Adventures in Spott

Yesterday I went down to Mum and Dad's in Spott for my first proper walk in my boots (better late than never) outdoors. As I set off from Edinburgh it absolutely poured down and got progressively worse the further I drove! It wasn't looking good for a walk but after lunch and grand prix watching it cleared up and stopped raining so Dad and I headed off. Since Dad grew up in Spott he knows his way around so had suggested a 1.5 hour walk involving many many hills for good practice! It's impossible to have a flat walk around Spott anyway as it's surrounded by hills so we set off up one of the steepest called Stervation and by the time I got to the top my legs were soooo heavy! It was worth it though as the view was stunning, right over the Firth of Forth. We carried on round a big loop mostly along rough paths until we hit another hill up to the Brunt (an estate near Spott and part of the larger Spott Home Farm Estate) This one was much tougher as we had to negotiate a cattle grid halfway up, not easy when it's all wet! Anyway it led to another stunning view over East Lothian so we stopped for a breather while Dad pointed out all the some of the other estates and farms nearby and places he played when he was younger. It turned out to be quite flat after that and we headed towards home. We went though a gate into a field that was suspiciously splattered with cow pats and a few minutes later came across a group of young cows next to the cattle grid we had to cross to get out of the field. Dad suggested climbing through the fence to the wood to pass them but for some reason we didn't do that and just walked towards them, needless to say Dad went first! It was going fine until some of the cows got spooked and jumped over the fence into a small pen of trees and ran off. Luckily only 4 or 5 went over it and we managed to pass the others and get over the cattle grid but it was just a bit scary for my liking! My cousin Gary works on the farm so we popped into his house to let his wife know what had happened, we have since found out that all the cows are fine, completely unharmed and back in the field where they are supposed to be. Big relief!
After that excitement we headed along the bottom of the Doon Hill towards home and arrived there just in time for dinner expertly timed by Mum.
Happily my boots seem to be feet friendly and I don't have any blisters and they have held up brilliantly despite the mud and rain so it was a very successful training session. I should really make it a weekly thing until the trek I think. My legs aren't too sore today so I'm going for a swim tonight with my big sister at Dalry. It's a lovely sunny day so may even walk there, I won't have to worry about encountering any cows along the way that's for sure :)