On Sunday we walked around the Braids up to the seven hills viewpoint, as we walked we went nice view, nice view, NO view, then the clouds rolled in and the rain hammered it down. We returned to the car a little soggy. Spidey was ridden on Sunday and Monday and a quick couple of miles walk along the railway line before work on Wednesday. Thursday ended up an easier day at work than expected and as I was on target to hit the Queensferry crossing and Edinburgh bypass at peak traffic I decided to clock out and head to Lochore Meadows to walk around Loch Ore. It's another walk ticked off but not one I'd repeat, some nice views of the loch in places, less so when trumping along hedge lined tarmac paths. Ultimately I am spoilt at work as we see some of the most beautiful spots in Scotland and this was nothing special.
On Saturday I visited another childhood haunt and spotted a hack from Lasswade riding school heading out along tracks I used to ride along. I had a wander around Hewan Wood then wandered up to Mavisbank House, past the impressive walled garden. The once-elegant country pile was commissioned by Sir John Clerk of Penicuik, 2nd Baronet, and was once regarded as one of Scotland's most important country houses. The house changed hands several times and in 1876, Mavisbank was converted into a "lunatic asylum" and renamed New Saughton Hall, designed for the rich to be able to recover in an idyllic countryside setting. Interestingly one of the doctors involved with the asylum was Dr Joseph Bell, who would go on to inspire Arthur Conan Doyle's famous detective Sherlock Holmes. Additional wings were added in the 1920s for inmates before the building began to fall into decline. Just after World War Two, the asylum shut and the house was bought up by Dr William Harrowes, a medical superintendent. Harrowes then destroyed all of the additions made during the 19th century and 1920s and resurrected the Mavisbank name, however his plans to restore the home to its former glory never came to fruition, and by the 1950s, the property had fallen into a terrible state of disrepair. It was then sold to Archie Stevenson, a local car dealer, and its forecourt was turned into a scrap metal yard and car park. Pictures from the time show the house boarded up, its windows smashed, with cars rusting in the overgrown grounds. Things then got worse in 1973 when it then went on fire. I think the council has now placed a compulsory purchase order on the house and there are clearly trusts desperate to try and save the property, it will be interesting to see what happens. Spotting the water tower on the hill I wandered up, trying to avoid treading on the local wildlife and nearly shooting off a steep slope on my backside despite many warning signs!
On Saturday I visited another childhood haunt and spotted a hack from Lasswade riding school heading out along tracks I used to ride along. I had a wander around Hewan Wood then wandered up to Mavisbank House, past the impressive walled garden. The once-elegant country pile was commissioned by Sir John Clerk of Penicuik, 2nd Baronet, and was once regarded as one of Scotland's most important country houses. The house changed hands several times and in 1876, Mavisbank was converted into a "lunatic asylum" and renamed New Saughton Hall, designed for the rich to be able to recover in an idyllic countryside setting. Interestingly one of the doctors involved with the asylum was Dr Joseph Bell, who would go on to inspire Arthur Conan Doyle's famous detective Sherlock Holmes. Additional wings were added in the 1920s for inmates before the building began to fall into decline. Just after World War Two, the asylum shut and the house was bought up by Dr William Harrowes, a medical superintendent. Harrowes then destroyed all of the additions made during the 19th century and 1920s and resurrected the Mavisbank name, however his plans to restore the home to its former glory never came to fruition, and by the 1950s, the property had fallen into a terrible state of disrepair. It was then sold to Archie Stevenson, a local car dealer, and its forecourt was turned into a scrap metal yard and car park. Pictures from the time show the house boarded up, its windows smashed, with cars rusting in the overgrown grounds. Things then got worse in 1973 when it then went on fire. I think the council has now placed a compulsory purchase order on the house and there are clearly trusts desperate to try and save the property, it will be interesting to see what happens. Spotting the water tower on the hill I wandered up, trying to avoid treading on the local wildlife and nearly shooting off a steep slope on my backside despite many warning signs!
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