Almond Pool East - Almond Valley Greenway.

It took half the morning to decide to visit Easter Breich Woodland in West Lothian for our walk so, naturally, we planned to find coffee along the way. Unfortunately the first place had no nearby parking, the second was closed. We consulted Google to find a couple of possibilities but, again, no nearby parking, so we continued to a garden centre in the next village but theirs was closed. A shame as we'd been before. A small mall was the next opportunity but there was no sign of it ever being open. Nearing familiar venues we tried one, only to find that they had a power cut - as did Dobbies, nearby. Were we dismayed? Not a bit, setting the satnav to Livingston and had a very nice lunch (for time was passing) in the Livingston Inn.

The distance from there to the small car park was short and we soon found ourselves by the River Almond following a section of the Shale Trail. The track was damp, in fact the moss and lichen suggested that this was its natural condition, by mixed woodland of young trees which are managed and marked for removal. On one I found a nice display of Jelly-ear fungus (Auricularia auricula-judae), see extra.

We returned to the Almond Pool East (main photo) to view the river and water fowl (mallard and goosander being those identified at distance). Here the pool is a backwater as the river flows past in front of us, entering from mid-left.. This is one of three such pools, created by the oil shale mining industry during the 1940s and 1950s, now matured into important wildlife sites which provide a unique habitat for plant and animal life, especially the birdlife. These provide feeding area for local populations and as a staging place for migrant species. One pool in particular rarely freezes over, ensuring open water during a hard winter. The pools are steep-sided, with no shallows, and are thus free of encroaching vegetation.

By then the sunshine had returned after a gloomy phase as we drove home in high spirits before the rush hour.