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The Dog Rambler E-diary

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October 2011
Walk Dogs on walk

A wet day along the railway Dylan, Jolie, Lucas, Maggie, Solo, Tim

Length

6 miles

With Maggie having some trouble with her skin I aimed for a walk which would keep out of water as much as possible. A challenge at the best of times with Maggie. The railway walk above Roslin Glen and on the way to Penicuick would be ideal. As it happened it also suited the weather. The heavy rain that I was not expecting till gone midday was with us as soon as we set out. After giving us a good and long soaking it did revert to the drizzle that had been forecast. So Maggie and the rest of us were soon wet. I had tried to keep her dry. Pools of water began to build across the track. Not so wide yet that we could not get around them. A group of about fifteen swans stood together in a field of stubble. Their golden pond. With the relentless rain they may have soon be afloat but for now they stood tall, necks extending like meerkats on watch. Whether it was the rain, which I find hard to believe, the dogs were easy paced as we set off. Trotting along the track, sniffing about and at each other but not turning it into a chase. The heavy sky above us made it feel like dusk, the subdued light adding to the gloom in the rain.

Finally Tim plucked up the courage to get things moving and soon had Jolie in his sights. Once she had been wound up sufficiently she turned her sights onto Lucas. Now all three of them ran along the track. They had it all to themselves as we did not see another soul until the very end of the walk. Solo pursued his usual steady pace keeping tabs on Dylan stalking about up front. Maggie who had been swaggering along at the rear suddenly came charging by and hooked up Jolie, Lucas and Tim as she flew by. Along the track she pounded the others in hot pursuit their fast breath caught in the cold air like the ghosts steam trains. She turned and hurtled back with the others doing likewise like the swishing tail of an invisible dog. A couple more runs up and down and that was enough for her. With nothing to chase the pursuers too returned to a walk. The rain eased as the old line cut its way through the countryside. Contouring with the landscape until having to cross the River Esk still deep in its glen. The high bridge over the river gave way to a tunnel as the line powered on now relentless and cutting through the contours of the land. It all ended up with us level with the river and it meandered slightly near and far from us until we reached our turning point close to Penicuick. Maggie picked up a stick which once again immediately attracted the attention of the others. Even Solo this time raced along behind them, leaving me alone far at the back. The sky had brightened but it turned out not to be a good omen. The rain began to increase as we upped our pace hopeful of getting back before it reached its previous intensity. We were still able to just edge around the puddles on the track and the swans had not yet begun to float. With only yards to go to the car park we finally met another hardy soul. A woman out with two dogs was well wrapped against the weather. We did not stop as we spoke to each other. Me wanting to get back to the car before we got too wet again. Her wanting to get her walk over and done with. Still we were quite wet as we returned to the car where the dogs began to try and wash each other dry. Nick

Photo slideshow from the walk

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Nick Fletcher The Dog Rambler 9 Links Street Musselburgh East Lothian EH21 6JL

www.thedogrambler.com nick@thedogrambler.com t. 0131 665 8843 or 0781 551 6765

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