worked down in the mill 45 yrs. ago. broke boy --- slavery. i lived in bilston. my sister lives in penicuick now. on backshift 2 till 10 we would race up the hill and try to get a couple o pints before closing. in new zealand now , so thanks for putting this up. go well! joe Mc Hale.
I grew up on Pomathorn road so this brings back some great memories. We moved in in 1977 so the old Mill was gone by then but we played where it stood for hours and fished the Esk for trout. Happy days!
Im Penicuik born N bred man, although a tad younger than yourself?,.. i was born in 76'! But i clearly remember the good ol days of fishing the Esk all day, every day with my wee piece N flask & me mates as a lad,..and playing in the old Mill, collecting frogs N Newts,..lol,..like ya say, great memories indeed matey!! Going to "Betties",.. the "pet-shop" in the Square fur my maggots, hooks, line, split shots N floats etc and ol' Bills cafe fur the Quarter of Rhubarb & Custards, Lemon Sherbets, Cop Cops, Cola Cubes or Pineapple Chunks etc! Then of course into "Ben's" wee shop for the homemade tablet, 10p Crisps, chocolate & a nice cool glass boattle of "Globe" Sun-Kool Cola, Orangeade or American Cream Soda!!,..Ahhh, great care free halcyon daze as a boy mate. Walking up N doon the Riverbank 4 hours till you find the "Sweet-Spot" & sitting by the bank with your Cheese pieces, Flask, Juice N sweeties the whole day, there from 8/9am right through till 5/6pm then hame 4 teatime,..lol,..great memories indeed dude! In the summer after your Tea you'd then be away up the Corn fields at the back of the Combine Harvesters collecting Hay 4 your "Hay-Jump",..lol,..up their till after 9/10pm, or a tad later in the summer hols,..lol!! But alas, the Esk looks & smells terrible now-a-days, full of god knows what dude??!! I took my wee nephew up the old weir at the Serpi & right up to the top weir by the bottom pond at John Clerks where the River is still surprisingly clean & plenty of wee healthy Broonies too,..(cleanliness due to River not running through any towns yet,..right outta North Esk Reservoir!!),..showing the lad how to cast-up and of course how to guddle a Trout, as my great ol Dad,..RIP, taught me as a nipper,..lol!,..Soz 4 blethering away, but once the memories start, they flood back mate,..lol! Regards N warmest wishes fur the Merry Season dude!
Our paths must have crossed?. I was born in 75 so you are only a year older? What is your first name? I fished all the spots you mentioned as well as going way down stream from the Mill all the way to the Tunnel at Auchendinny. There was a great pool just at the old railway bridge before the tunnel. Caught loads of fish in there. The corner pool at the end of Valley Field Mill always produced some good trout. After Pomathorn we moved up to Mauricewood were we lived for 12 years before moving into Edinburgh. I still have great friends who live in Penicuik some of who fished with me as a kid on the Esk. We used to explore the whole valley for days on end. Digging up bullets out of the old WW1 targets next to where the new ponds have been dug above the Black Burn. I will dig out my wee spinning rod one day and go exploring again with a tub of maggots and some sarnies just like in the good old days. Up to Sir Johns to fish the weir pool or maybe down to the old gun powder mills at Roslyn. A wonderful trip down memory lane.
jammin1975 Hi mate, my names Peter Russell, live up top of Queensway hill man,..lol,..small world dude! I know the bit at Auchendinny your talking bout man,..the Black Bridge??!!,..Ahh, many hours spent away doon there, past the Ellies hole etc! Also "The Corner Pool" was the 1st place i EVER fished, like you say it always produced a good, clean batch of Broonies ma man,..me & my wee bro used to fish that Corner Pool 4 hours N hours some days man,..great wee place back in the day! And "The Targets" were the McGekies built the 2 ponds, although i think their gone now??,..not too sure, its been a while since i was up the Targets mate, We used to picnic up their, particularly through the Miners Strikes,..lol,..a cheap fun day 4 all the family, eating sarnies, guzzling Sun Kool N guddling the Dinner outta the Black Burn dude..ha, ha! If your gonna get the wee spinner looked oot one day i think you'll enjoy from the Trout Farm side of the Telford Bridge right up through the Serpi at the weir & right up to the top weir at the bottom pond bro!! Very nice N healthy clean Trout to be had there man! From the Serpi up theirs a lot of little eddy's N deep pools been built up via the use of all the old pine trees that have been cut down on the other side of the Riverbank all the way up to the pond, i caught several wee cracking brown Trout when up with my wee nephew mate, also the young ones are still using the bottom weir as a swimming hole on a nice day, which is a good thing, we used to swim N slide down that weir 4 hours as young lads matey,..lol! Thanks 4 the wee reply N trip doon memory lane bro,..Regards N best wishes Pete!
