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!