The day began grey and angry with rain, but had the strength of character to pull itself out of its funk by the time we began our descent from Arthur’s seat. By the time Sanna dog and I had reached the loch (I have gotten into so much trouble over saying lake and pond) the ducks were thoroughly enjoying the sunshine.

Dylan was a mere spot on the horizon running along and Sanna and I made for the craggs to get the “best view in Edinburgh”. Of course Andrew’s precious dog wasn’t interested in panoramas and decided to explore the very edge of cliff. Heart in my mouth my stern “Sanna come” got a bit faltering, but she didn’t tumble and returned to me at her leisure. I quickly denied her freedom with a taut leash. As his architect told us when we passed Sanna on the road, accidentally dispatching his dog would mean the end of a beautiful friendship.

It was a beautiful view though, a fringe of yellow gorse framing an ancient cemetery, rooftops and the hint of ocean.