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Now that longer walks are less frowned on, I decided that I might as well at least got on with the bits of coast within my reach - I've been wanting for a while to go down the other side of the Almond, and never quite getting round to it. A trip out as far as the rail bridge and back by the main road was about 12 miles, which although longer than I've walked for a while seemed manageable enough.
I've used several variations on a route to Barnton junction through the inside-out wilds of East Craigs, and probably never yet found the optimum one, but this one worked well enough - not the shortest, but one of the more pleasant.
The starting point for the walk proper was Cramond Bridge, the point where I left off a short stretch of the John Muir Way a few weeks ago, and just an attractive spot regardless.
- Cramond Bridge
At this point I was back on the John Muir Way - incidentally, but since it was there I used it as my route. It led up past the car park of the closed pub - very busy - to where a surprisingly multi-purpose route turned off, simultaneously estate road, cycle path, and long distance footpath. On the map this looks like it follows the far side of the Almond, but the river was never in sight - it's just a long straight stretch between trees and hedge to the first of a handful of houses, and then two corners to pass a bigger farmhouse.
- Estate roads
Beyond that it's all straight again, a farm road now through flat fields, and suddenly more people about, although I hadn't seen any of them coming in. It had an odd feel to it, a bit like being on an enormous flat summit which blocks the view - just occasional glimpses of the sea or the Fife hills, or oddest of all just a glimpse of roofs on the Cramond side of the river.
- Raised green fields
This is still the access road for the cottage by the old ferry, but at a waymarked gate it became more of a track - you could see now how the land dropped to the shore, inside a band of trees.
- Track to the coast
A gap in the trees at the end of the track gave access to the beach, and a nicely framed glimpse of Cramond Island.
- An island glimpse
My way was really to the left, but I wanted to make it right along to the river, for interest as well as completeness, as I've often looked across at it.
A tiny path led back towards the river, parallel to the shore but never touching it, and apparently not much used, as I had to duck under a lot of low hanging branches. Eventually the path just fizzles out somewhere at the back of the cottage, and the only way on was to slither precarious down a steep bank to the beach and keep on that way - lovely views back over to the village on the other side, but a very appropriate feeling of isolation.
- Cramond across the water
On the way back I kept to the beach for a bit longer until it was easier to get on to the path - more mudflat than pretty sand, but it was a while since I'd been on any kind of beach.
Although the track runs closely parallel to the shore, it's not exactly a seaside walk - the woods are quite attractive as woods, but for most of the time you could be walking through trees anywhere.
- Woodland path
The first spot with easy access to the beach was at Eagle Rock, marked on the map - the site of a carving which may or may not be an eagle and may or may not be Roman - but it's interesting.
- Eagle Rock
And the rock itself is a nice little king-of-the-castle viewpoint, looking along past the next two bays to Barnbougle Castle on its own tiny point.
- Along the coast
Beyond that it really just a walk through the woods for quite a while, passing behind a little row of cottages at Long Green, and then coming out into the open at a lovely spot where the Cockle Burn reaches the sea.
- The Cockle Burn
On the other side it was suddenly golf course, that staple of the coast - not exactly a path anymore, just a worn bit along the edge by the water. Barnbougle was quite close ahead, but Dalmeny House itself was just suddenly sitting there when you look to the left - it doesn't look like anyone's home, because if it was, it would have a garden round it, not a golf course.
- Barnbougle
A little further along the path was by a seawall, with thrift growing all along the top of it - a nice coastal touch.
I did start wondering along here if I’d chosen the right walk, or if I should have headed for the Pentlands, mostly more than 5 miles away, before the restrictions got tighter again - but never mind. It would have been a very long walk after a long time off, and this was always the first on my list.
- Thrifty seawall
The path is turned from the coast for a surprisingly long time round Barnbougle, which seems to have more than its fair share of garden, but it did lead past a field with lambs in it, which I've hardly seen any of this year. More sea views after that, out to the various islands, and the odd looking thing which is a tanker berth, and on to lonely cottage, but the bridges were staying stubbornly out of sight.
- Fishery Cottage
The bridges came suddenly into view from the next point, where paths led down to a little open space just off the main path - surprisingly close at hand.
- First view of the bridges
More woodland after that, deep in bluebells, which mostly seem to have faded everywhere else, and then a kind of raised viewpoint looking out to the ship in the tanker berth.
- Tanker berth
I was getting closer to the end, and not very long after that I came out into open space near the little Long Craig pier and the last of the Dalmeny estate houses, with a clear view to the bridges.
- Three bridges
In the woods I mostly hadn't noticed any wind, but it was suddenly a little bit wild, with the waves throwing up spray as they hit the sea wall.
- Spray on the seawall
This last little stretch was just minor road, until I came out at the base of the bridge and the first buildings of South Queensferry - I think the bridge is a bit more impressive from below on the other side, but that certainly doesn't mean that it's not impressive from here.
- Forth Bridge
A nice muddle of names here - the Hawes Inn is on Newhalls Road, while New Hall's Gate is on Hawes Brae. I turned up the brae, surprisingly steep at first, for the road walk home - not dull, exactly, but hot and hard. As the longest walk for a while this wasn't bad - it definitely scratched an itch to see what was along this part of the coast, so close at hand and yet cut off by the Almond.