Duddingston Loch

It was very busy on the roads today despite there being a lockdown in place. We walked 7 miles from the house around Holyrood Park. It was very icy in places. Arthur’s Seat was covered with snow. We had our “snow chains” on our shoes and these gave us excellent adhesion. Nobody wants to slip and take up unnecessary space in our hard pressed A+E.

The low bright sunlight threw Samson’s Ribs on the lower slope of Arthur’s Seat into striking relief. We hoped that the rocks were not in imminent danger of breaking free and wreaking havoc on their path down to the loch. One such very large piece lay below the Innocent Railway but looked as if it had fallen there in pre-historic times! The ice on Duddingston Loch was sparking in the winter sunshine but not strong enough to bear any skaters. [This is the location of Sir Henry Raeburn’s famous painting of the skating Reverend Walker!]

The news continues to be dominated by Covid which I fully understand and the petulance of the current President of the USA. His announcement today that he will not be attending the inauguration of his successor is of little surprise. I remember well how many worthy people Trump has decried as “losers”. I also remember all the petulance that Trump showed on day one of his tenure when he contested the low numbers of US citizens who attended his inauguration!