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Walk Presmennan Wood, East Lothian Length 6.3

milesDogs on walk Brooklyn, Cyrano, Darcy, Dylan, Jolie, Tim

That late summer burst of the last two days has come back to earth with a depressingbump and a depressingly thick cover of cloud. It looked very much like rain. We took off 

deep into East Lothian to Presmennan Wood. Managed by the Woodland Trust it is a

mixed wood where they are trying to remove all the non native pines which have been

planted in the last forty odd years. Much more closely packed than the forest of a few days

ago, the trees crowded in on each other like people crushing together to get the best view.

With the accompanying grey featureless sky the dimness had consequences for my

attempts to take photographs.

Sitting on an escarpment at the edge of the surprisingly large range of the Lammermiur 

Hills, Presmennan Wood has a number of looping paths climbing up and down it. At the

bottom rests the tranquil Presmennan Lake, long and narrow like a silver slit in the earth.

Rising from it the occasional quack of a duck, answered by another in a slow drawn out 

conversation.

Soon we were out of earshot as we climbed the escarpment. Brooklyn, Jolie and Tim

absolutely full of energy. Infectious enough to get Cyrano going later on as he joined them

The Dog Rambler 

E-diary

Friday

16September 2011

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in a chase across a sloping grassy field. Dylan was hunting away at the front trying to get 

ahead of the noise that was ruining any chance he had of disturbing anything. All I heard

and saw was a young buzzard circling above the wood its plaintive cries carrying far on the

still air. Darcy found himself with the others dancing around him and occasionallybouncing off him. Not looking where they were going. Too busy trying to outmanoeuvre

each other in their frantic street dance style contest. Darcy would run with them but was

not for showing off his moves.

Gaps opened in the wood as we gained height. Letting in enough light for bracken to

flourish now in orange patches as it dies off at the end of summer. Red berries on trees

and bushes signalling in their brightness the approach of the long autumn nights. Reachingthe highest point the view was lost, swallowed by the misting rain. Cyrano was wandering

widely into the trees and out of sight. For once it was not a stick he was searching for.

Intrigued Jolie or Brooklyn would follow him. As soon as they did he came back giving up

his search and not letting them into the secret.

Having dropped back down to the level of the lake, although now beyond it, we left the

woods and headed along a old raised track between straggly gorse bushes and into fieldsrising steeply on either side. The burn feeding the lake running gently along the bottom

quite muddy from numerous farm animals and its water collecting delve. As if to prove a

point stretching down the slope, some silhouetted on the skyline, a herd of cows occupied

the next field. Something about them told me not to go on. It was going to be difficult to

get past them as they came down almost as far as the fence by the burn where we were.

As they spread up the slope there was no way past them there. Instead we found a gate

which took us across the burn and into another field and back toward the wood. It washere that Cyrano joined the chase as Jolie led the way speeding, a flash of white, getting

dirtier all the time, with Brooklyn and Tim following her wide arcs and circles. Cyrano

keeping up but on a slightly different trajectory with Dylan coming to help him try to

round the others us. Darcy seemed to find himself in the middle as they ran wide circles

around him.

Back in the wood and we headed for the lake and its shallow dam. It is a manmade lake.Brooklyn discovered how to swim when he fell off a little jetty like spur with deeper water 

below than he expected. After thrashing a few times, sending up more water into the air 

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that he appeared to be in, he managed to clamber out. Cyrano and Tim showed him how

it should be done. Smoothly swimming out and making gentle ripples in pursuit of a stick.

Darcy was as far out as Brooklyn but still stood on the bottom his long legs underwater 

making it all look very shallow.

We looped around the wood and all the way along the side of the lake meeting a couple of 

people with dogs. Now with the chasing slowing down sticks were the source of 

amusement. Pulling and tugging until they either snapped or someone lost their grip.

Finally their energy appeared to be dissipating as we climbed back to the top of the

escarpment and a little more slowly made our way back down to the car.

Nick

Photo slideshow from the walk 

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Nick Fletcher

The Dog Rambler

9 Links Street

Musselburgh www.thedogrambler.com

East Lothian nick@thedogrambler.com

EH21 6JL t. 0131 665 8843 or 0781 551 6765

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