With Joel, the run organiser, away on business. I was drafted in to lead the run. Joel had arranged the food at Clippers and after a reccie on Saturday there was nothing left to do but turn up. So about 25 of us with an age spread of over 55 years gathered outside the restaurant at 7pm. Mark appeared from the doorway with a load of poppadoms to give us a taste of what was to come. So off we went down the Peebles road to Pomathorn and headed up South Bank Wood and stopped to regroup at the site of the 2007 landslide. The Penicuik landslide, Midlothian, January 2007, (paper written by a past club member). then on to the Top of the Hill – |
– where we looked over to Penicuik House and then we ran across to the Ramsay Memorial,
“The Ramsay Monument is set on top of the Cauldshoulders Ridge, marking the end of the vista from Penicuik House as you look down the south-east avenue. An ashlar stone obelisk, pierced by three oval apertures on an arched base, it was built in 1759 by Sir James Clerk, 3rd Baronet, in commemoration of the poet Allan Ramsay, a frequent visitor to Penicuik House”.
Richard and Bill carried on along the wood track and we regrouped at the top of the hill. A swift run down the track led us to the Bridge and then we had a quick visit to the “Low Pond” and the climbed to the house. Along the raised walk and under the bridge by the well and then we went to view the house. The house was burnt down in 1899 leaving just a shell we gazed through the windows into the shell and then headed of down the drive.
At a fork in the road we took the steep off track route to The Knights Law Tower , at the tower Bill turned up Map-less having dropped it on the way up. Steve headed back to retrieve said map as the rest of us ran through the woods to the radio mast and after a final regroup we took a quick deviation to add on a few hundred yards before heading down the hill to Clippers.
We had a lovely run of just over 5 miles which left us ready for the lovely curry (and Beer) that followed.
Thanks for the idea Joel!
Willie