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Walk Climbing Hartside and Clints Hills Length 6 miles

Dogs on walk Archie, Finlay, Gina, Jerry, Solo, Tim

Into the windswept hills today the late show of unexpected summer sun not really

revealing itself. It was chilly but nothing like the winds of last week. We had some sun to

begin with but it faded away behind dark threatening clouds. They may have held rain but 

were skimming the sky so fast that it did not have time to fall. They gathered more

bleakly as we climbed and I was sure it would rain now. Was this the very late arrival of 

the early morning rain which was supposed to give way to afternoon sun? Did the dogs

care? No.

In a tight group they padded down the path toward the gate leading onto Hartside Hill ’s

path wrapping around its side. Last week I saw triple. Today quadruple, with four 

Retrievers in the group. I did well not to mix them up. And I do not think they mixed each

other up either. Although Tim did once lunge at Solo mistaking him for Archie. Or was he

ust being mean.

They were all a little quiet today. Maybe the mixed up identities making them wary of who

The Dog Rambler 

E-diary

Tuesday

27 September 2011

8/4/2019 The Dog Rambler e-diary 27 September 2011

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to chase. Stringing out once through the gate and onto the climb. Finlay making for the

front and pushing well ahead. Too far. I called him back many times but he seemed

unwilling to mix with the others. Gina, normally dashing off here and there was stuck by

my side. Tail wagging, tongue out and looking right up at me.

Solo and Archie walked near to me. Only Jerry was leaving the track to nuzzle through the

heather separating the track from the denseness of the hills forest. Dark and dim in the

trees. Tim trotted about behind the rest of us. Occasionally catching up to see what was

happening. He managed to stir up a couple of small scale chases but they soon petered out.

The path swung around the hill as it climbed. The trees on the right falling down the slopeand opening up some views to the further hills. Pillars of opaque greyness suggesting

rainfall further away. Were we to get wet?

We climbed all the way to the tall mast on Hartside Hill and the concrete trig point on its

summit. Finlay still determined to be ahead had to double back as he set off on the wrong

routes. The others looking to me knowing that we change our route on the top sometimes.

Today we did, leaving the electric buzz of the mast we headed off across the wide ridge toClints Hill. Its heath land top of grasses turning with the start of the autumnal term. The

low sun catching in the deep hues of orange, brown, red and green. So many shades of 

brown it was a colour palette all of its own. The dogs loving its open top ran wild with

Archie, Gina, Jerry and Tim racing through the stiffened stalks.

By now Finlay was falling back into the group and looking less the figure of the lonesome

soul he had presented before. Tim too was springing to life trying to galvanise more lifeinto the others. He was not particularly successful. Even as we dropped down the turning

track, its gradient giving them a hurry up, he could not raise much from them. Instead

Solo lead us down with Archie and Finlay for company. Jerry still poked about in the

heather but missed, along with the rest, a squirrel running over the track. Gina had

resorted to looking up to me as though I had a pocket full of treats. A show of empty

hands did little to dissuade her of the idea.

We trundled back up the path to the car with the dogs trying to disrupt my seating plan. I

gave up and let them make up their own minds.

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Nick

Photo slideshow from the walk 

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Nick Fletcher

The Dog Rambler9 Links Street

Musselburgh www.thedogrambler.com

East Lothian nick@thedogrambler.com

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

Your dog walking service for active dogs