deja vu again

16th July. Gullane again. Well it's either Holyrood or Gullane and it was Hollyrood last time so that means Gullane this time. I had a plan. A firm plan. Great forecast and I'm pretty sure lockdown is now finished. So: get on a train with a return ticket to North Berwick and do the NB circuit round the JMW, Balgone, Binning Woods, Tyninghame and back to NB. Haven't been there all Summer. About 18 miles. I was excited. A little too excited.

I arrived at Waverley with plenty time for a station coffee. In coffee news Pret now seem to have reduced the price of a filter coffee and soy to 89p. Used to be 99p. It might have been the coffee that pushed me over the edge. There was I, all stoked and high on caffeine thinking is 18 miles enough? I'll have that done by lunchtime. Remember the glory days when you used to 30+ on a day out? 35 if the sun was shining. 18 is just for softies. As the train sped through Wallyford (appropriately) I realised what I had to do. Even as I stepped off the train at Longniddry I was thinking is this just the coffee talking? Have I just ruined a magical run? Man you might just have put a total spanner in the works. Part of the problem was reading about those glory days on my blog the night before, just to double check the route and see what butterflies I bumped into last time. Getting off the train at Longniddry, running to NB, then doing the 18 mile circuit. So now I had 32 miles in front of me. Oops.

pigs in clover

bird watching place

Aberlady

I was still questioning the coffee wisdom on the run down the road from Longniddry Station. However 4 miles later I was into Aberlady nature reserve and so caught up in the dozens of butterflies there I reckoned it was totes the right thing to do and I was great at making decisions.

There were loads of butterflies. This was one of the first times I had worn my new road shoes for larger mileage. They seemed to get the thumbs up from at least one Blue which checked out both feet.

speckled woods were thinner on the ground

By the time I got into North Berwick the coffee must have been wearing off. Due to all the stops for photos I had taken 4 hrs to go 14 miles. No way would I get another 18 done at this pace. And already I was pretty knackered. And feeling much less confident about how many miles I really wanted to run. It was quite a commitment to set off on the NB circuit. If you get halfway there are not any shortcuts back to NB and you are obliged to continue on foot or maybe try hitch a lift back, sweaty and grimey from  a long day out. I bought some food and drink at the coop and had lunch near the bird cages in the park, revising my ideas to a more manageable distance. I was slightly chastising myself for having taken so long to do the first 14 but also I really enjoyed it. Possibly more than the original plan. But what to do now?

I reckoned taking it up to about 24miles was do-able. I'd start the circuit but only go about 4 miles out then skirt round Balgone ponds and return the same way. I reckoned that would work fine for the 5.20 train back and about 24 miles total.

Balgone ponds were previously only used by dogwalkers and those in the know. They make a scenic detour from the JMW but you were never absolutely sure if you were welcomed or allowed or just put up with. However funding from SNH, new signs and newly developed trails on the far side of the ponds now welcome people to the area. There is a little path and jetty halfway along the larger pond which is a good place to take photos of damselflies and frogs/toads. I was there quite some time. The wind was moving everything back and forth, making it very difficult to get decent pictures of the tiny odonata.

Around the far side then back the way I came with a stop at the corner for a spectacular large white that circled and landed on a thistle. I struggled to get a decent photo or 2 before it swooped off.

the Law

This small tort was given a fairground ride, buffeted by the wind on top of its thistle.

caterpillar vs damselfly

I had just enough time to run up the Law and back and still catch the next train. However I got distracted near the pond at the bottom of the hill just next to the JMW. There were a thousand blue damselflies skittering around on the surface of the water and a few larger darters on the reeds at the side as well as some butterflies lurking in the long grass and atop thistles.

emerald damselfly

darter?

I spent so long tip-toeing round the pond taking pics of the winged beauties I had no time to scale the Law and had to watch the time as it is easy to lose 30mins to these miniature insects. From previous I know it is exactly a mile from the Law car park to the platform and I gave myself enough time not only to get there with time to spare, but enough extra to run to the coop get a bottle of water and run back. I think it was just over 22 miles plus a couple up and down to the station. While 24 is not the 32 I originally thought I might do, I really enjoyed taking the time to stop and take photos of all the things along the way. Sometimes it is the journey and not the racking up miles that count. It took 6hrs 20 and nearly all of it a joy. Highly recommended!