WeansonWheels is thinking the geese (some of which we saw overhead today) are onto a good thing with their autumnal migration to the balmy south. Midlothian was as far as we got, but it offered up another highly enjoyable route for family cycling with an almost entirely off-road cycle path between Dalkeith and Penicuik. This follows the old railway, and gave us a ride of around 20 miles overall (out and back).
Starting from the centre of Dalkeith, head west along the High St, past a church and then the War Memorial, take a right hand turn into a lane and basically just follow the blue cycle route signs to Penicuik. [Get hold of a Spokes Midlothian map for full details of junctions etc.] This takes you down to Hardengreen (big Tesco's visible), round behind Bonnyrigg, then off to skirt past Rosewell. Cross the main road with care as cars are fast (though not too frequent on a Sunday at least), and pick up the cycle route again just by the car park. This proved a handy place for a family puncture-repair lesson as Child 1's rear tyre had gone flat. Nice views to the Pentlands, walls to lean bikes against, and some random steps to occupy Child 2.
Head on westwards and you then approach Roslin with views to the Chapel and the country park. The route so far has a gentle upwards incline and a good surface (watch out for horse droppings though!). From around here there is a welcome descent (though rougher surface; still fine for novices and tag-alongs etc) for quite a way down. The path then follows the river and rises up again to come out at houses on the south west side of Penicuik. We nipped up to the High St and found a welcome snack in the Peni Deli cafe just round the corner on the right. 9 miles out; we returned the same way to Dalkeith (views to the sea) but interested to hear if anyone makes a nice circuit based on this path (ideally <30 miles and not too hilly).
A lovely sunny morning and nice autumn colours along the way; it's a pleasant mix of trees and views to the hills. Not the warmest of days but the kids were fine with thermals, decent socks and decent gloves - seems that if extremities are looked after, the rest looks after itself. Mudguards come in handy at this time of year - worth investing in! Child 2 on the tag-along still got a bit splattered (well-used to it now, luckily), given some puddles from the rain yesterday. If anyone knows of a decent crud-catcher for tag-alongs, please write in!
Any more Midlothian suggestions for family groups?
Two quick websites to pass on:
(a) www.cycling-edinburgh.org.uk looks like a good source of ideas [haven't had time to look through all the rides there]
(b) http://www.cyclescottishborders.com/borderloop4/ might be of interest to those up for longer rides - please send in any reviews.
Happy autumn cycling!
