We met up with Dennis Canavan, Member of the Scottish Parliament, (MSP) at the Falkirk Wheel (a famous boat lift). Dennis escorted us through Falkirk with the Torch, and a little beyond, running 6K all in. During the run he told us he had been running for over 40 years. He took to running when, in the winter of 1963, all of his beloved football pitches froze over for weeks on end. From that time, he has kept at his running.

We continued on to Linlithgow. We were received at Linlithgow Palace, where we had a photo taken at the birthplace of Mary, Queen of Scots.

Then we ran on to Edinburgh, where we were met by one of the Scottish Parliament’s Green Party MSPs, Mark Ballard. Mark gave us an extensive tour of the parliament building, after effusively welcoming us and helping to direct our photo shoot session.

The motto of the Scottish Parliament is “wisdom, justice, compassion, integrity.” Mark showed us his office, the debating chamber, the mace, and described how voting takes place. MSPs vote from the privacy of their seats - they do not file through a yes or no corridor, as they do at Westminster. This was a most beautiful introduction to the Scottish Parliament. There was an article in the Edinburgh Evening News about our trip.

Our runners next had a brief luncheon and headed south to the Scottish Borders. It was a grey, misty afternoon, and the running was fine.

Distance: 110km

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