I'm pretty sure I know you although I dont think we moved in the same circles? The targets was basically my playground for the summer. That and the Esk, The Black Burn and Uttershill Castle. We used to slide down the weir pool at the back of our house on the Black Burn during the long hot summers. We built dams in the lade which used to feed water to the mill. Had gang huts all over the place, rope swings you name it we did it. The Mcgeekies moved up there long after we left Pomathorn Road. I took a wander down Valley Field in the summer when I was up visiting friends. Barely recognize it from the place we used to explore as kids. When we played there the old water tanks, big round concrete structures were still standing. We managed to get up into the top of them. Massively dangerous because if you had fallen in you weren't getting back out!!! Back in the day it was me,my brother, Mark Walker and Cameron Begg who palled about together. Always up to mischief! Sent you a friend request on FB :)
Is that you Ben???,..I used to skate your halfpipe up the Mauricewood woods buddy,..lol,..Me, Gilmore, Chrissy Douglass etc!! Thats where i learned to "pump", "Drop-in" & done my first "Hand-Plant" without falling man,..lol,..Small World dude!! I loved that wooden pipe, not TOO sore when crashing,..lol!! Mind your "Elephant" deck,..the Mike Valley,..was it by Powell Peralta?? Ahh great deck & u were very good on it!!,..I had a Sorlak, Metallica deck,..Powerflex Wheels N Independent Trucks bro,..cost a few bux!!,..lol
fuck me., . . its a lot different now, i can't see the neds with bucky and gunned down ice cream men in these photos before you start, am fae penicuik . .. lol
Ha ha, flash Jim , the ice cream man! I've had ma nat king Cole up the sandy hole ! Swam in the elephant hole! Got pished in the complex, cuiken , The mill and Roadhouse! But no fae Penicuik.
The two lathe turners who I can't mind there names but really funny guys. My name is Charlie Turner for anyone who may remember the good old days. Me and Puff Buchan were the mechanical apprentices.
Thanks for this; brought back many memories though mostly before my time obv!! I used to live right next to St James The Less Church, just over 3 minutes in...
The welcome to penicuik sign im sure is the peables to penicuik road. Good to see the pictures thank you. Im not a peni punter but my fathers lived there 50 years so have always been going from mayfield to penicuik all my life.
Recognise my uncle Alex Johnstone from Roslin
worked down in the mill 45 yrs. ago. broke boy --- slavery. i lived in bilston. my sister lives in penicuick now. on backshift 2 till 10 we would race up the hill and try to get a couple o pints before closing. in new zealand now , so thanks for putting this up. go well! joe Mc Hale.
Real dump
I grew up on Pomathorn road so this brings back some great memories. We moved in in 1977 so the old Mill was gone by then but we played where it stood for hours and fished the Esk for trout. Happy days!
Im Penicuik born N bred man, although a tad younger than yourself?,.. i was born in 76'! But i clearly remember the good ol days of fishing the Esk all day, every day with my wee piece N flask & me mates as a lad,..and playing in the old Mill, collecting frogs N Newts,..lol,..like ya say, great memories indeed matey!!
Going to "Betties",.. the "pet-shop" in the Square fur my maggots, hooks, line, split shots N floats etc and ol' Bills cafe fur the Quarter of Rhubarb & Custards, Lemon Sherbets, Cop Cops, Cola Cubes or Pineapple Chunks etc! Then of course into "Ben's" wee shop for the homemade tablet, 10p Crisps, chocolate & a nice cool glass boattle of "Globe" Sun-Kool Cola, Orangeade or American Cream Soda!!,..Ahhh, great care free halcyon daze as a boy mate.
Walking up N doon the Riverbank 4 hours till you find the "Sweet-Spot" & sitting by the bank with your Cheese pieces, Flask, Juice N sweeties the whole day, there from 8/9am right through till 5/6pm then hame 4 teatime,..lol,..great memories indeed dude! In the summer after your Tea you'd then be away up the Corn fields at the back of the Combine Harvesters collecting Hay 4 your "Hay-Jump",..lol,..up their till after 9/10pm, or a tad later in the summer hols,..lol!!
But alas, the Esk looks & smells terrible now-a-days, full of god knows what dude??!!
I took my wee nephew up the old weir at the Serpi & right up to the top weir by the bottom pond at John Clerks where the River is still surprisingly clean & plenty of wee healthy Broonies too,..(cleanliness due to River not running through any towns yet,..right outta North Esk Reservoir!!),..showing the lad how to cast-up and of course how to guddle a Trout, as my great ol Dad,..RIP, taught me as a nipper,..lol!,..Soz 4 blethering away, but once the memories start, they flood back mate,..lol!
Regards N warmest wishes fur the Merry Season dude!
Our paths must have crossed?. I was born in 75 so you are only a year older? What is your first name? I fished all the spots you mentioned as well as going way down stream from the Mill all the way to the Tunnel at Auchendinny. There was a great pool just at the old railway bridge before the tunnel. Caught loads of fish in there. The corner pool at the end of Valley Field Mill always produced some good trout.
