Ups and downs

On Sunday we went to the Botanics with the Edinburgh family. The children draped themselves over their favourite tree. 

Then on Tuesday we did a recce on another walk for the group. We started in Dunblane Cathedral, where we'd never been. It was built mainly in the 1200s, though the bell tower is 1100s, but it became derelict and only the chancel was used till the main building was restored in the 1800s. 

This is what it looked like pre-restoration. 

I loved this 19th century carving on the ends of the pews. 

Then we set off. 

It was a mainly lovely walk along the Allan Water, though quite near the beginning there was a steep earth bank to climb up, with nothing much to hold on to. However, we had our sticks and managed, so I think the walk will be ok for our friends too. The weather was quite warm, but luckily the walk is mainly through trees. 

We'll be leading the walk in September, which is a pity because the flowers were beautiful - 

meadowsweet, 

ragwort (I think) and willowherb 

and a there was also a certain amount of mud. 

Today (at last) was Littlest Granddaughter's last day at school so she picked flowers from the garden for her teachers. 

And she and Daughter 2 should be here by now, except that their train, and all the other trains going up the east coast, were cancelled because of a fatality, ie a suicide, on the line. Very sad indeed, but also horrendously inconvenient for thousands of people and traumatic for the train driver. 

So they're on their way to Glasgow to spend the night and we'll see them tomorrow. Can't wait!