Walks

Today I got up at 04:30 to drop A and daughter K at the airport for their flight to France. I knew it would be difficult to work afterwards so, since the forecast until mid-morning was good and Django would relish a walk somewhere different, I drove on. I almost stopped at Loch Leven, but continued to Perth, deciding that it was a good opportunity to go up Kinnoull Hill. This view looking along the Tay valley from the edge of the cliffs I remember well from my previous visit, back in 1987. This was the day before my first visit to Dundee, where I was due to meet the man who was later to be my PhD supervisor. However, the view of "Kinnoull Tower" - a folly on the edge of the cliffs - seems to have become rather obscured by trees, or maybe my memory has been clouded by time!

After exploring the Kinnoull woodlands, I drove back to Kinross, where I had another hour-long walk with Django on the edge of Loch Leven, before cutting back round a golf course to return to the car.

By then it was 09:30, and it had become cloudy, so I headed back to Edinburgh. Since И had responded to my suggestion that we meet up, I parked at her flat, and we walked into Stockbridge for breakfast in a dog-friendly café. Hence I could continue my walk into the centre of Edinburgh, timing my arrival at the Filmhouse to coincide with the arrival of daughter L and boyfriend M. They were going to see a film before returning to K's flat. Django was delighted to see L, giving M and I a few minutes to introduce ourselves. 

Finally I took a bus to И's flat where I said goodbye to her, as tomorrow she flies to Bulgaria for a few weeks. This ended an intense three weeks, but we reflected on how good it had been for everyone in team HiGHS. After driving home, I couldn't resist having a nap, but Kermit has just arrived, demanding his tea.

Django will only need a brief walk this evening!