Escape!

I have exchanged the madness of tourist saturated Edinburgh for the calm oasis of the borders to stay with friends of long standing in Kelso.

The journey down by bus took me through countryside that my cycling friends and I were so familiar with - Dalkeith, Edgehead, Ford, Pathhead ,Fala, Soutra with its forest of wind turbines, Carfraemill, Lauder, Earlston, St Boswell’s and finally Kelso with its ruined abbey, (see the extra) -one of the four border abbeys- the other three being, Melrose, Dryburgh and Jedburgh.

I was met off the bus by my friends and we walked through a quiet park to their house, in which up till now, we have done nothing but eat and talk and sit in the sun, although come to think of it, there was a walk along the banks of the Tweed where I got this blip of a gillie rowing a fisherman in search of an elusive salmon.

It is so lovely to catch up with a couple I met as a newly wed in the back woods of Hamilton in the early 60s, misplaced for about 50 years but refound 6 years ago. It is so easy to lose touch with people when a new job means people moving around the country.

I’m looking forward to exploring the area on foot tomorrow, but meanwhile there’s another meal to be had........