France, then Scotland
I've been very lucky in the last couple of weeks; a short break to stay at my sister's house in northern France, followed by a conference in Edinburgh. Of course, whenever I go somewhere new I see it as an excellent opportunity to squeeze in as many runs as I can. I generally subscribe to the view that a change is as good as a rest and so France and Edinburgh in the space of two weeks seemed ideal.
This was my first visit to my sister's place in Frohen-sur-Authie; a small village in the Somme region. I'd eagerly plotted a couple of runs, including an 18-miler, only to be told by my brother-in-law (who is a keen cyclist) that the routes I had plotted were either very hilly or on busy roads. With Steve's input, I went back to the drawing board and re-plotted a decent long route which included a long stint on the disused La Gare railway route from Bernatre to Auxi-le-Chateau; this would be my 'long Tuesday' run.
On arrival in France on the Monday evening I immediately went out for a 5-miler. The sun was shining and I needed to justify the wine and beer I'd bought from Auchan! I did a loop around the nearby town of Villers l'Hopital. About two miles in, a deer ran out about 20m in front of me and just stood in the road watching me...I carried on running towards it when it soon ran off into the field. A couple of minutes later a huge hare started running alongside me in the field. It's always great seeing wildlife on a run, particularly wildlife that I'm not so used to seeing in Kent.
Anyway, on to the long run; Tuesday, 5am. We'd had a hefty lightning storm in the night and so the air was cooler. A lot of the country roads were covered in mud and clay that had run off the fields. I headed south, climbing out of the village and into the rolling farm land of Le Meillard and Heuzecourt. The scenery was beautiful and the roads were incredibly quiet. My route undulated from village to village, eventually taking me through Maizicourt, a larger village with a slightly busier road running through it. Back on the country lanes I became acutely aware that the French have a somewhat relaxed attitude to dogs in that they seem to roam freely outside houses and farms. I was actually quite apprehensive about passing some of the farms, particularly as there didn't seem to be any people around. I had visions of a huge dog emerging from a farm yard and savaging me to death on a lonely country lane... Needless to say that didn't happen and I continued my run into the small village of Bernatre and onto the disused railway line. The old railway line is a wonderful running route; flat, straight and completely concealed by trees. By this point the sun was beaming down and the shade from the trees brought welcome relief. I was on the old railway line for about four miles and didn't see a soul. I then followed a very long, very straight and very quiet road back to complete what was a very enjoyable run. When we return to France I'm certainly going to plot another run along the old railway as I think there's a lot more of it to explore (and no dogs!).
Fast forward a week...I'm in Edinburgh for a conference. I'm staying just off the Royal Mile and a stones throw from Holyrood Park. This week's long run I'd decided to shift to the Wednesday in order to fit it around the Edinburgh trip. My long run, which I entitled Sunshine on Leith, took me around the southern side of Arthur's Seat and onto the The Innocent Railway cycle path towards Musselburgh. The Innocent Railway, so named because the line never suffered a fatal accident, is an excellent route; flat and shaded. Before I knew it I'd already covered 10k and was on the coast, turning northwest alongside Portobello Beach. The sun had only just risen as I enjoyed the views out to sea and across the Firth of Forth. In Leith the sun did indeed shine and I turned inland, following the Water of Leith towpath and then through Warriston cemetery. I then skirted north, alongside the Botanic Garden and through the suburbs and back into Edinburgh Old Town. I was quite surprised when I noticed the GPS loop complete on my watch... I hadn't been looking at my time/pace and the time had flown by!
The following day I couldn't leave Edinburgh without running up Arthur's Seat. This is easier said than done and I was very pleased to use the photo opportunity at the top to have a rest and admire the views. Coming down off Arthur's Seat I then headed south and over Blackford Hill, once again using the photo opportunity for a rest.
In all, I ran just over 30 miles in my 2.5 days in Edinburgh and about the same in the 2.5 days in France. So what's the moral to this story? I think it's true that a change [of scenery] is as good as a rest; new locations inspire me to explore and what better way to explore than on a long run at 5am? I came away from France and Edinburgh with a renewed enthusiasm for running and travel, and that must be a good thing.
