Clambers

Max and Hannah went to Clambers for some fun with the girls.

Fesitve Frolic

We had another trip to Vogrie country park for some orienteering. This was a great team event where we ran around an Orange course Plus a number of additional controls and quiz questions. The weather even stayed quite nice for us.

Gentle Hill Walk

Max and Colin went up Scald Law and South Black Hill in the Pentlands. Some very nice weather at the start and remained fairly good the whole time. Max wasn't on the best of form as he recovers from a cold but with a bit of encouragement made it up two peaks. Total walk time of 2 hours.

Boxing Day Festive Run

Colin ran in the Festive Handicap at Beecraigs. Nice weather for a great little event. 2 laps round the country park that had a bit of everythings - hills, lake, forest paths.

Good time of 1 hr 12 mins against the winning time of 51 minutes. Came 10th in the handicap.

Vogie O

Orienteering at Vogrie on a cold but clear Sunday morning. Colin and Max went round the green whilst Hannah and Cherry did the junior course.

Hill Run

Fresh saturday morning jog in the Pentland hills.

Easter Bunny Spotted !

Harps of Gold

Max played as part of the Edinburgh Clarsach Society annual concert at the Queens Hall. A gathering of around 60 harps on stage and a choir from the local school played two hours of Christmas tunes.

On Tuesday Max played a solo at the James Gillespie musical evening as well as singing in the choir.

Glasgow 3 Parks

Max, Hannah and Cherry went to the Childrens Classic Concern whilst Colin went to Glasgow for the day for 3 orienteering courses in different parks in the City. Visited Victoria Park, Kelvingrove Park and Queens Park. Came 8th in the Open men (still trying to pretend I'm not a Veteran).

Scottish Score Championships

Headed out on Sunday morning to Beecraigs for some orienteering. Max did very well coming 2nd in the M12 category. Colin did OK coming in the top half of the field on his course. Hannah and Cherry got a good time on the Yellow course.

Tim & Laurie Get Married

We all travelled out to Enterkine House near Ayr for Tim and Laurie's wedding.

Max played a short piece on the harp at the end of the ceremony. He did fantastically well.

Orienteering & Football

Hannah had a busy footballing weekend. On Sunday her team won for the first time beating South Morningside B 3 - 0.

We went orienteering on Saturday to Craigmiller Castle. Max did the grown up's course brilliantly well.

Saw James Bond on Friday night. Very good.

Tim's Stag Weekend - Latvia

We departed very early on Saturday morning to arrive in Riga by around 2 pm in the afternoon. After a quick stop at the hotel we headed off to the old town for a wander around the cathedral before taking shelter in a coffee bar. From there onwards to the local Irish Pub and then to a local pool hall. Excellent dinner at a medieval restaurant and then on to a bar until around 3 am.

Warren and Tim decided that the night was still young and proceeded to empty their minibar. They had a failed attempt to wake up me and Ian and empty our mini-bar at about 4.30 am !

The next day we got up late! and headed for Riga Castle and then a fuller tour of the old town. The Museum of the Occupation was excellent telling the story of how the country was occupied by the Russians, then by the Nazis and then by the Communists again. A very grim story.

Went back to the pool hall a second night and another very late night which didn't finish until around 5 am.


On Monday we headed out shooting where we each shot 10 rounds on each of a Winchester Rifle, a Kalashnikov and two pistols.

Busy Weekend

Hannah was busy with football practice on Saturday morning and then the big challenge match with South Morningside. After a heavy defeat earlier in the year they did fabulously well to get a 2-2 draw.

Max had an orienteering weekend. He ran for the East of Scotland in a relay competition on Saturday at Penicuik and then had a great run in the Borders on Sunday.

ESOA Champ

Busy weekend as we hosted an Interlopers Halloween Party of Friday and then another for Max and Hannah's friends on saturday. Hannah got her trophy !

Went to a CATI-O at Newhailes on Saturday afternoon and a Childrens Classic Concert on Sunday.

ESOA Championship

On Sunday we headed off to Selkirk for the East of Scotland Orienteering Championships. Colin came 3rd in the M40 category. Max came 4th in M12 and Hannah was declared the CHAMPION for the W10 category.

