Save the date because from 26th April-4th May we will be enchanting Scotland with over 60 acts and captivating performances from established artists and new emerging talent!
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.
We ran through the woods of the #Harestanes estate and up to the #Waterloo memorial. Road and tracks, 18k.
On the way back along the #Teviot the weekly litter collection - including a very large water bottle. Luckily plastic not glass… the #recycling bin is full from the last 10 days.
Lovely roads, great countryside and people insist on throwing their #rubbish from their cars! 🤬🫣
Chilly, no ice on the roads, but I did run in a t-shirt and tracksters. Bolstered I should say with a light down jacket - the one I wear in the Highlands walking in winter. It was enough - just.
The sheep are amusing. They recognise dugs and react appropriately. In this case our senior collie spends a couple of days on the farm. He paused, counted them and went on…
The chill does have advantages (-4c here). Routes that we would not normally use except in dry weather become passable without a need for a shower and fresh clothes.
Minto and back via the disused rail line in The Borders. Might reopen but progress is glacial.
The purest expression of the Edwardian country house in Scotland, Manderston near Duns in the Scottish Borders. The original house built in about 1790 was extensively remodelled between 1901 and 1905 on an unlimited budget. More pics and info: https://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/duns/manderston/index.html
What is Scotland really like: touring the Borders, John McEwen leads a romp through Scotland's history and literature, from its ancient tribes to present-day politics. But it’s not just the script, the acting makes the show a must-see. McEwen peoples his one-man stage with an array of fascinating and funny characters, each with their own tale to tell and their own take on the nature of our nation. #CommunityTheatre#Scotland#ScottishBorders#DunsPlayers
For dates see 2/2
‘Country: Scotland – Whit Like Is It?’ is playing at:
Eastgate Theatre, #Peebles (Thur 25 Jan)
Wauchope Hall, #Yetholm (Thur 1 Feb),
Hippodrome, #Eyemouth (Thurs 8 Feb)
The Eildon Centre, #Coldstream (Thurs 15 Feb).
The tour opened at the Heart of Hawick last week: Members of the audience said:
“An extraordinary show: dazzling, challenging, thought-provoking, funny and moving.”
“If you like Scotland, you will love this show”.
The weather held off over a 15k road run around the Mintos, always threatening but never quite managing to soak us. The weather is holding up - just as well as for the next few weeks while we have no central heating in the house - just a wood burner and a couple of mobile radiators. 🥶
And now for something different - exploring the Borders.
I found the exact spot the River Clyde starts as a confluence of a couple of other smaller rivers from the south at the appropriately named Watermeetings.