Tuesday 28 October 2014

Rustic Colours Of Autumn.

The weekend past was a windy & blowy one & I couldn't be bothered fighting against the 30 mph + gusts, so I decided to just go for a short blast around the ever beautiful Woodhall Dean away from the worst of  the wind.

A short journey by road to get there where I passed a few tractors,  their trailers loaded up with potato boxes.
Lots of leaf litter strewn along the path making some areas really slippy where the sun hadn't yet reached to dry the dampness up.


Still a few tree's holding onto their green leaves, a huge difference between the tree's here in the south of Scotland compared with the tree's up north when we were at Aviemore at the beginning of October most of the tree's had already turned autumnal.
This area of the walk always reminds me of the film 'Sleepy Hollow' but there's no headless horseman here just a mountain biker riding his trusty steed.


A route option here left or right, not that it matters really both ways come back in a loop to here. 









Iv'e heard people call this the Roman bridge but I seriously doubt this claim as I've looked at old maps & there's nothing to prove this, I think it's just one of those things because it's old it then must be Roman !
Looking at the maps it looks more like an old road linking up the farms of Woodhall, East Hartside, West Hartside, the Halls farm & beyond.
And the old road continues from the bridge up through the avenue cut through the oak tree's...
...then the road according to old maps would of went through the gate & field through the gap in the tree's beyond then swung right towards East Hartside.




Rich rustic colours which are made all the more vibrant with the mid morning sun. It's hard to pick a favourite season as all four have their own rewards.
Bracket fungus on a dead birch tree.



A fast descent through the oaks arriving at the bridge at Tinkers loup, I love these old place names & it would be great to know their meaning & how they got their names.





Emerging from the oak woods it's a short climb uphill opening up some great views along the northern edge of the Lammermuir hills
And from here you can just make out in the middle of the picture the Herring Road as it creeps it's way over the Lammermuir hills towards the border town of Lauder.


A nice wee pedal along the top of the hill before heading back downwards & back into the tree's.





The colourful scenery just now is like natures art work.
At this time of the year the sun is low & struggles to get over the hills & tree cover
Back through sleepy hollow.


A few years ago this area of the walk was full of softwood pines but has since been harvested & planted with native species tree's & it doesn't seem that long ago that they were all saplings & sparsely planted, 20 years later it is full of healthy tree's, bushes & a whole variety of wildlife thiving at the work carried out by the Scottish Wildlife Trust.

Finishing off the journey back at the Brunt it was back on the tarmac & uphill for a quick ride back home with a tail wind blowing me with hardly the need to pedal