We had stopped off in Edinburgh, on our way home. The dowsing was over for this holiday. This was just a city-break to round it off.

But by the end of day 1, we had had enough of the tourist legions, even though we were part of them. When Ros noticed a leaflet saying Celtic Trails - Personalised Journeys to Sacred sites in Midlothian - that looked so much more interesting.

Our personalised journey was indeed made to measure. A seven-seater bus and an itinerary of Rosslyn Chapel and anything else we could fit in by 3.30. The rest of the party consisted of two professional women, sisters, from Costa Rica. I'm not sure what their itinerary was, but I doubt if it was this.

Our first stop (to avoid a traffic jam) was at The Balm Well at Liberton, oddly situated in the car park of a hotel. A magnificently understated dowsing site at the junction of two significant Ley lines. Earth energy and, naturally, water lines were also present. This was a most important location.

Next - the main course. I'd heard of Rosslyn Chapel - family seat of the St Clairs, last bastion of the Knights Templar - and expected something impressive. Well, it was - but not quite as I had imagined.

Arriving at Rosslyn, instead of some gothic glory, we were faced with a badly eroded sandstone building, covered by an enormous metal roof. It looked more like an abandoned Buddhist Wat in the rainforest than a significant parish church of the Church of Scotland.

But once inside, everything changed. Here is a truly mystical building, full of hidden layers and alternative interpretations. Nothing is quite what it seems. On one level it is an extraordinary mish-mash of pagan myths and legends, intertwined with biblical stories, both traditional and apocryphal - on another, it is an architect's fantasy.

The official guide helpfully distracted all of the other visitors, and while she was telling them the official history, I was able to dowse around the energy lines, leys and spirals - some of which were very active and very large. One of the most impressive spirals is situated in the crypt, in an ante-room. The official guide described this room as a tool shed, which brought a smile to our party. But nothing at Rosslyn is straightforward - and it crossed my mind that this might be just a cover to keep the nosey hordes at bay. Is Rosslyn really the last resting place of the Ark of the Covenant? Are there really secret vaults containing the lost wisdom of the ancients? Are all the answers on full display, just needing a good knowledge of decoding to read them? One way or another, Rosslyn is both energetic and enigmatic. Although we were in no hurry, this place needs a number of visits, with time to digest one tranche of experience, before delving deeper.

The other location on our schedule was the village of Temple, named (like our own Temple on Bodmin Moor) after its connection with the Knights Templar. Our guide took us first to an unmarked and abandoned Norman arch in the corner of a field full of nettles. At this point, the unusual morphed into the surreal for our Costa Rican friends. To make them feel more part of the action, they were equipped with coat-hanger dowsing rods and we all ploughed through the long grass to the arch. After a few minutes dowsing for water and energy - with everyone having some success - we decided to move on. I was asked to find a route back to the bus, and without giving it too much thought, I dowsed for the quickest route back. Needless to say, this took us through some thigh-high vegetation and delivered us to a barbed wire fence surrounding a children's playground. I felt an intangible smirk. The fence, however, was conveniently holed at this point and we struggled through it without further mishap. We then crossed the playground, still waving our rods, and made it to the bus. An elderly lady and her grandson stared open-mouthed at the activity of this strange entourage - as if the Loch Ness Monster had made a rare guest appearance in her village. I wasn't looking at the Costa Ricans. But we did make it safely!

The ruined Templar church in Temple is something a bit special. It is situated in a secluded glade, and has been abandoned for centuries, it is as alive as the day it was built. There were two ley lines present and numerous serpentine energy lines. On the bank, behind what would have once been the altar, stands an innocuous-looking gravestone. The only legible mark on it is a St Andrew's cross and it has at some stage been turned on its side. Our guide, Jacqui, was keen to know more about this stone, and asked me to dowse what I could of its purpose. It stands at the crossing of two energy lines and is therefore the focal point of a spiral, but more significantly, it is also on the track of a ley that dog-legs strangely as it leaves the church. It appeared to have first been erected in the 300's, which was news to me, as I didn't think people were erecting stones like this between the Neolithic and middle ages (the Romans never got this far). Was the stone part of an L-shift? - yes. Was the stone erected by the Culdees? - yes. The answers to these last two questions were even more surprising as I had never heard of either an L-shift or a Culdee!

At this point, I realised I was getting dowsed-out, and anyway it was time to whisk our Costa Rican colleagues back to their hotel, to catch their plane.

I hadn't realised what rich dowsing territory Midlothian contains - and it was a very pleasant surprise indeed.

I can recommend to anyone passing this way, and looking for a tour operator to provide a sympathetic dowsing environment, Jacqui Queally's Celtic Trails (www.celtictrails.co.uk). Lunch was good too!

Nigel Twinn
Tamar Dowsers
June 2003