A lovely day, bright but a bitter northerly breeze. We ran along the road before climbing up to Fatlips Castle and from there cross country to Minto, over the Mintos and back along the old Borders railway. Damp, but relaxing. 24.5k, lots of climbing.
And better still, partner has been out for some emergency this morning, so we’ll meet in St. Boswells later this afternoon and get out along the Tweed. And a coffee. 🥳
Pheeew. Made it on Sunday with a last run from Galashiels, up to Maigle Hill, Torwodlee Broch and return. The Broch is one of three in the Borders and is overlooked by one at last weekends run.
A gorgeous day and a stiff run 480 metres of climbing and steep with it. Slowest run of the month. 2 hrs 5 mins.
A fundraiser with two colleagues (one cycling, one swimming) for the Borders Food Banks.
The trailer has finally given up the ghost, so it was a hard packing & piling return from the local town after my morning ride. Needless to say, everyone else was asleep, although the dug woke up to remind me that I needed to provide coffee PDQ in the bedroom and then take him out (again!)
And the troglodytes win. With help from the media - Guardian INCLUDED. No one ever looks at the very successful roll out in the Scottish Borders (Conservative council). Grumbles maybe, but I know of no one who wants to go back from safer, more pleasant towns and villages. But what can you expect from a Starmerite?
My partner has taken the dug for a gels week in Northumbria, so while they contribute to the general mayhem (three dugs and equally nutty owners) I can induldge in a little more riding.
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…
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.
And the first two from MSPs have come through the door. Of course neither of them mention the party they are affiliated with (bar colour of leaflet). No surprise. This seems to be a growing habit, although I suppose we should be grateful they are not trying to grab green credentials!
They don't appear to really achieve anything other than promise and certainly neither of them have answered #correspondence (#email and then #letter)
All on my own - a weekend birthday bash has seen my partner decamp with the dugs to join friends and their dugs (mayhem I suspect).
The route I took up the Mintos is clear, a steep track which always gets the senior dug excited as he urges me to ‘put some welly into it and get to the top’. A good, if mucky cardio workout, 14k and back before the rain set in.
It's Lauder - so the ultimate culprits are probably not difficult to identify. Shooting for sport is obscene, and as has been reported elsewhere there are multiple instances of ‘game' (the name is a hint) bird corpses being dumped.
Meanwhile foxes torn apart in the name of control continues.
The frost has come with a vengeance. Gloved and hatted this morning for a run through the woods, down the old railway track towards Hawick and then back along the Teviot. Tracks mainly, wee road connecting the railway with the Teviot and then gnarly back. 8.3k, softish underfoot despite the frost.
The dug enjoyed himself - and then had to get over being tormented by an eager pup on his return who is way too small.
Morning run - the corn has all been cut and the fields are alive with pheasants to chase. 14k flattish, very little mud despite the tractors but extremely dusty
Late afternoon dog walk. I love this view, looking across north Northumberland to the Borders and the three peaks of the Eildon.
On those distant slopes, Thomas the Rhymer met the fairy queen (or 'queen of an unco' land' as she was in the oldest version we have) and went with her into the hills.
There, many years later, Canobie Dick tried and failed to wake the sleeping King Arthur in a torchlit chamber under the same hills.
A landmark visible from virtually every raised point in the whole region and easily identifiable, no wonder it was used as the site of a Bronze and later Iron Age settlement, then the Roman fort of Trimontium, and went down in legend as a place of magic and mystery.
We pushed up and over the Mintos. Dry then, Widdling down now (unusual, we normally get wet). Soft underfoot but not wet. Reminder to self : get that shoe dryer working 😁
13k, challenging slopes, interesting 200m slide down! And I as still on my feet
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 used the tracks through the #windfarm near #Eyemouth to get around. What started as a bright morning had moments of threat in the sky, although we didn't get wet.
We had an unexpected meeting in St Boswells this morning so took off afterwards along St Cuthbert’s way crossing the Tweed to climb up to the William Wallace statue and then back via Dryburgh Abbey. Pretty flat bar the first kilometre along the river and the 3k climb and return to the statue that overlooks the river.
12.5k and finished with coffee and a bun in the Main Street Trading bookshop (dug and meeting friendly).
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.
Independent bookshop @WedaleBooks in Stow, in the Scottish Borders looks well worth a stop when travelling up the A7 or the Tweed Valley Railway on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday (10am -4pm).