A 'wish you were here' postcard From..............

............absolutely no idea where (precisely) this is. A tale of a stravaiging day out.

Today 5 of us set off for a walk. The plan was to drive to a place near Ratho (close to Edinburgh, Scotland) and then a couple of hours walk in the Pentland Hills. 4 of us professed to know something of how to read a map. Didn't stop us from missing the turn off. No matter we said, lets drive to the outdoor dry-ski slope (the longest in Europe apparently) and walk in the hills around there.

We arrived, got the boots on and off we went, somewhat hesitantly with much discussion along the lines of 'are you sure this is the right direction?'. Onwards and upwards we went - in the mist. "Was it clearer further up?" we enquired of some walkers we met coming down the (no idea what its called) hill. "Yes" was the bold reply. Well they must have had a very different view from us. Misty the whole way up. 2 wrong turns later (it helps if the map is the right way up), and much consultation of 2 hand-held sat-nav devices and we still somehow ended up wandering around a bit of land which the signs said are sometimes used for Army training. We thought it best to turn back before we found ourselves in the middle of wargames. Eventually we found a the modest summit of Allermuir Hill. Still no view in the mist.

We then got 'a bit wandered' heading back to the car and ended up at the perimeter of a golf club. The options were - go over the fence and skirt the boundary of the golf club or climb another hill. The golf club boundary won and we ..........eventually...........ended up at a pub and decided that a spot of lunch was in order. Which is where the 'wish you were here - if only we knew where 'here' was' picture postcard was taken. A warm meal and a pint of Deuchars later (water for the driver) and we made our way back to the car and home.

Undaunted, the same lot are planning a walk next week to the Lost Valley in Glencoe. If today is anything to go by we'll end up in Sutherland somewhere and still be looking for the Lost Valley a month from now. I'll post a blip if we get there (and back).