It was a wet start to the day. I headed off with Bella to tackle the Pencaitland Railway Walk only to discover that the disappearing snow and general lack of dry weather had resulted in severe flooding. We managed around 50 metres before abandoning.
So, after a quick re-think we made our way to Athelstaneford for an alternative route. After a quick nod to our national flag (in the home of the national flag), we headed off the main road across a field. Bella had obviously decided otherwise today though and whilst I kept walking she nosed around for a minute or two, took to her heel and headed back to the car. A mad dash back across the field to catch her and a few swear words from me and we finally managed to set off with an extra half a mile under our belt.
We arrived at the mid way point in Drem fairly easily and watched a ghostly train with not a passenger in sight pass us by.
The road from Drem out to Gullane from there seemed pretty obvious until it stopped abruptly on the edge of a field with no further route forward. So I figured if we just headed in the general direction of Gullane, we’d get there eventually. Foot deep in mud on the outskirts of fields followed by an SAS style scramble through some bramble filled woodlands and a leap over a burn and I popped out next to some horses who looked at me blankly. A series of horses and ponies followed as I discovered we’d found our way into Muirfield Riding Therapy Centre – somewhere I’ve heard so much about but never visited.
Then off on the final stretch into Gullane where I rested my legs outside the Bonnie Badger and thought of happy long lunches when I sometimes wore heels instead of muddy boots.
(Edit: I was picked up at the end by a handsome man in an open top car. He felt the support team ie him, wasn’t given enough credit in this particular piece….)
Debbie's 500 Miles for Parkinson's UK 