire and feeling much better and brighter for the exercise and fresh air.  

First cycle ride of the year - and home-made marshmallows

Day 2 of the new year and the first bike ride of 2014!  The heavy rain has moved on to other parts and the sun is shining so I got out for a quick run down through Trinity to the seafront.  I can do this off-road for the majority of the route as there are plenty of pathways which follow the lines of old suburban railway tracks.

When you reach the "end of the line" there is the old Trinity railway station which is now a house.

And here is the view across the Firth of Forth to Fife.  

Today I crossed over to the seawall and cycled a little further to the west along McKelvies Parade leading to Granton harbour.  There was a small sailboat just setting off for the open sea.

Now that the daylight has gone I have been baking biscuits and making some more home-made sweets.  I made some lavender shortbread to take round to a friend tonight who has invited us for supper.  This is simply a basic shortbread recipe (200g plain flour, 50g cornflour, 175g caster sugar and 175g butter) - but I use caster sugar which I have flavoured with food-grade lavender.

My earlier attempt at Turkish Delight was only a partial success but the home-made marshmallows today are lovely.  

Even though we have passed the winter solstice, the days still feel very short although the brighter skies today meant that it seemed like a longer day than it was yesterday.  More daylight always makes me feel much happier!

Another New Year

Welcome to my blog.  This seemed like the right time to start!

For Christmas I received a brand new camera so hope that this blog will be an outlet for developing my camera skills.

This New Year's day has been very wet and so there was no opportunity to get out to do anything very productive. However I have found a video of the Edinburgh Hogmanay fireworks. We didn't join the crowds in Princes Street last night but watched from our doorstep - along with several neighbours who leant out from their windows upstairs (they probably get a better view of the castle) and a small but noisy crowd celebrating in the pub across the road.

Happy New Year!