Greenlaning...

I do enjoy cycling old roads, they are old links often from remote areas to villages and towns, or once served a specific purpose in a previous local industrial era.
This old road skirting the eastern side of Gosford Estate linked the farms of Spittal and Lochill, and a nearby Quarry at Redhouse Dean with the village of Aberlady. it may have been used by residents of the farm to attend school or church in the village, and probably used by those also attending dances in the village Drill Hall or nights out in the village pubs...

Leaving Aberlady the old road is an access track to Hungry House on the Estate which is straight ahead on the picture above as the route of the old road turns left to follow the field edge,
Hungry House is now undergoing a rebuild but you can read about some of the houses history and possibly it`s most well known local tenant - the former Gamekeeper here in a previous blog post;

Hungry House

Some of the green road is indeed green by mid summer! handlebar height vegetation took some battling to cycle through!,  geared bikes would have clogged cassettes here but an Alfine Internal Gear Hub (IGH) with direct drive chain means no issues with getting through here...

The road soon passes through `6 Acre Wood`...

Then out along the side of a field again, past this old rusting style for a long gone fence...

Before nature preservation grants the track here was overgrown and walking here as a teenager i kicked an old tin in the long grass, picking it up i kept it and years later via the Internet i learned of this tins story and how it had belonged to someone who served in the horrors of WW1,
You can read about the tin here on a previous blog post;

An old tin with a story...

Across the burn

Onto a harder track now...

Ahead the present main road and Railway past the farms..

First though a short workout through long grass...

Again the Alfine hubs drive chain had no problems with wrap from grass...

And the final climb up to the end of our old road...

Journeys end...or start to an old road that is lightly used these days...

Wee film of this old road, Song is `Wash` by Phontaine


Surly KramPug IGH;  Green Lanes (1) from coastkid71 on Vimeo.



Moving on and a mile east on the present road to Ballencrieff, and look at this Wheat field flattened  with the recent wet weather,  starting to see many fields like this in the last few days...

Another harvested Winter Barley field...

Along the road is another old road across to Myrton,
Here is another wee film of the green road from Ballencrieff across to Myrton,
Song is `Fragments` by Thievery Corporation


Surly KramPug IGH; Greenlanes (2)  July 2019 from coastkid71 on Vimeo.

The old Gullane Branch line is seen clearly here where it has not been ploughed up,  thinking it could be possible to ride the entire line on harvested fields if they are all cut at the same time, don`t think that has been done before...

Good bike this for this type of cycling with the raised bottom bracket  an inch higher giving more pedal clearance and loads of tyre clearance for mud with 29+ wheels fitted, and no mech to clog with undergrowth but also gears,

It earn`s it`s keep well...

More soon...