Doing a little maintenance on the quad (for the owner). The dug is very excited, but he's going to be disappointed. A wee trial is is all he will get before the weekend.
A lazy day - too much maintenance today to go far but lovely though. Out along the Teviot, up to Minto and then back via the old station at Hassendean. 8.5k, tarmac/ Not a vehicle on the road.
The station was converted into a house, as were the old railway cottages. The owner is a leading Borders Railway restoration campaigner.
Bullocks are still lively and have a tendency to dash up and down their fields, scattering sheep and lambs as they career
Rain overnight has softened the ground, but I am still very comfortable running in sandals. The day looks good but unfortunately other things are going to get in the way so we have decided (well I did, the dug did not complain and my partner has not got to coffee o’clock and is still in bed with the feline watchers) to get out now. 14k, half road with tracks, Minto via Ruberslaw
An impromptu bbq at near (well 1k) neighbours. Celebrating a new tree house built by them for the kids (for some reason they seem to have far more than I remember at the moment 😆) with the pony lending a helping hand with the garden and not beyond snaffling tidbits from the table…
22C here in the Borders and we are roastin’. Early morning, or evening runs for us at the moment. 8.3k through the woods, along the old railway and then back through the tree lined banks of the Teviot.
The dug has had breakfast and retired to a corner of the kitchen (it has a stone floor).
Evening run and then tonight time on the road again
Positively balmy - no Aurora, but after a clear sky in the early evening and a gorgeous torchlit tun later that evening I was not complaining (and neither was the dug)
12k, mainly service roads and then 8.5k tarmac before a good sleep.
And it is lovely. Shorts and sports sandals. Rape seed is bright below the Mintos and the ground is pretty dry but not so hard as to need care. 12k, half tarmac, half farm tracks. Meantime the desperate duo just slept .
We acquired this steel woodpecker 4 years ago (or maybe 5) at Ancrum. It occupies a half trunk alongside the Borders Abbey Way which runs through our ‘garden’ (wild wild woods). It has weathered very nicely on both sides and is frequently commented on - which is probably because while we have two pairs of woodies in the woods, they are easy to hear and difficult to see.
@thebaywindowgirl Not a bad idea, an alternative is to park in St Boswells and walk down to Jedburgh and a bus back. Main Street Trading makes a great place to stop in St Boswells and the Naked Sourdough as good but different in Jed.
More views from the weekend, great atmosphere and some interesting art, including another acquisition, a hedgehog created (along with others) from recovered paperback books that were due to be pulped.
I blew my beer and wine budget for a couple of months with this exceptionally tactile pot from Fiona Morris. I was curious as to how difficult the firing was. Apparently very…
She was delighted when we asked whether we could pick it up - apparently too few people do that. Worth the experience, it adds so much.
The dug has been presented with a new toy by a visitor who has been running with us this weekend, one that bears a strong likeness to a character from that well known, hard hitting political and social satire, ‘Shaun the Sheep’.
All too predictably it is now known by all (and he can distinguish by name and type most of his balls, frisbees, ropes etc..), wait for it,
We were at Ancrum and decided to run along the Borders Abbey Waye from Harestanes across to the Waterloo Memorial via the ‘Count’s Folly’ a C18 observatory and summer house.
Out third book group starts next week. If you're interested in joining get in touch! The group will meet monthly in the bookshop. #lgbtqi#bookgroup#scottishborders
The majestic and amazingly complete remains of the abbey church at Jedburgh Abbey in the Scottish Borders. It was founded in 1138 and developed over several centuries, despite repeatedly falling victim to cross-border conflict. More pics and info: https://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/jedburgh/jedburghabbey/index.html
The best part according to the dug. He waits around anxiously, not because of the strimmer just worrying about when I am going to kick it again.
Mind you a ball that had seen better days when it was rescued by the river after the spring high water is looking as though its time is up. It no longer leaves my foot with a whump, more a sad wheeze.
The harbour at Burnmouth in the Scottish Borders, the first village you reach in Scotland when travelling north on the A1: though it's all too easy to pass through without really noticing. More pics and info: https://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/burnmouth/burnmouth/index.html
Morning run. Glorious morning, a little bite in the wind, but bright and dry. We took a route through the woods. and then over the old railway track and back via the Teviot.
8/4k, mainly tracks with half a k of road. I got back to see that it really has sprung. The Kats basking in the sun, and the rockette who has been up and about for a few days making one of her regular breakouts from the garden.