7th Evening Ride - Tidal to Crammond Island, in defiance of storm Hector

They say that two's company and three's a crowd - if that holds true - a crowd gathered at the habitual 'Jimseveningrides' meeting point outside Victor Hugo for a 6.30 p.m. start, to partake in a ride that was in doubt due to Storm Hector bookending the good weather we had been enjoying over the last few weeks. Fortunately, the wind had abated sufficiently for the ride to go ahead - so off we set, through Bruntsfield Links, Leamington, Russell Road, down the corridors and past the Sustrans marker at Craigleith, then westward toward Silverknowes. However, instead of continuing all the way to Silverknowes, we took a sharp, almost hairpin like, right turn into Wester Drylaw, wher we squeezed through between the flats in Wester Drylaw Row, over Groathill Road North, along Groathill Loan, Easter Drylaw Drive and then into Easter Drylaw Park. Easter Drylaw Park is where the fairly recently completed Drylaw Skatepark resides.

http://www.elgt.org.uk/projects/play/drylaw-skatepark.

From there, we re-joined the main North Edinburgh cycleway, counterintuitively, heading east, and continuing all the way down as far as the five-ways junction at Bangholm, where we took a left to go through the Trinity Tunnel, past the quaint old Trinity Station emerging at the crossing of Lower Granton Road. LGR crossed, we continued westward on the cyclepath on the seafront, where the dying embers of Hector were very apparent. We skimmed Granton Square and progressed along West Harbour Road and hopped onto the windy (very win-day and a little wine-day) promenade as we approached Gypsy Brae.

The time killing deviations from the intuitive route to Cramond meant that we had timed it perfectly for the crossing, the causeway enjoying the drying wind, the only issue being the shellfish (they don't care about anyone but themselves!). Their shells however, proved no match against the Schwalbe Marathon tyres, and there were no punctures to report.

Cramond Island - and I suppose cycling below sea level - now ticked off the bucket list, we then made our way up Cramond Glebe Road and took a left into Kirk Cramond, through the walled garden re-emerging at Cramond Road North. We then took to Whitehouse Road, heading along to Barnton, then into Barnton Grove, past the Flying Colours nursery and through the 'hole-in-the-wall' to cross Queensferry Road, a left into Parkgrove Drive and a right into Parkgrove Loan, then up the steepish path to Drumbrae Leisure Centre. Along Drumbrae Crescent we enjoyed panoramic views over the Forth. Clermiston Drive led us back to the crossing at Queensferry Road, where we went through our second 'hole-in-the-wall', accessing Davidson's Mains Park. Along past the front of the Royal High School, we then re-joined NCN 1 to return to Fountainbridge for a post ride pow-wow and pint in The Fountain. Well you've got to work off all that exercise somehow - don't you? ;-)

Trace:-

http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/fullscreen/2103046504/