This was my first visit to my sister's place in Frohen-sur-Authie; a small village in the Somme region. I'd eagerly plotted a couple of runs, including an 18-miler, only to be told by my brother-in-law (who is a keen cyclist) that the routes I had plotted were either very hilly or on busy roads. With Steve's input, I went back to the drawing board and re-plotted a decent long route which included a long stint on the disused La Gare railway route from Bernatre to Auxi-le-Chateau; this would be my 'long Tuesday' run.
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On arrival in France on the Monday evening I immediately went out for a 5-miler. The sun was shining and I needed to justify the wine and beer I'd bought from Auchan! I did a loop around the nearby town of Villers l'Hopital. About two miles in, a deer ran out about 20m in front of me and just stood in the road watching me...I carried on running towards it when it soon ran off into the field. A couple of minutes later a huge hare started running alongside me in the field. It's always great seeing wildlife on a run, particularly wildlife that I'm not so used to seeing in Kent.
Anyway, on to the long run; Tuesday, 5am. We'd had a hefty lightning storm in the night and so the air was cooler. A lot of the country roads were covered in mud and clay that had run off the fields. I headed south, climbing out of the village and into the rolling farm land of Le Meillard and Heuzecourt. The scenery was beautiful and the roads were incredibly quiet. My route undulated from village to village, eventually taking me through Maizicourt, a larger village with a slightly busier road running through it. Back on the country lanes I became acutely aware that the French have a somewhat relaxed attitude to dogs in that they seem to roam freely outside houses and farms. I was actually quite apprehensive about passing some of the farms, particularly as there didn't seem to be any people around. I had visions of a huge dog emerging from a farm yard and savaging me to death on a lonely country lane... Needless to say that didn't happen and I continued my run into the small village of Bernatre and onto the disused railway line. The old railway line is a wonderful running route; flat, straight and completely concealed by trees. By this point the sun was beaming down and the shade from the trees brought welcome relief. I was on the old railway line for about four miles and didn't see a soul. I then followed a very long, very straight and very quiet road back to complete what was a very enjoyable run. When we return to France I'm certainly going to plot another run along the old railway as I think there's a lot more of it to explore (and no dogs!).
Fast forward a week...I'm in Edinburgh for a conference. I'm staying just off the Royal Mile and a stones throw from Holyrood Park. This week's long run I'd decided to shift to the Wednesday in order to fit it around the Edinburgh trip. My long run, which I entitled Sunshine on Leith, took me around the southern side of Arthur's Seat and onto the The Innocent Railway cycle path towards Musselburgh. The Innocent Railway, so named because the line never suffered a fatal accident, is an excellent route; flat and shaded. Before I knew it I'd already covered 10k and was on the coast, turning northwest alongside Portobello Beach. The sun had only just risen as I enjoyed the views out to sea and across the Firth of Forth. In Leith the sun did indeed shine and I turned inland, following the Water of Leith towpath and then through Warriston cemetery. I then skirted north, alongside the Botanic Garden and through the suburbs and back into Edinburgh Old Town. I was quite surprised when I noticed the GPS loop complete on my watch... I hadn't been looking at my time/pace and the time had flown by!
The following day I couldn't leave Edinburgh without running up Arthur's Seat. This is easier said than done and I was very pleased to use the photo opportunity at the top to have a rest and admire the views. Coming down off Arthur's Seat I then headed south and over Blackford Hill, once again using the photo opportunity for a rest.
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| The view from Blackford Hill, with Arthur's Seat in the distance |
In all, I ran just over 30 miles in my 2.5 days in Edinburgh and about the same in the 2.5 days in France. So what's the moral to this story? I think it's true that a change [of scenery] is as good as a rest; new locations inspire me to explore and what better way to explore than on a long run at 5am? I came away from France and Edinburgh with a renewed enthusiasm for running and travel, and that must be a good thing.
