New Year Walks

A new year, and a new resolution - to work less and get out walking more. The aim - to be able to enjoy a week of walking at the start of May. Now it's been a while, so we are starting small - no Munros for a few weeks yet.

First up then was a stroll over Salisbury crags on New Years day (we were up too late to attempt anything further afield). Arthurs Seat itself was way too busy so we contented ourselves with wandering round the smaller hills.

St Anthony's Chapel

Why climb Arthurs seat on a day like this?

The sun did come out briefly, but there was quite a cold wind blowing, and the swans on St Margarets' Loch were certainly feeling the chill!

Swan on thin ice

The next day consisted of a very muddy struggle through Roslin Glen - not entirely satisfying, so search of something a bit more challenging we headed to the Ochils the day after.

A 10 mile walk over some nice rolling hills, through forests and across open (and slightly snowy) moorland on a circular route around Glen Sherrup. The weather was perfect - freezing (literally) and hardly a cloud in the sky; the views were unexpectedly phenomenal, taking in Ben Lomond, Ben Ledi, Stuc a Chroin and Ben Vorlich, and even Stob Binnein and Ben More far in the distance. A great day out was rounded off with the sight of 3 dippers in the River Devon as we returned to the car.

Ben Vorlich and Stuc a Chroin

Great views!

All Photographs © BrokenMountain 2008

Champany Inn - The Chop and Ale House

What better to do on an unexpectedly free weekend, when the sun is shining, than go out for lunch? A place that has been on our 'to visit' list for some time now has been the Champany Inn near Linlithgow (well, nearer Bo'ness). The main restaurant gained a Michelin star earlier this year (along with the Ballachulish House Hotel - which is stunning! A review to be posted here if I ever have the good fortune to revisit that establishment).

We did not go to the main restaurant, but to the Chop and Ale House. It's a traditional Scottish style of pub, with plenty of parking and easy access from the M9. The choice on the menu is excellent, with mains including burgers, steaks, chicken and fish. The puddings also looked good. Between us we polished off a burger with Stilton sauce, and a beef and lamb sausage, washed down with some Bellhaven Best.

The quality of the beef is key here, and the meat was excellent. Mains ranged from £8 to over £20 for some of the steaks. All in all a good atmosphere, attentive staff, and very good pub food. Excellent coffee to finish off with!

As well as the Ale house and restaurant, there is a third establishment on the premises: Champany Cellars - a gem of a shop with a huge selection of wine (about 20% of the restaurant wine list), which specialises in South African wines. The shop stocks a large selection of 'Cape Winemakers Guild' wines. Having been to South Africa and tasted a few Cape wines, we are huge fans of Kanonkop and bagged a bottle of 1999 Pinotage. It will be interesting to see how it compares to their standard bottling.

With the wine in the boot, we headed to Blackness for a wander round the castle, and then back to Edinburgh to finish digesting.

Overall Rating

A fine day out, a good pub and a fantastic wine shop - could this possibly be the best kept secret in Scottish wine? We may have to arrange a trip to the restaurant - what could be better than good quality steak and a huge wine list?? Oh the memories .... 96 Winery Road.

Autumn Gold

Some pictures from a recent walk along the Firth of Forth from South Queensferry to Cramond, and back. A good way to spend a Sunday morning.

Gorgeous woodland.

A little sandy cove, a sunny day ... just imagine that it's hot instead of 'bracing'.


It could almost be a golf course. This is Scotland remember, of course it's a golf course.

The road home ...