Monday 11/04/05

Day dawns breezy but bright. Set off at midday, heading for the Barvas Hills. Forecast isn't good, but I'll see how it goes. Start off by going up through the Castle Grounds to Marybank. From there, it's a straight-on walk along the A858 to the Pentland Road. The only problem is the very strong wind, force 7 to 8 from the southwest, which makes for a 4 mile struggle, right up to the junction for Achamor. Arrive there at 1.20, and after a few hundred yards on the actual Pentland Road, I head off north, straight through the moors. There is a grey mass of cloud in the southwest, which is steadily gathering itself. At 2.10, it duly starts to rain. By that time I've flopped down on a low hillock, back to the wind to have lunch. It's raining and blowing hard when I decide to abandon today's aim of the Barvas Hills in view of the conditions. My return to the road sees me wallowing through a marsh, finally ending up on hands and knees, with two very wet feet. Ha ha bloody ha. Sop back to town, past that dead sheep by a cattlegrid. Return to Newton at 4.10. The wind playfully blows over signs outside the supermarket. Meet up with some of Mrs B's relatives. She goes out later that evening to a Labour Party meeting, with local MP (officially: Parliamentary Candidate for the Labour Party) Calum MacDonald.