The Dog Rambler

Friday

14 E-diary
May 2010

Walk Gore Glen, Midlothian Length 6.3

miles
Dogs on walk Darcy, Dylan, Finn, Otis

Our ramble today took us to the Gore Glen, a beautiful almost hidden glen starting beside
the A7 at Gorebridge. In bright conditions but still with the chill wind of recent days we
set off from the Gore Glen car park.

Our route took us parallel to the A7 heading in a westerly direction; the occasional drone
of cars beyond the trees the only confirmation of its existence. Otherwise it was the myriad
call of the blackbird and the, whispering of the immature leaves on the trees in the breeze
that were our company.

The four boys were off all over the place. Dylan in his now familiar place off at the front
disappearing into the undergrowth, always popping back out in an unexpected place.
Darcy, Finn and Otis spread widely. Unusually for Otis he kept falling behind caught up by
some alluring smell of other. Finn back and forth, not sure which dog to be keeping
company with and Darcy looking for any opportunity for a quick chase.

The path suddenly dived downward via steps taking us into the hidden depths of the glen.
Rounding a corner it joined up with the Gore Water, rushing away to its confluence with
the River Esk. The steep sides of the glen and its overhanging trees shaded the water with
just dappled light brightening its surface as it broke through the cover. Dylan continued to
lead the way whilst the others kept looking for opportunities to scramble down the bank
into the cool water below.

As the river bank slackened, Darcy was the first in for a knee depth paddle and a
refreshing drink. The others had missed this opportunity, instead nosing over to the site of
a campfire in hope of some left over scraps.

Where the Gore Water met the River Esk we crossed an old, dilapidated stone bridge, once
linked with the old mills along the banks of the river here but now long gone, with just a
few stretches of overgrown stone walls marking their presence. Now the floor of the glen
opened into a wide wooded area, silted over time by a tight meander in the river. At the
meander the dogs stopped for a full water break and a bit of a paddle. With me throwing
stones out into the river I managed to entice them further out. Darcy and Otis being the
keenest to go further, perhaps the Labrador in them. This resulted in Darcy going for a
short swim, where the water got much deeper toward the middle. Otis did not quite get
out of his depth, whilst Finn looked on as if this was a ridiculous thing for Darcy to be
doing. Dylan was happier nosing around on the wide shallow pebbled banking.

We walked along the path running against the flow of the river, as the wood to the left
gave way to a fenced off grass field. Trees continued to cling to the bank, but more
deciduous than pine. After a while the path crossed another stone bridge, half hidden by
ivy clinging to its ramparts. Here the ground opened into a wide grassy clearing sloping
upward from the river. This was the key for the dogs to engage in their first real chase,
running up the slope and turning tail back down again. The excitement brought out a
rather chaotic song of barks covering an octave worth of discordant volleys breaking the
quiet of this sheltered spot.

The path climbed through the open ground and back up into trees, now running along the
top of the glen. Below, the river was a shimmering ribbon, appearing to thread between
the tall thin trunks of the trees. The new growth of broom was doing its best to obscure
the path, reclaiming it to wilderness. The dogs pushed through it, occasionally peeking
down into the glen or lifting their noses on the breeze in search of the elusive deer of the
glen.

After a stint across the top of the glen, the path slipped back down to the river and
another much wider expanse of open grassland. This heralded a change to the landscape of
the walk where the river plain opened out quite wide, letting the sun splay its warmth
over the ground. Although the cold breeze kept the temperature down and the gathering
clouds hinted that the sun’s company was not for long. Again this tempting sprawling plain
was just the kind of playing field they wanted and several chases broke out, like a tag
team game. At one point Finn was on the tail of Otis, then Dylan was gaining ground on
Finn; while it was Darcy rapidly closing on Otis, who was thrusting his legs forward for all
he was worth. As they wheeled around they come together again and like a display team
broke out in a different grouping heading off in opposite directions. All of this was again
accompanied by the piercing pistoling of their excited barking. Darcy, in a new ploy
chased Otis into the river, taking the high ground. When they rejoined us Otis was soaking.

We crossed the river again on another old stone bridge marking an old track which may
have been part of the Arniston Estate, whose large Palladium house was over the rise
ahead and to our left. Our way continued through grassland, widening and narrowing on
our side as the river meandered across the landscape. It then lifted away from the river
climbing past a field of sheep with young lambs a mixture of black and white, chess pieces
strewn over the field. Surprisingly Dylan was a bit too interested in them, with a look
suggesting he was keen to join them in the field. The others padded by trying to resist the
temptation to glance across to their left.

We now descended again into an unexpected scene of a multitude of cypress trees, some
very tall and spindly others with trunks broad enough to easily hide all four dogs behind.
Around the bases of these were spreading clusters of rhododendrons, just beginning to bud.
We were in what were once the informal gardens of Arniston House, which perhaps once
had an avid tree collector. The dogs roamed around in the rhododendron bushes, which
like the broom earlier were trying to envelop the path. Somewhere in here both Finn and
Otis found something extremely putrid to roll in. The awful smell coating their backs and
necks; probably fox or perhaps badger. A good clean up would be required before I could
deliver them home.
We left the mystical gardens behind as we passed under a high road bridge and the steep
banks came back to join the river. Now we leaned into the left bank as we climbed up and
down on a narrow, indistinct path through young trees clinging to the soft slopes. This
brought us to a gate at the top which led through to the old ruins of Temple Church. This
C14 church was once a central feature of the Knights Templar’s domain in this area.

Having reached here we now reversed our course. On the way back Otis picked up the odd
stick to carry for a little while, but he never seemed too convinced or too sure what he
should do with them. In the grassy plain Dylan and Finn had a really intense chase around
both rolling over in the lengthening grass. Dylan used his new method again chasing Otis
along the river bank.

The dogs began to ease off their pace as we rejoined the Gore Water and headed for the
climb back out of the glen. On reaching the Jeep there were no complaints about climbing
in and settling down for the trip home.

Nick

Photo slideshow from the walk

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Nick Fletcher
The Dog Rambler
9 Links Street
Musselburgh www.thedogrambler.com
East Lothian nick@thedogrambler.com
EH21 6JL t. 0131 665 8843 or 0781 551 6765

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