Walking the Pentland Hills

 Yesterday, Crafty Green Boyfriend and I took a lovely walk through the Pentland Hills to the south of Edinburgh. The sky was dull most of the time but it stayed dry, which was nice given how much rain we've had recently. 

We started our walk at Balerno and walked round the boardwalk at Red Moss, a peat bog.

The site is managed by Scottish Wildlife Trust, who make sure that the birch woodland that grows at the edge of the area doesn't encroach into the central part of the bog. 

Managing the trees in this way ensures that the valuable peatland ecology is preserved. Red Moss is a very impressive (though relatively small) peat bog, largely covered with heather

and home to peatland wildlife including the bog hoverfly (Sericomyia silentis)

We then walked further into the Pentlands and enjoyed the scenery. 

 

  Lots of beautiful lichens grow in this area

We were entertained by these sheep who had found a broken branch that they were using as a scratching post

and we were disappointed not to see any rabbits at this warren 

**

Thanks to Gorgie Dalry Community Council who recently published my article about discovering local wildlife during lockdown. You can read the article here.