Walking again

Out with the Duke of Edinburgh Bronze group today and Handsome and I were with a group who were all athletes of some kind - dancers, hundred metre runners, high jumpers, swimmers, rugby players. These kids were fit. They didn't even stop to catch breath when going up very steep hills. Needless to say they walked the socks off us, although, being very polite and considerate young people, they did stop and wait for us oldies to catch up every so often! They ended up about an hour and a half in front of the following group (there were four groups altogether), so rather than stand in the car park for ages, we gave them an extension around Threipmuir Reservoir.

They were such fun 'though, there was a wonderful moment when Handsome was on top of East Kip with the three boys and I was down in the saddle with the two girls. The boys on top started to do the Macarena (to keep warm apparently), so then the girls started to do it (in time) at the bottom. So there we were, in the Pentlands on an extremely blustery day, with other walkers and runners going past, and five kids in full walking kit, dancing, singing and jumping around with no self-conciousness whatsoever. Oh, and myself, collapsed in hysterics and Handsome pretending he didn't know them!

Mouse (who was not in our group for obvious reasons) had great fun, although he didn't get to go over the top of the Kips, apparently the wind had risen between our group and his, and wheras we had a rather adventurous, but perfectly do-able crossing, by the time he got there the wind was capable of carrying off hats, gloves and the smaller members of the group, so their leader took them 'round rather than over. That delayed the following groups, so ours still had to wait in the car park, despite their extra walk... Luckily there were Mars bars later to cheer them up, and they were able to gloat that they'd walked further than anyone else.