Union Canal- Fountainbridge Basin

In the end it proved worthwhile to drag myself out of bed at sunrise. Gone is the desire of old to spring up at as the first rays of sunlight burst in on the bedroom.

However after so many mornings of drizzle and little light, this morning the sun was up, and a low mist hung over the Meadows, which seemed to have some areas of frost, but which turned out just to be patches of heavy dew.

A circular cycle run through the old hunting ground of streets still fast asleep, past Blackford Pond, very still, with ducklings and their mum leaving arrow shaped water trails on the surface, up by the allotments at Midmar and Corennie, enjoying the newly surfaced road, and back by Tollcross to the canal and a blipping fest of the absolutely still mirror like water with amazingly accurate reflections of the new flats at the Fountainbridge basin.

It felt strange to look west and see no Fountainbridge Brewery in its ruinous state obscuring the view. The demolition must be complete.

His Lordship suggested a canny morning cycle run to the Land of Flowers before traffic became heavy.
However before I knew it, this canny run turned into a time trial organised by Himself with my trying not to get left too far behind on the hills. By the time we got there, the atmosphere was a bit strained and not quite the relaxed Sunday morning outing I had envisaged.

Gallantly, I was allowed to set the pace homeward bound which being almost all down hill was a doddle, and normal cordial relations were established over a coffee on the Dower House patio with the Sunday papers.

Now we are keeping our fingers crossed that it won't rain for tonight's squib extravaganza at the Castle to mark the end of the Edinburgh International Festival.