At last I planned it for the last Saturday. The forecast was brilliant-sunny and dry weather according to BBC. So next morning I caught a mini coach going to West Linton, along with Janus. He joined me , wanting to start exercising this year before marathon season.
The Pentland Hills stretches out 20 miles from the suburbs of Edinburgh to the south - west , into Scottish Borders region. So we used service 101 operated by MacEvans on the route Edinburgh - Dumfries. We got off at West Linton then. The conditions weren't such promising as the forecast the evening before. No sun and mist over the hills. Nevertheless , there was no wind nor rain.We turn right from the main road in the village , to the Baddinsgill Reservoir. The asphalt road passes by the golf course on the left , through Glen Ely Wood later on , nice woody valley. The reservoir is on the right hand side , and is well visible when the route ascends behind Baddinsgill Farm . Then asphalt road changes into sandy one , actually muddy as frozen ground (previous night was really chilly) started to melt. The signpost showed us direction to Scald Law, so to the north of Pentlands. We were walking this winding road up and down among fields of heather.
There was no signs of civilization, the one could barely believe it was just a couple of miles from Edinburgh. All over around us , only moors , hills covered with mist and sometimes sheep. 
The area in Glen Ely is perfect for walking and close to Baddinsgil Reservoir . Just real oasis of trees among bare hills .
At some point when we were fairly far away of Baddinsgill Reservoir,our trail split up.The main route goes to Harperring Reservoir , between West and East Cairns , the narrower path were going to the right , down. There was no marked indications which one is proper. After confusing moments and going forth and back , we choose finally the third way , making shortcut and by descending firstly to the little burn and then climbing steep slopes of East Cairn. I don't recommend this kind of hiking , however. It took much energy to climb and it is usually longer way .
Boats among mountains hills - probably they have been used for fishing on the Baddinsgil Reservoir next to , as Pentlands' reservoirs are known for fishing activities
Mist covered the mountains - the route to Harperring Reservoir
Anyway , when we got close enough to the summit of East Cairn , we found main trail leading down , along
the wall . The views were fantastic , despite the gloomy sky . Although Pentland Hills aren't too high ( not over 2000 feet ) , it felt like standing over Highlands . Vast areas of Scottish Borders , just looking to the south , made that impression even stronger. After having had a lunch and a while of rest , we went the route down . Below the hill we trails were crossing , by the group of trees , which were very picturesque in this scenery , completely devoided of trees . The crossing lies at place called Bore Stane. We took a turn to the right , according to signpost this was the path to " Nine Miles Burn " . We were just following a burn which runs to North Esk Reservoir , to the East . Official trail to the main Pentland range leads down , passing the reservoir and then turning left and up , towards the Skips. But we didn't reach the reservoir . Instead , we made another shortcut , turning left earlier , and up alongside a wall . 
Looking to the North - East , from the East Cairn Hill
At the place called Bore Stane there is a crossroad ; a cluster of larches and pines grow there marking the spot . The route to Nine Mile Burn goes by the North Esk Reservoir ,where from you can get to The Skips and Scald Law. On this picture the view from the crossroad towards East Cairn 
The path to the North Esk Reservoir leads along the wall
On the path to the cone-shaped West Skip , the steepest hill in Pentlands
West Skip was a bit "crowded",comparing to south parts of the range. No wonder , this peak is closer to Edinburgh , so easier and quicker for short escapade. When we climbed to the summit , the sky become brighter. The sun , low over horizon's line in the south , was preparing to set down . It looked as if far away, behind the sheet of dark clouds , the sky was clear and full of sun . We were joking that over there , in England , the Heavens were favourable. Anyway , after having looked around , we rushed down the path to East Skip , as twilight was about to come . Quick climb and to another hill , Scald Law , which is the highest peak in Pentland Hills ( 579 m). At the summit a small surprise awaited us ; the beautiful sunset over Borders . The nice "culmination" of the day .
On the top of West Skip
The summit of Scald Law and sunset in the background
The trail continued ahead north to Carnethy Hill , but we didn't make this way . The dusk was coming , so we went down , turning left to Loganlea Reservoir , where from we choose the path to Balerno . That was the shortest way to get out of Pentlands , catching bus in Balerno .
The path to Carnethy Hill
The last leg of our journey led us along this little burn , which pours into Loganlea Reservoir. After a half an hour walk we got to Threipmuir Reservoir and over the bridge there , got at last bus stop in full darkness
The route of our walk is marked on the map , roughly shows the way from West Linton to Balerno and doesn't cover fully official trails as we did two significant shortcuts
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