Day 3: Harestanes to Morebattle

 

Today I am thankful for:

1) Waterproofs

2) Sunscreen 

3) Walking sticks

 

 

I caught the bus (another journey during the soul-destroying morning commute in the Borders) and returned to Harestanes Visitor Centre, finally joining up with St Cuthbert's Way at 10 am. 

 

 

 

The trail continued through the same Divet Ha' Wood and past Monteviot House - which appeared to be closed. The grounds were beautiful, though, and meandered through fields and riverbanks until meeting up with this suspension bridge. 

 

The bridge has a bit of a history, apparently, and has fallen down several times until this one was completed in 1999. It was about one person wide, and lived up to its Suspension Description in that the high winds made it exceptionally wobbly to walk across. I was very glad to get to the other side without slipping or dropping anything in the river!

 

The trail carried on along the River Tweed, where a met a very friendly woman travelling in the opposite direction. She said that she was walking from Land's End to John O'Groats - and had started her walk on 23 April. I wished her luck and decided that 63 miles isn't much at all.... but enough for me, for now. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next bit of the walk was rather up and down, over roads and bridges, along another piece of the Roman Road Dere Street, near rivers and farms, passing great pine plantations and cow pastures. The sun peeked out occasionally (sunscreen a must today!) and I was treated to a little display of fighter jets chasing each other over the hill. 

 

I also saw a lot of wildlife today. If I've got my figures right I saw six rabbits, two blue herons, several ducks and squirrels and one rather startled deer. But not a single bear. Unfortunately all of the animals were too quick to catch a photo... but I'll see what I can capture tomorrow. 

 

The last interesting feature of the walk was Cessford Castle - which doesn't look particularly wind- or water-proof but was obviously once quite a sight on the hillside. It was owned by the Kers and was used to withstand heavy assault during various conflicts with the English between 1519 and 1544. Today, it's just a lovely place for sheep to play. (Fun fact: according to my guidebook, the term 'Kerry-pawed' comes from the Kers as most of them were left-handed. Whoodathunk?)

 

 

The last 2.5 miles were lovely to look at but quite unpleasant to walk on. It was entirely on asphalt road with not much of a grass edge to use to relieve my feet. It was also the moment that the skies decided to open. Thankfully, I could hear - and see - it coming for about a mile behind me. The wind picked up rather violently and I managed to get my raincoats (mine and my rucksack's) in place before it hit. It only lasted about 40 minutes (the petrichor smell was amazing!) and then the sun came out again and I started to feel a lot like a steamed dumpling. The walking sticks made the asphalt so much easier to bear and my feet were very relieved to get my shoes off when I arrived at the pub accommodation in Morebattle. 

 

Morebattle is the first place along the route which has next to no internet connection at all. I'm writing this blog today and will do my best to post it tonight - but who knows what will actually happen! In any case, I haven't been eaten by a bear!

 

I've settled in, just before a great big downpour. Obviously, it's time for a (half) pint. 

 

Cheers!!

Day 2: St Boswell's to Harestanes

 

Today's walk started at St Boswell's Golf Club and continued along the River Tweed through meadows and riverbanks. 

 

 

 

 

The Crystal Well was a little surprise along the way. It was a pretty little thing with an informative plaque next to it. 

 

The Mertoun Bridge which dates from 1841 was much more interesting in person than the guidebook suggested. The river was moving along at quite the clip which made me wonder how a sandstone construction could possibly last this long - but cars were still crossing it so someone has to have decided it's safe. 

 

The path continued along a similar pattern as the end of Yesterday's walk. Lots of bridges and stairs to help along the way. The flowers are in bloom and the bees are very busy - the whole place smells so green. 

 

St Cuthbert's church in Maxton was a pretty place to stop. I'm particularly impressed with their description of their organ: 'a kist of whistles'! And I wonder if the Precentor was ever located...

 

 

The path continued along the roadway for a little while until it joined up with Dere Street - a 2,000 year old Roman Road. It's definitely straight but not particularly road-like anymore. I think I could probably forgive it for losing some of its robustness. 

 

 

(Those are the Eildon Hills in the distance, which I climbed over yesterday!)

Dere Street went on for about 5 kms. The highlight of the road was Lady Lilliard's Stone. She was a local woman who supposedly fought in the Battle of Ancrum Moor in 1545. The story seems to come from a local vicar in 1743, Father Milne (!!), who told the story of her heroics to his congregation.  Sir Walter Scott added to her tale and now she's a proper local hero. 

