There are still some icy patches around here, so I decided to have a wee low level play tonight, and explore some new trails in a small local wood, just beyond the north-western boundary of Edinburgh.
There’s an old quarry in the wood, used by moto-crossers, and as I rode through it, I was surprised to be accosted by a bloke in smart casual, looking for directions “to the road” and trying to find “some other nutters”. To be honest he looked like he was dressed for a night at the pub, rather than stumbling round a quarry in the pitch black on a chilly night.
I pointed him towards a path through the woods heading to the main road, and headed the opposite way. Shortly afterwards, I saw some cars parked on a side road, with a few people standing around, and realised that I had probably sent him off in the wrong direction.
I retraced my route, trying to find the lost wanderer, and as I descended into the lowest part of the quarry, came across a small group of people standing in the dark. I thought this was a bit odd, but asked if they were looking for someone. The chap nearest to me explained that they had found him, and he had just wandered off in a big circle. It was all quite friendly, although I couldn’t help noticing that he had a large broadsword slung from his belt. Another fellow was toting a large mattock type hammer. My first thought was LARP, because I’ve come across them in the Pentlands before, but it seemed a bit of an odd time to to be playing. Is there such a thing as night-LARPing? Also, although most of the group were facing me, there was one figure at the back in a heavy robe with a tall pointed hood who conspicuously kept their back to me throughout the conversation.
Having established that their pal was OK, I carried on my way, and enjoyed a nice wee run around the woods. Eventually I discovered a path that climbed right up to the edge of the cliff above the quarry. As I stood at the top, enjoying the night views of Edinburgh and the Forth Bridges, I realised that I could hear voices in the dark quarry below. I was too far away, and it was too windy to catch exactly what was being said, but it sounded very like the rhythmic chanting of the same word or phrase over and over again…