After Pomathorn we moved up to Mauricewood were we lived for 12 years before moving into Edinburgh. I still have great friends who live in Penicuik some of who fished with me as a kid on the Esk. We used to explore the whole valley for days on end. Digging up bullets out of the old WW1 targets next to where the new ponds have been dug above the Black Burn.
I will dig out my wee spinning rod one day and go exploring again with a tub of maggots and some sarnies just like in the good old days. Up to Sir Johns to fish the weir pool or maybe down to the old gun powder mills at Roslyn. A wonderful trip down memory lane.
jammin1975 Hi mate, my names Peter Russell, live up top of Queensway hill man,..lol,..small world dude! I know the bit at Auchendinny your talking bout man,..the Black Bridge??!!,..Ahh, many hours spent away doon there, past the Ellies hole etc!
Also "The Corner Pool" was the 1st place i EVER fished, like you say it always produced a good, clean batch of Broonies ma man,..me & my wee bro used to fish that Corner Pool 4 hours N hours some days man,..great wee place back in the day!
And "The Targets" were the McGekies built the 2 ponds, although i think their gone now??,..not too sure, its been a while since i was up the Targets mate, We used to picnic up their, particularly through the Miners Strikes,..lol,..a cheap fun day 4 all the family, eating sarnies, guzzling Sun Kool N guddling the Dinner outta the Black Burn dude..ha, ha!
If your gonna get the wee spinner looked oot one day i think you'll enjoy from the Trout Farm side of the Telford Bridge right up through the Serpi at the weir & right up to the top weir at the bottom pond bro!! Very nice N healthy clean Trout to be had there man! From the Serpi up theirs a lot of little eddy's N deep pools been built up via the use of all the old pine trees that have been cut down on the other side of the Riverbank all the way up to the pond, i caught several wee cracking brown Trout when up with my wee nephew mate, also the young ones are still using the bottom weir as a swimming hole on a nice day, which is a good thing, we used to swim N slide down that weir 4 hours as young lads matey,..lol!
Thanks 4 the wee reply N trip doon memory lane bro,..Regards N best wishes Pete!
I'm pretty sure I know you although I dont think we moved in the same circles? The targets was basically my playground for the summer. That and the Esk, The Black Burn and Uttershill Castle. We used to slide down the weir pool at the back of our house on the Black Burn during the long hot summers. We built dams in the lade which used to feed water to the mill. Had gang huts all over the place, rope swings you name it we did it. The Mcgeekies moved up there long after we left Pomathorn Road. I took a wander down Valley Field in the summer when I was up visiting friends. Barely recognize it from the place we used to explore as kids. When we played there the old water tanks, big round concrete structures were still standing. We managed to get up into the top of them. Massively dangerous because if you had fallen in you weren't getting back out!!!
Back in the day it was me,my brother, Mark Walker and Cameron Begg who palled about together. Always up to mischief! Sent you a friend request on FB :)
Is that you Ben???,..I used to skate your halfpipe up the Mauricewood woods buddy,..lol,..Me, Gilmore, Chrissy Douglass etc!! Thats where i learned to "pump", "Drop-in" & done my first "Hand-Plant" without falling man,..lol,..Small World dude!! I loved that wooden pipe, not TOO sore when crashing,..lol!! Mind your "Elephant" deck,..the Mike Valley,..was it by Powell Peralta?? Ahh great deck & u were very good on it!!,..I had a Sorlak, Metallica deck,..Powerflex Wheels N Independent Trucks bro,..cost a few bux!!,..lol
My dad worked in the mill when I was little
fuck me., . . its a lot different now, i can't see the neds with bucky and gunned down ice cream men in these photos
before you start, am fae penicuik . .. lol
Ha ha, flash Jim , the ice cream man! I've had ma nat king Cole up the sandy hole ! Swam in the elephant hole! Got pished in the complex, cuiken , The mill and Roadhouse! But no fae Penicuik.
I know flash, he's a good man. His son............
Are you trying to make me homesick? - Well you succeeded, Nan Thomson (Nee Montgomery)
The two lathe turners who I can't mind there names but really funny guys. My name is Charlie Turner for anyone who may remember the good old days. Me and Puff Buchan were the mechanical apprentices.
FANTASTIC pics & REALLY AWESOME song
FIVE
I prob new you,so did i.
Great pictures! Thanks for sharing
Great set of photos, but whats with the Music?
Think its ELO.
Thanks for this; brought back many memories though mostly before my time obv!! I used to live right next to St James The Less Church, just over 3 minutes in...
awsome great tune as well ELO rule
The welcome to penicuik sign im sure is the peables to penicuik road.
Good to see the pictures thank you.
Im not a peni punter but my fathers lived there 50 years so have always been going from mayfield to penicuik all my life.