Our walk today was relatively flat, which we welcomed after the recent hills. We set off through parkland and along cycle paths to the village of Uphall, where we stopped for a welcome coffee and cake. When we emerged from the cafe, it was raining heavily and continued to do so for the rest of our walk. We decided to follow the road , rather than take paths across fields in wet weather. We eventually reached the Union Canal (running from Falkirk to Edinburgh, originally constructed to carry coal to the capital). It was then a very easy walk along the canal path to our accommodation in Linlithgow.

A Backward Glance

ROADS RAIN & RAGE

You can splat a gnat
But you can’t pat them
You can pat an elephant
But you can’t splat them

When walking through woods I’ll never step aside for a gnat, but along a busy road I’ll always move out of the way of those stampeding elephants on wheels. Carol has a different world view and will dodge insects all day, but will stand her ground when facing traffic in pouring rain walking up the wrong side of narrow roads. Her argument is; “they’d have to move over for cyclists so they can move over for me”. However, although the logic is sound, it’s not splatter proof, and I feel quite passionate about that. Probably the most animated conversation since starting our walk in fact. The weather never let up, but the dangerous road walk and argument did thankfully and we were soon safely treading canal paths and pavements all the way to Linlithgow. (Although I did feel in danger of finding myself in the canal for a good amount of that time). Canals are a quiet unhurried oasis, often parallel with busy roads and railway lines, and the engineering associated with them added to my enjoyment, despite the rain.