Berwick Law and Dunbar

On Saturday we got an early start to the summit of Berwick Law on a lovely sunny morning. From there we went to Tantallon Castle and then to the dunes of the John Muir Country Park. The surfers were out in force on the beach.

Drove on to Kelso in the evening for a riverside walk along the Tweed to round off a very busy day.

East Lothian Long Weekend

For the last weekend of the October Week school break we headed off for a few days in East Lothian and the Borders. On Friday morning we set off for Aberlady for a walk around the shore from Aberlady to Gullane. Had a nice lunch at the Old Clubhouse. Spotted some good birds and ducks on the way. Lots of Eider Ducks.

The afternoon wasn't quite so successful with both Dirleton and Tantallon Castles closed for the day. Had a nice dinner at the Open Arms Dirleton.

Pentlands Orienteering

Went to a newly mapped part of the Pentlands. Hannah wasn't on top form - Max was still suffering from a cold and Colin was slow after the previous day's exertions.

Manor Water Sheepdog Trials & Hill Race

We went to a place called Manor Water so that dad could do a hill-race and we could watch the sheepdog trials the sheep-dog trials weren't particularly good and it got a bit boring but we went for a little walk too. Max

The hill race was excellent. 5 miles up hill, past Dead Wife's Grave and on to the top of The Scrape at 719 m. Fabulous views over the borders hills and the sundrenched valleys around Stobo. Weather was perfect throughout. Great fun running downhill for 5 miles. Ran pretty well throughout with a time of 1 hr 36 minutes.

SOSOL1

The new orienteering season started with a trip to Dalkeith Country Park on a warm sunny autumn day. Hannah ran the yellow course and got most of the way on her own. Max came in fourth place in the Orange. Colin did fairly well on the Brown coming 14th.

Guitar Gal

Hannah got a guitar and will start lessons in a couple of weeks time. Went cycling on Saturday and Hannah had great fun at Alien Rock on Sunday.

Red Moss

Went out to a nature reserve at the edge of the Pentlands. Not much in the way of wildlife spotted but went on to an excellent well hidden bird hide on the edge of the lake. Saw all sorts of birds including buzzards and long tailed tits.

Cramond Island O

Travelled to Cramond Island for some orienteering. Hannah did well. Max really enjoyed it and went round two different courses. Colin got a bit lost!

Long Walk

Max and Colin went for a long walk as practice for the St Cuthberts Way walk they are planning for next year. They went a total of 19.5 km in a total time of 6 hrs 30 minutes.

Walked from home to summit of Blackford Hill, to Mortonhall, past Fairmilehead to have lunch at the Steadings. Then climbed Caerketton Hill and descended through Swanston and Braidburn Valley Park. Temperatures were high throughout so did very well to make it round with no complaints about anything other than the flies at a few locations along the way.

Caerketton Downhill Race

Max and Hannah ran in Scotland's only open downhill only race on Wednesday night. Max really enjoyed and came 5th of the 10 runners. Hannah did well coming 9th in an exciting finish.

Moray Marathon

Took a longer than expected journey up to Elgin to run in the Moray Marathon. Nice course running from Elgin to the coast - along to Lossiemouth and back. Ran well getting round in 4 hr 1 min 50 seconds - just missing the target of 4 hrs but beating previous time of 4 hr 20 by a good margin.

Ran into trouble between miles 19 and 23 when every ounce of my body was telling me to stop and have a rest. Recovered really well for the last 3 miles which I ran at a good pace - especially the last mile at around 7 m 45 pace.

Purple Thistle

Max and Colin travelled far north to Glen Affric for the Purple Thistle orienteering weekend. Beautiful countryside and fairly good weather. The courses were extremely difficult. Max came second on the junior course (of 2 competitors). Colin did very well on the Big Thistle course coming somewhere in the top half. Max is pictured rock climbing at the Day 2 finish.

Turnhouse Hill

Went out for a walk in the Pentlands with around 20 people from the office. Pleasant walk to the summit of Turnhouse in mixed weather. Hannah did well. A doddle for Max.

The Goodies

Family trip out to see the Goodies at the Fringe Festival. The show wasn't really aimed at kids so Hannah found it a bit dull in parts.

