One of the things that years of hillwaking has primed me to do is, at the drop of the hat, take full advantage of good weather, especially in winter - wolf down breakfast, leave the house untidy, have the rucksack semi-permanently stocked, that kind of thing. It might cloud over and start raining by lunchtime. I may not be as cunning a fox as the blueskyscotland guys, but long experience of Highland weather has conditioned me to react to a crisp, sunny day with the urgency of a firefighter attending a blaze.
These days the people I like to spend most of my time with don't like hillwalking, but beautiful days like this weekend (and today) still give me a thrilling urgency to get out and about as quickly as possible. This Saturday, whilst helping out in the Borders, I was able to make a quick dash up Linton Hill. (I only know of this lovely wee viewpoint from the indispensible Relative Hills of Britain, my hillwalking bible.)
The Cheviots from Linton Hill:
A quick walk up a track, through a field full of cows, brought me to a small wood, turning gold for autumn, a transmitter mast above. I was soon on top, breathing deeply the clear, mild air, drinking in the views. What a tonic to be up there! I ran down the track back to my car, sheep chewing on the leaves of an unharvested root crop, glad to be alive.
Eildon Hills from Linton Hill:
It doesn't have to be a Great Hill to enjoy the sunshine and autumn crispness, although that does give me the most tremendous surge of happiness. I also visited this beautiful riverside on my way back.
Border river:
So that was Saturday. Today, a mellow autumn day just begging to be maximised, I got out my Edinburgh office for a quick lunchtime walk. High above I could see tiny figures approaching the top of Arthur's Seat.
Arthur's Seat from Holyrood Park:
My feet only wanted to go in one direction. Were it not that I was due in a meeting when I took this picture, I would have headed up there to be with them.
1 comment:
this is great view of arthur seat!
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