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IT’S TRUE!
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From the Eskbank-Newbattle Facebook page (sorry, can’t link to it)
Apparently the Eskbank Amenity Society has launched a campaign to oppose a feasibility study of a safe cycle route between Eskbank Station and King’s park. This is being discussed at the community council meeting on Thursday: if you live in the area please attend to show support for the cycle route.
If I were around I would campaign against this. Just because its a cycle route, it doesn't make it good.
This is a much appreciated corridor of unkempt woodland. You get mammals such as roe deer, hedgehogs and fixes. There's many birds, including tawny owls. And I'm sure plenty of invertebrates.
Such green space is becoming rarer in urban areas, and yet it must have a positive effect on mental well being.
Yes, good cycle facilities are needed in Midlothian. This route would be helpful to me. But we must be careful what we sacrifice.
Ah, now, I met the people behind this proposal at the pop-up PoP in King's Park.
I was curious as to what the demand might be for this journey but it never occurred to me that wildlife might be at risk.
Foxes, roe deer and tawny owls live quite happily in suburban gardens. I'm struggling to imagine 2 metres of tarmac and the odd bicycle being a problem for them given the dense suburban land all around.
Is this about upgrading an existing path or creating a route where none exists?
No route exists there. Overgrown former railway.
We shouldn't be fighting over scraps of (former railway) land like this. There should be a dedicated, well-funded and large-scale programme of large and contiguous re-forestation across the nation.
It's the same as the people complaining about the cutting back of trees on the thin slivers of woodland beside railways - these are the scraps. We need the existing railways to function if we are to tackle climate breakdown. Reforestation needs to take place elsewhere.
“It's the same as the people complaining about the cutting back of trees on the thin slivers of woodland beside railways”
Yes/no
If you mean the work Network Rail continues to do, then loss of (local) habitat is a genuine issue for biodiversity, essential (and relatively rare) wildlife corridors plus visual amenity.
Apart from the fact that NR does seem to bother about ‘nesting seasons’ there doesn’t seem to be any coherent plan.
Yes I know about leaves on the line and the potential danger of falling trees, but NR doesn’t seem to have the power/will to do anything about trees on adjacent land they don’t own.
Meanwhile they ignore the management of their own trees/vegetation until it’s ‘too late’ and the ‘only’ solution is ground zero chipping.
There must be plenty of railway embankments where managed ground cover is better/cheaper than wastelands that are more likely to slip and/or require expensive engineering ‘solutions’.
I'm struggling to imagine 2 metres of tarmac and the odd bicycle being a problem for them given the dense suburban land all around.
Perhaps, although for some it could be the straw that breaks the camel's back.
I think a higher priority should be improvements along Ancrum Bank and Abbey Road.
I can see both sides here, and without knowing the area in detail, it does look like there is an option to re-allocate road space along much of the route with linking off-road bits either end to provide a segregated path throughout without impacting too much vegetation. It might even be cheaper already as the road will already be paved. Perhaps both options should be presented to extremely pro-cycle-route residents to see which one they prefer.
@Frenchy
I made the point in my role as Cycling Extremist that we shouldn't be scratching around for pennies to hide in railway cuttings but demanding Transport Scotland's budget and manpower.
We should also be demanding massive reforestation as I think I may have argued elsewhere.
I personally will consider moving away if this cycle path is built. Whilst it is true that badgers, roe deer, owls and even (dead) hedgehogs may be found elsewhere, they are in our neighbourhood. It is a huge benefit to have wildlife and greenspaces in and around housing, including the trees and flora. Since we have been in Midlothian, the outskirts have been getting further and further way as more land gets filled for development.
Inserting a cycle path here will mean lighting, manicuring (curated "wildlife"), people and dogs. The strip of land is narrow in many places (so a path would dominate there) but not frequented by people.
I challenge any of you living next to such a strip of land to think there would be no loss if a cycle path were to be put in. It is particularly galling for a scientist who is all too aware of the bigger picture for wildlife. Think of it as a comfort blanket.
Back to Eskbank/Dalkeith. This will cost a bit of money (land has to be purchased for a start). Meanwhile, Eskbank's roads are wide. A better plan might be to put segregated paths on the roads. It might help to cut the traffic as well.
"Back to Eskbank/Dalkeith. This will cost a bit of money (land has to be purchased for a start). Meanwhile, Eskbank's roads are wide. A better plan might be to put segregated paths on the roads. It might help to cut the traffic as well."
