Blackford and Holyrood

I have been working the last couple of weekends so I haven't been able to head North and take advantage of the Scottish Winter. However, an early finish yesterday meant that I had just enough daylight left to make a quick tour of the local hills.

Heading up Blackford Hill, Edinburgh

Edinburgh Castle from Blackford Hill, Edinburgh

Looking Northwest from the top of Blackford Hill, Edinburgh

I really wanted to head into the Pentlands and catch the remaining snow before it melted, but there just wasn't the time. Instead, I headed up Blackford Hill first. The air was mild and there was a major thaw in full swing. The majority of the snow had melted away and only slush was left behind; no sign of ice. Looking over at Craiglockhark it was a similar story, while the Pentlands were slowly blackening by the minute. By this morning, as I feared, they were very green.

Craiglockhart from Blackford Hill, Edinburgh

Arthur's Seat from Blackford Hill, Edinburgh

Braid Hills and the Pentland Hills from Blackford Hill, Edinburgh

After passing the Royal Observatory, I set about negotiating the back streets towards Holyrood Park. I was soon looking up at a rather green-looking Salisbury Crags and Arthur's Seat. I headed straight up the main path up the West face. Although most of the snow had melted, the path was still full of slush on the blocks and treacherous. This didn't seem to deter the tourist masses, and I passed many plimsolls, converse and even the odd sandal - worn by folk with a death wish! At the top, the polished rock in combination with the slush was even more hazardous.

Salisbury Crags, Edinburgh

Arthur's Seat, Edinburgh

Looking down to Salisbury Crags from Arthur's Seat, Edinburgh

I didn't loiter, so headed down the Northeast path to escape the hoards. There were only patches of snow covering the grassy slopes of Whinny Hill. I went over the top and descended down the steep North bank, looking down on St Anthony's Chapel and St Margaret's Loch.

Tourists on Arthur's Seat, Edinburgh

Tourists on Arthur's Seat, Edinburgh

The Pentland Hills from Arthur's Seat, Edinburgh

Looking back to Arthur's Seat, Edinburgh

I descended to the Loch for a seat and a much to enjoy the fading evening light with the swans and the ducks. Then I headed back into town, glad to have made the most of the daylight that was left.

Looking down to St Anthony's Chapel and St Margaret's Loch, Edinburgh

St Anthony's Chapel, Edinburgh

St Margaret's Loch, Edinburgh

Salisbury Crags Bouldering

The weather forecast was for today to be a cracking day so I was keen to make the most of it. I had recently got hold of a DMM Highball crash pad from eBay so I was dying to get out on some boulders to try it out - review coming soon! I was struggling to decide where to go, but I knew I didn't want to drive too far and ideally I wanted somewhere that wasn't directly in the sun. In the end I opted for Salisbury Crags, South Quarry.

When I parked up in Holyrood Park along Queen's Drive, the Park was rammed with folk enjoying the good weather. Ignoring the crags, I grabbed my gear and my pad and headed up the slope to the path leading round to the South Quarry. There were a couple of other folk there but mostly it was folk just messing around at the back of the quarry. I dropped my gear at the foot of The Black Wall (in the shade) and headed to the back of the Quarry to warm up with some footwork and easy traversing.

Twenty minutes later, I returned and studied the moves on The Black Wall Traverse font 6c+***. My flash attempt didn't go particularly well; I managed to get a couple of moves past the initial traverse along the high rail but then lost my way and had to bail to the mat. There was another chap there working the problem: Oly Leask. We chatted a bit and spotted / helped each other on the problem but it didn't look like it was going to go today. I was struggling to get down low and make the big reach across to the right before going into the final sequence. No matter what I tried I just couldn't quite make the link. After Oly left, I had a few more tries but didn't get any closer and started to fade. Eventually, the afternoon sun crept round and onto the front of wall - The Black Wall no longer. I decided it was just too warm in the sun to improve any so I called it a day.

A rather frustrating but extremely enjoyable afternoon - I'll get the traverse next time!

The Braids

It's been a while since my last blog entry as this summer has been quite busy since returning from our trip to Northern Ireland.

Hillend and Allermuir Hill from Braid Hills

Tonight I managed to make the most of a lovely evening and have a quick blast up Blackford Hill and The Braids. Not much to report on but I did have some lovely views of Arthur's Seat and The Pentlands from the summit trig on The Braids. There was also some amazing rays from the sun coming through the clouds over Craiglockhart.

Arthur's Seat from Braid Hills

Unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me but I managed to snap a few shots with my phone. Hopefully I'll have more exciting things to write about in the near future as August approaches.

Rays over Craiglockhart from Braid Hills