End of the road

I decided today I would definitely, really, I promise, go out at lunchtime for some exercise.  It was blowing a gale but the rain held off.  I also needed to go to the DIY shop for some electrical cable, so I did, but they were out of stock.  That was just a distraction to get me out of the house, because my main objective was to explore more of Bilston Glen.  I've  cycled some of the paths before but found more on the map.  It was extremely muddy, but my mountain bike was already muddy from before, because lazy, so I went sploshing and squelching all around the place, rather enjoying the whole thing.

I followed the pictured bulldozery track down and down and down along the river to the end here, and discovered that the Bilston Burn is culverted.  A huge Italian Job sized culvert, with big gates and railings and a weir and a settling pond and everything.  It was built when the Loanhead Colliery expanded to the south, drowning the valley in spoil heaps.  It was a bit of a climb out of the valley and up to the pretty well levelled remains of the colliery, where I messed around on my bike for a while before pressing homewards again.

The fresh air was good, but it's a bit too fresh now: it's really blowing a gale.