 

The best bit about all this is her little poem, inscribed on the stone:

Fair Maiden Lilliard lies under this stane 

Little was her stature, but muckle was her fame. 

Upon the English loons she laid many thumps,

And when her legs were cuttit off, she fought upon her stumps. 

Whether she existed or not, she has a great poem. 

 

 

 

 

The trail continued straight on to Divet Ha' Wood (which reminded me a lot of the Sugar Bush back home - it even smelled the same!) and round the corner to Harestanes Visitor Centre where I picked up my first Completion Stamp of my journey. Then, the bus back to St Boswell's for another night before returning tomorrow and picking up where I left off today! Just 8.3 miles done today - tomorrow will be a bit more at 10.6. The weather has been brilliant and the people have been lovely. Things pick up quite a bit from there and so I'll need to fortify myself tonight for the rest of the journey!

 

Cheers!

Day 1: Melrose to St Boswell's

 

Well, that didn't take long! Today's hike was just over 6.5 miles. I set off at 10.30 am having spent some time at Melrose Abbey, the starting point of the walk. 

 

It's an absolutely lovely and typical Abbey Ruin, complete with audio guide, cloisters, lavatory and ... 

 

... a sacristy! Yes, this is actually the sacristy. You can tell by its clever storage of liturgically appropriate folding chairs. 

 

  

This Cistercian Abbey seems to have been built and knocked down several times since its foundation in the 600s. But you can still climb the stairs to the top of the south transept which has amazing views of the village and the Eildon Hills. 

 

And, I think I found the Virgers' Office. Feels just like home. The size is appropriate, since virgers in those days wouldn't likely have to find space for computers or filing cabinets. But I couldn't find a plug for a kettle - poor virgers. 

 

And here began the walk - just at the gates of the Abbey. 

 

 

 

 

Followed almost immediately by an enormous climb up the Eildon Hills. This was quite a way to start the journey but what a rewarding view!

 

 

 

 

The descent down the other side of the hill through a covered forest towards the town of Bowden was just as rewarding. In Bowden, I found four farmers shearing and spraying their sheep. I watched for a little while - the shearer was so fast. Each sheep only took a couple of minutes and was then pushed down a chute, where it jumped up, shook itself off, kicked its heels together and ran off to join its other newly naked friends. I imagine they were quite glad to get rid of their winter coats!

 

 

The path then followed a little river and along a road where I found the perfect stump to sit on to enjoy my lunch and a flask of tea. 

 

 

 

 

Finally, the last leg of the day was alongside the River Tweed through a beautifully shaded and maintained path with lots of bridges and stairs to help navigate the river bank. The wild garlic was nearing its end but was still very fragrant. It was a short but challenging walk today. Tomorrow will be just over eight miles - but mostly on flat terrain - so I'm glad to get this uphill bit out of the way early! 

Arriving in Melrose

I've just arrived in Melrose - the starting point of St Cuthbert's Way. The journey was completely uneventful aside from a croup-coughing child on the two carriage train from Edinburgh to Tweedbank. (Poor thing!)

 

This, believe it or not, is where my journey ends. You can just about see in the distance, Lindisfarne Castle, which is held up by white scaffolding. It's under restoration work, which is just fine by me as I'm more interested in the priory (all the more reason to come back someday!). The train I took today went straight past the island which I now won't see again for a week and 63 miles on my boots. 

 

Berwick-upon-Tweed looks like a beautiful town, as I sped by, and I'll have a chance to see it again next Wednesday. 

 

I ran out of track in Tweedbank, and so I changed for a bus to Melrose during the crushing five o'clock rush hour commute. 

 

Melrose Abbey, where my trek begins, closed about 30 minutes before I arrived but I'll see it tomorrow first thing. I'm very much looking forward to seeing this Abbey - I'm a big fan of Abbey ruins. They're hauntingly beautiful and seem to still reverberate the sounds of prayer and worship. I've also been tasked with finding the Virgers' Office. Stay tuned for further developments. 

 

 

My little B&B room boasts a view of tomorrow's big challenge. It's only a six mile walk tomorrow but it'll be straight up this hill - the Eildon Hills - a 1,016 ft (310 m) ascent within the first mile of walking. But who's counting?

 

In the meantime, a celebratory pint to kick off this little adventure. Cheers!!