Spartleton Edge and Deuchrie Dod.

By the time Bob arrived at my door he had already scoffed an all day breakfast and three double Bounty bars.Between mouthfuls of cheese and onion crisps he suggested a trip out east once more to take advantage of the sunny forecast.I wasn`t particularly bothered where I went to be honest as long as I could get a new hill tick of some sort.Another dual pronged day out ensued with a visit to the Marilyn of Spartleton Edge first of all to satisfy my Lust for Lists :o)

A quick stopover for paper,sweets and cakes in Haddington then down through Gifford where Bob spied a handily placed Co-Operative food shop at the junction into which he disappeared for more cakes as the Haddington supply had almost ran out over the course of the last four miles.Wonder where they went.....

We were delighted with the sunny weather and Bob was, as usual,enthusing about the Lammermuirs as a cycling venue whilst I kept my eyes peeled for the killer potholes that the winter had opened up on the minor road over the hills.We pulled in at a parking spot at the start of the Whiteadder reservoir just opposite the entrance to Priestlaw Farm alongside a couple of fishermen.


Bob fortified himself for the day ahead with three pork pies.This display of gluttony was a tad offputting so I wandered slowly off up the edge of the forest to see if I could find an easy spot to cross the Whiteadder Water.A quick hop across a couple of boulders and I waited for Hungry Horace to appear.Appear he did but it soon became apparent that he needed to refuel yet again before starting the ascent and sat down on the opposite bank to delve into his rucksack for some more goodies.I had a quick fag and watched a couple of swans and canada geese in the loch before wandering over to intercept a couple of walkers with a collie who were approaching from the north.I had assumed that they would be Marilyn baggers in this relatively remote spot but they were just out for a walk.Very interesting old couple from Gullane they turned out to be and a mine of information about the old castles and mining in the surrounding area.Bob arrived and soon turned the conversation around to the delights of the German bread shop in Gullane :o)

Eventually we managed to start up the hill.


The summit appears ahead.....


"Ah...the summit..good..time for a spot of lunch " says he.


The second packet of Sainsbury`s best Chorizo was consumed with relish along with a small plover that was unlucky enough to wander by too closely. "Need to keep my energy levels up...it`s been a hard few weeks with work,studying and exams".Bob had been through to Edinburgh for an all day exam (not breakfast) on Tuesday so we put his gluttony down to either post traumatic stress or some sort of intestinal worms.

View from the summit down south to Dirrington Great Law which Bob was pleased to find out was my last remaing Marilyn east of the Edinburgh to Hawick line."Time to get the bikes out then after that..! "


We both meandered down in our own chosen direction.I took a south westerly route to see the remains of Gamelshiel Castle.Not a lot left to see....


We met up again at the reservoir and walked back up the road to the car,Bob keeping a wary eye open for supplemental roadkill :o)

Deuchrie Dod and the Pressmennan Lake were up next about 10 miles to the north through Garvald and Stenton.On the way we stopped to look at the old iron age hill fort at White Castle.Fantastic vantage point overlooking East Lothian....



More info here...... White Castle iron age fort

Further down the hill we pulled over in Stenton to admire this bit of topiary......


...before heading up to the car park at Pressmennan Lake.There`s a bit of debate as to how many lakes there are in Scotland.The only natural one I think is the Lake of Menteith but there are five other manmade ones that I know of.My favourite is the grandly named Lake Superior down near Cairnryan. Pic of Scotland`s Lake Superior here

We took the long way up to Deuchrie Dod by walking along the high trail through the woods to the viewpoint.News travels fast in these areas and Bob`s plover eating must have reached the ears of the local residents.The minute they saw us they were offski.

Bambi escapes Bob`s evil clutches...


At the topmost point we went over into the fields and doubled back in a south westerly direction to the summit trig point.Nice views over the red earth Lothian landscape towards Dunbar.The ridge in the photo below is the one that Bob cycled over last year. Report here


There were loads of roe deer up in the fields and woods behind Pressmennan...





Unfortunately there was a bit of dark cloud around by now but this must be a superb viewpoint on a clear day.Traprain Law looked huge below us and the Isle of May and Bass Rock were showing nicely but the views stopped over at Largo Law in Fife.We descended down through the trees following a new mountain bike trail.One to return to again....

A Footballers` Wives house at Garvald on the way home...



Sometimes I think I run an animal sanctuary back home.Two new born rabbits have been feasting at my expense for the last few weeks in the garden.I suppose it`s my own fault because when I built the summer house out back I raised it up and left a few entrance holes to the void underneath in the hope that some form of exotic wildlife would move in.Instead I give bed and breakfast to a family of rabbits :o)
I almost had one eating out of my hand last summer after about two months of trying. I`ve already got this one used to my presence and he/she will let me get to within about five feet or so.