Jedburgh did not disappoint. The Castle Jailhouse, Queen Mary's House and the Town Trail were excellent - I would happily visit again as there was so much, I am sure I missed lots. It's also a very welcoming town - how many town car parks are completely free and have free wi-fi? - with lots of history and interesting places to go.
Jedburgh Abbey
I nearly managed to visit another Abbey, but The Walker was too late and still a bit far away, so we arranged to meet back at the van. As I was further away, I was surprised to arrive first - guess where he was - in the nearest pub!
From Bernie:
Today's walk 13.4 miles : Cumulative 848.5 miles
In response to the manager's comment above I would like to point out that I'm still trying to top up my fluid levels after yesterday's heat &, if I'd had the opportunity sooner, I might have walked a bit quicker! In one respect, though, the manager is quite right; today should have been a 2 Abbey day.... oh well, coffee at 6.30 instead of 7.00 tomorrow morning!
Jedburgh Abbey
I'd never been to Jedburgh before but have read lots about the Border towns &, when planning my LeJog route, was certain I wanted to include the abbeys of Jedburgh, Dryburgh & Melrose - hence the odd route around Kielder! Even so, I wasn't expecting Jedburgh to be such a lovely town.... Les has told the story &, hopefully, we'll be back this way again!
Jedburgh Abbey
I've written before about the number of walking routes springing up all over the place - I followed 3, all at the same time, on my way to Dryburgh! 'St. Cuthbert's Way', the 'Borders Abbeys Way' & the old Roman Road, Dere Street.... made for some very attractive way-markers!
St Cuthberts Way & Dere Street markers - Borders Abbeys Way temporarily following another path!
Highlight of the Day: marked on the OS map simply as 'Stone'... who would bother going to investigate? Lady Lilliard's stone stands beside the route of the old Roman Road on the site of the Battle of Ancrum Moor; overgrown with weeds, the verse tells of a local maiden who fought alongside her lover against the English. I'd expected something much grander to be today's highlight but this was simple, quiet, lonely & moving.
Lady Lilliard's Stone
Beer of the Day: 2 days in Scotland & yet to find a pub that can serve me a real ale! Must nominate, second & unanimously declare 'The Railway Inn' at Newtown St. Boswells to be the worst pub I've ever been in - even worse than the 'Scourie Inn', though you won't understand that unless you've listened to my rantings about north-west Scotland!
No real ale so I opted for Belhaven - 'Haven't got any,' came the reply. I tried for a pint of Strongbow - 'That's off, but I can do you a cold can'. He had 8 or 9 pumps so I thought I'd give him the chance to list his wares.... 'I've got Stella, Fosters & John Smith's; everything else is off unless I've got it in a can'. It's easy to understand why people drink in supermarkets these days.....
I retired to the van & a bottle of Jennings 'Sneck Lifter'; dark, malty & quite dry - I buy this occasionally 'cos I like the taste but it's not a favourite; not thirst-quenching enough for a walker!
St. Cuthbert's Church, Maxton - the bench looks as if it used to belong to a railway station & I was delighted to find, on checking the map, that a railway used to run through the village!
Song of the Day (an occasional series!): 'If You Feel (like China breaking)' by Jefferson Airplane. Our campsite is in the centre of Melrose & our van behind the recycling centre: I've just barbecued to the sound of people cheerfully smashing glass bottles!
P.S. : the burgers were excellent!!
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