Total miles: 12.3
Elevation gain: 1,331 ft
Time walking: 12pm – 7:30pm
Miles to date: 903.7
I was tired today! Grateful for a shorter, less hilly day! We were a bit slow to get going this morning after our late finish the night before, Nicky and Neil’s amazing hospitality (full English with eggs from their own hens and multiple cups of tea!), and exploring their beautiful garden, saying hello to the hens and raiding the apple tree! We also spent a bit of time repacking our bags with new supplies and Neil, a Sergeant Major, kept threatening to come and remove unnecessary items from our packs to reduce the weight. And yes, we teased Anneliese incessantly about her hairspray and mascara, but at least we both got gently teased for our cuddly toys!
Nicky kindly dropped us back where we left off last night and we rejoined St. Cuthbert’s Way. After a mile or so along a field track and over a bridge we rejoined the road which led us into Morebattle. It was warm and Anneliese decided it would be a good idea to change out of her waterproof trousers so we decided to stop for a cheeky half pint in the pub at the same time! Well, it was the last opportunity until we reached Jedburgh that evening…! Back on the road, readjusted and feeling refreshed again (yes, we had only walked 2 miles, but still…) it was quite a long old trudge on the road. The area was pretty and we made good time on the even surface but it wasn’t the most interesting part of the walk. It was improved by passing the ruined Cessford Castle, a former home of one of the Border Reiver families and shortly after that the route left the road to follow a track up into fields and then woods. About 7 miles in we passed a promising stream where we could collect some water, so we stopped for a proper break, making up some super noodles! Ah it is lovely to have something warm inside when you’re walking!
The path returned briefly to a road where there were lots of delicious blackberries and then followed a little track through a beautiful narrow wood on top of a ridge from where we could see a monument on a hill across the valley. Tomorrow’s route takes us much nearer to it. Fields, tracks, woods, bridges across pretty streams, that was pretty much the rest of the walk. Nothing of particular interest but pleasant overall!
Eventually we came to the point where we left St. Cuthbert’s Way to detour into Jedburgh where our campsite was. Anneliese was starting to flag and I was feeling it too, but when we checked the map and it was only a mile to go we upped our pace and marched determinedly on. It ended up being fractionally further as the entrance to the campsite was on the main road not the little road we were on, but we made it, well before nightfall, and managed to pitch up on a nice flat spot. We had heard that Jedburgh was a pretty town with a beautiful abbey and so we decided to walk into town for a pub dinner. It turned out to be about a mile’s walk! Still, it was much easier without the bag! We made it to the abbey (which was indeed beautiful and all lit up) and found a gorgeous pub with tasty looking food, only to find they’d just stopped serving. Nooo! The only other option we’d seen, other than a pizza/chippy place next door which didn’t look too promising, was an Indian, so we headed back that way and got ourselves a table. It was ok, nothing special but it filled a hole, and we headed back to our tents to curl up for a good night’s sleep, feeling pretty tired!
Tomorrow we return to St. Cuthbert’s Way for a slightly longer but more scenic day to Melrose. Earlier start tomorrow hopefully!