While the warm sun shone today it seemed a reminder that it was the last official day of summer.  However the spectacular purple hills, the turning bracken and the red rowan berries were a signal that autumn is on its way.  My fingers soon became purple as I picked blaeberries but there were very few compared with yesterday’s blackberries.  They are a favourite food of the red grouse which flew over the extensive heather hills uttering their ‘goback, goback, goback’ calls.  One even stood on the dam wall of Hopes Reservoir watching us while his mate was further on the wall.   As we walked back to the car we regretted that we did not have the chance to do the longer walk across the Lammermuir as we have done several times before.  

The drive back was past golden fields of grain interspersed with scattered green woods and backed by purple heather covered hills.  But I expect cyclists taking part there in the first stage of the Tour of Britain 2017 race on Sunday will have eyes only for the road surface instead of the scenery.