Portmore Loch Club Handicap Race

First handicap race of the season that I've managed to get to. Got a bit lost in the forest which seemed to get thicker and thicker. Managed to finish in third place thanks to a generous handicap.

Orienteering Blackford Hill

While Colin was at the half-marathon Cherry, Max and Hannah went orienteering at the local hill. Max really enjoyed his run getting round the orange course in 43 minutes, coming 6th of 13. Hannah went round the white in 28 minutes.

Haddington Half Marathon

Colin ran at the Haddington half marathon getting round in a fantastic 1 hr 42 min 50 secs easily beating personal best of 1 hr 47 and last years time of 1 hr 49.

Cherry, Max and Hannah went orienteering at Blackford hill and all did well.

Caerketton Hill Race

Max and Colin headed out to the steep hills of the Pentlands for a challenging hill run.

Max did brilliantly well in the Junior run coming in fourth place in a very demanding course. He won a £ 5 gift token for his efforts.

Colin came in 44 place out of 66 runners in 19 min 7 sec. This was a good improvement on a year earlier when he came 36 of 41 in 21 min 20 sec.

Hannah's Birthday Party

A nice afternoon at Gorgie City farm.

Mayar & Driesh

Max and Colin bagged 2 more munros. Glorious weather meant the going was quite tough in the heat. Very nice walk first to Driesh and then to Mayar. Got round the 14 km route in 5 hrs 15 minutes.

Max has now completed 10 munros.

Teddy Bear Picnic

Max and Hannah pictured with their teddies at the Lauriston Castle tebby bear picnic.

Danish Holiday Week 2

Saturday 15 July



Travelled from our house at Kelstrup Strand to the second home on the North Sea Coast. We stopped on the way at Ribe town centre, at the mini-golf course and listened to some jazz music over lunch at Varde. The second house was about 400 m from the sea where there were miles upon miles of perfect beaches.













Sunday 16 July

We spent the morning at the beach and then in the afternoon went to Sondevig where Max and Hannah went on the super-bouncers and we then went to the sand sculpture park.













Monday 17 July

Went to another Viking museum at Bock Havn which wasn’t great. Then went bird watching at Tipperne by the Ringkobing Fjord.







Tuesday 18 July

Went to the beach in the morning and then for a cycle ride along the coastal cycle route. Travelled for about 1 hr 15 minutes south before returning northwards.


Wednesday 19 July

Went to the Og Fisk Familiepark. It wasn’t terribly good but some fun was had along the way.


Thursday 20 July

Set out for a walk along the rivers and bird sanctuaries of the area but the temperature rose to over 30 degrees and the flies came out to greet us in swarms. We decided to take things easier and had a leisurely drive around the Ringkobing Fjord visiting a few sights along the way.





Friday 21 July

A long drive to Monsted to see some lime caves. Nice meal on the way home at Ringkobing.


Saturday 22 July

Left the house and drove off towards Grinsted for an overnight stop before the flight back. Stopped for crazy golf along the way and then walked around the town of Grinsted.

Danish Holiday Week 1

Sunday 9 July

Went for a walk in the morning. Nice forest tracks and reed filled lakes. Saw swans, herons and ducks. Heard a cuckoo.

In the afternoon we walked around Haderslev. Hannah and Mum got very tired.











Monday 10 July

Spent the day at Ribes near the west coast. First at an excellent Viking museum and then at a Crazy Golf course. Max was victorious at the golf. Max and Hannah also had a good bounce on the trampolines.
















Tuesday 11 July



Went to the Trapholt Museum in Kolding and then to a local park in Kolding where Max and Hannah went on the Mooncars. Played on the beach when we got home. Weather not great.


Wednesday 12 July

Quiet day at the house. Walked along the shore in the morning but the icecream shop was shut. Played on the beach in the afternoon. Nice tea out at the local restaurant.










Thursday 13 July

Went to the fossil museum at Gram and spent an hour digging at the Clay Pit.


Friday 14 July

In the morning we went to the deer park at Haderslev. Saw two herds of fallow deer. They ranged in colour from white to dark brown. Had some honey gingerbread at Christiansfeld and then went to the poor at Kolding. Lovely weather again. Sunny but not excessively hot.

The end of our first week. It’s been a very nice house and location. Just enough to do in the area. Very relaxed and peaceful. Nice views and countryside.