Penicuik to Dalkeith via the old railway line

Last weekend Crafty Green Boyfriend and I discovered the lovely walkway from Penicuik to Dalkeith that goes along an old railway line. Here are some of the highlights:

The path passes by the Woodland Trust owned Beeslack Woods so we had a detour round these pretty woods.

These ponds (above) are being restored in the woods, while the fungi below look unseasonally autumnal!.

we heard yellowhammers calling at this part of the walk.

the hawthorn bushes were in full bloom, we particularly liked this one with its blooms which are much more pinkish than usual.

we heard skylarks singing above these fields between Bonnyrigg and Dalkeith (a stretch of the walk that is otherwise very built up). Hopefully these fields won't be eaten up by the expansion og Bonnyrigg and will remain a pleasant green space for wildlife.







the signposts for the route are very poor at the Dalkeith end of the walk as there are diversions due to a new railway line being built! We're not sure whether this woodland was officially part of the route but it's very pretty anyway.

The walk is 9 miles in length (and most confusingly the signposts alternated between miles and kilometres!) so we were ready for lunch when we arrived in Dalkeith! 


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Inspired by all these Spring flowers, I've just added another beaded bookmark to my Crafty Green Poet Etsy shop, this one has a forget-me-not flower charm on one end!

As ever, red text contains hyperlinks that take you to other webpages where you can find out more.