Certainly agree with this. To be honest, even ignoring the specific issues here, it's probably reasonable, particularly as we reach a bit of a political 'tipping point' with on-road infra, to start more generally putting our foot down when proposals are made to create brand new off-road leisure paths while nearby arterial road routes remain hostile.
Just asking
Are there ‘dog walkers’ who want a path here?
Probably - most cycle paths in Midlothian have a healthy population of dog walkers. The old cycle path in Eskbank (now the Borders line) certainly did have.
“Probably”
Meant ‘a demographic actively promoting the idea’?
If there isn’t even an informal path at present, suggests ‘nature’ is well established and the wider area will benefit if it is left alone.
No path - or even easy access. No dog walkers currently use it.
There's an interested book about Dalkeith's railways - there's a few. And at least two viaducts that aren't there any more.
@amir: Agree about the potential damaging effects of opening up access to dog walkers. Don't get me wrong: I like dogs, but especially off the lead (and off-road paths are favourite places to let them off the lead) they can cause quite a lot of disturbance to wildlife, even without meaning to. Just having a dog nosing around in the undergrowth sets off predator alarms amongst creatures of all sizes. If there is a feasible on-road alternative then that would appear to be preferable.
Re your second point: could you point me at the books about railways around Dalkeith? I've got a few books about the railway history of the general area but it's always useful to know if there's any good ones I might have missed! I remember stravaiging around Eskbank and Dalkieth somewhat randomly one day when I'd had a rush of blood to my head and decided to see how far towards town the Penicuik Railway and Peebles Railway paths would take me. Borders Rail has been built since then and seems to have obliterated a lot of what I found interesting to explore that day. I would be nice to get an idea of what it was I was looking at back then, and whether any of it still survives.
@ejstubbs I'm currently in The Netherlands atm on a cycle tour. But the best place to get a copy of the book is Dalkeith museum, which also has exhibits about the railways. Careful mind, it's not open all the time
@amir: Thanks, I'll check that out.
I think I've tracked down one of the no-longer-extant viaducts that you mentioned: the Victoria Viaduct that carried the Buccleuch Tramway and later the NBR's Smeaton Branch (after it was rebuilt) over the South Esk, near to where A6094 also crosses the river.
The only other viaduct/bridge that I know of in the area that isn't there any more is the one that carried the Polton Branch over the North Esk between Kevock Mills on the north bank and Polton Paper Works on the south bank, to the west. (The Lasswade viaduct further east is still there, but closed off with pointy railings, at least at the east end - although Open Cycle Map does rather optimistically show a footpath which uses the viaduct. I can't help thinking that, if opened up as a cycle route, it would offer a much more pleasant way to get to Loanhead from Bonnyrigg and Eskbank than that horrible road through Lasswade village.)
There was also one to the east of the Lothianbridge viaduct
The Lasswade viaduct further east is still there, but closed off with pointy railings, at least at the east end - although Open Cycle Map does rather optimistically show a footpath which uses the viaduct. I can't help thinking that, if opened up as a cycle route, it would offer a much more pleasant way to get to Loanhead from Bonnyrigg and Eskbank than that horrible road through Lasswade village.)
The OSM thing looks like a bug. It's marked as "highway=path" but also "access=no", but it looks like the "highway=path" bit is enough to make it show up on the cycle layer as a normal footpath.
I have been told that Midlothian Council will investigate the feasibility of opening up the viaduct as a cycle route, but expect the answer to be "No, too expensive."
I assume that the structure is still currently the responsibility of the railway residuary body or some such entity, and if the cooncil wanted to turn it in to a cycle path then the current owners would want them to take it on. Could be quite a liability in these cash-strapped days, as a sizeable grade B listed structure which is already on the buildings at risk register: https://www.buildingsatrisk.org.uk/details/925100
Is Midlothian Council responsible for the Bilston Glen viaduct?
“Is Midlothian Council responsible for the Bilston Glen viaduct?”
Probably
“
with support from Historic Scotland, Midlothian Council and the Edinburgh Green Belt Trust
“
http://www.forgottenrelics.co.uk/bridges/gallery/bilstonglen.html
Both by https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Bouch
Worth a ‘trail’.
For the stronger we our houses do build
The less chance we have of being killed
William Topaz McGonagall
The last sabbath day of 1879
Which will be remembered for a very long time
He lived near the Dean Cemetry in Edinburgh with a country house in Moffat. Died within 18 months of his knighthood
Meeting about this tomorrow evening: https://www.facebook.com/events/346455426268154/?
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