Run

Local landowners have conspired to put such strong restrictions on hill races in the Pentlands - for "environmental" reasons - that the traditional Skyline race didn't take place today. However, many who would have run it, and supporters such as myself, made sure to run some or all of the 26km (1900m) route. 

Walking/running up from Penicuik, I joined a group of about eight runners, and did more of the route than I'd expected, before walking all the way back home. I'll suffer for it tomorrow (or, more likely, Tuesday) but it was worth it, both for the action and the exercise. We did have one brief encounter with a tweed jeans-and-green-jacket-wearing guy in the depths of the hills, who was taking photos of us descending a steep, boggy slope, "to see the damage we were doing". That he arrived across fragile, sodden moorland by quad bike speaks volumes for the hypocrisy of the landowners. Obviously the odd hill race does far less damage than all the regular individual runners, cyclists and walkers, but they can't be stopped due to Scottish access legislation, otherwise I'm sure that the landowners would restrict access completely.

On my way back I called in at the "secret waterfall" (see extra) that is the run-off from Glencorse Reservoir. The noise of the falls after all the recent rain means that it was far from secret!

Back home, I ate, and had a siesta.