There were no broken-down trains, damaged viaducts or fires to delay my journey to Edinburgh early on Thursday morning. The train was fairly quiet and arrived on time. In Carlisle, large number of gulls have made the city rooftops their home. The local paper reported in 2014, that one had nested on the ground of the site of a burnt-down store when she had previously nested on the roof. Most seemed to be herring gulls and apparently those living on buildings in Cardiff spend their winter in Spain and Morocco as someone has tagged and tracked them. I don’t know if the Carlisle ones do the same, as I am sure I have seen them here in the winter. I felt unwell on arrival so had a fairly lazy day catching up with a few chores and resting. Outside, on the lawn, a group of jackdaws were searching for food until they were disturbed.

Friday was devoted to housework and making sure a meal was ready for James when he arrived after a long day’s work and drive. On Saturday we met a good friend for lunch in the Canny Man’s pub in Morningside. When we lived in Edinburgh previously (almost 30 years ago), this watering hole decorated with all sorts of decorative items hanging on the walls and ceilings was not a hostelry to venture into. It was a serious drinking house, the décor was never dusted and as several patients frequented it, not a good place to be for us. Fortunately, all that has changed and now they serve good food. Sadly, photography is not allowed so I cannot give you a visual feel of the place. The afternoon was spent walking by the Union Canal and the Water of Leith totting up 11 miles in total and spotting a few birds. The Water of Leith Walkway is part of the John Muir Way which runs between Helensburgh in the west and Dunbar on the east coast where he was born. It is a walk we must do at some point. In the evening our friend cooked a fabulous dinner inside as the haar (the Edinburgh equivalent of the San Francisco fog) put paid to a
barbecue outside.

Today, while James was attending a course, I walked down to the Botanic Garden as they were having their annual Rare and Unusual Plant Sale. I found another paeony (I can never have too many) and a Crinodendron patagua which will go in the spaces cleared in the front garden revamp. It has lovely bell-shaped flowers and hails from Chile.

The haar had burnt off to a very sunny afternoon so I had a very hot brisk walk back up the hill to George Street where I caught the bus back to the flat. Over six miles walked today so a lazy evening is in order.