Hangover Cure 14/07/13

Not very hungover, but not for want of trying. (I have been building up an impressive tolerance with King Billy's marching orange wine (more on this later)). I couldn't afford to get too drunk as I was staying in Ben's spare bed which is about 8' off the ground and for neatness sake, has the ladder up to it built flat against the wall. The joiner was reluctant to fit it this way and only relented when Ben insisted himself and Alison were capable climbers. Consequently there have been additional barriers, holds and handles fitted reducing the climb, and inherent difficulties, from 6a to maybe 5a+ (French sport grade although I realise it should be a bouldering grade, as mostly done without bolts or rope,) but it's still a consideration to leave the bed and descend, and best not tackled while half asleep.

Ben took this photo.

On the up side there was a gentle breeze wafting in the nearby window and I had a great (if short) night's sleep. Up at 6am and ready to run after a cup of tea. We headed out of NB along the beach-side links. We skirted the coast sometimes on the paths, sometimes on the beach, until Aberlady, all of this familiar ground except for a clamber just beyond Murder Hill. Then after crossing the bridge at Aberlady I assumed we would be following the usual roads back to NB, however Ben has been google-earthing and came up with quiet scenic back roads, happily avoiding the worst of the golf crowds.

ooh - haven't been this way before!

The sun had largely been absent but began to show itself towards the end of the run as we headed towards, then nearly directly underneath NB Law. I forgot to suggest to Ben we run up and get some photos from the top. My Garmin malfunctioned from word go but Ben sent over his Garmin file from which the map is taken. Given the wind direction and lean of the jaggy grasses on the more difficult coastal section we did first, we would have been better off running the route in reverse and finishing with the wind on our backs along the beaches. However neither of us had the insight to realise this and it was a pretty delightful run anyway. Spent virtually the whole run chatting at a nice pace. Quality!

Just short of 18 miles, run anti-clockwise.

Ben has just finished installing a trampoline. The safety net distracts slightly in the photos, but is very useful for containing any extravagant, or poorly coordinated gymnastics. A long long time ago Mary and I spent about 4.5 minutes on the outdoor trampolines in the gardens in North Berwick. It was a short but memorable occasion as it leaves you exhausted after about 3 minutes, and shaking like a jelly. And we had sore bits, whiplash and muscle stiffness for a week afterwards. This turns out to be an entirely accurate memory.

Meanwhile back at the ranch...

after watering the tomatoes and ourselves we had to test run the new sporting equipment