LEJOG day 44: Byrness to Jedburgh

I am in Scotland.

 I have walked from Cornwall to Scotland. 

 I don't quite believe it. I'm having dinner in Jedburgh's nicest restaurant to celebrate- wearing my bog-soaked boots, of course- with a huge grin on my face, and I'm telling everyone I can. 

 England and Northumberland said goodbye in style- with a muddy, slippery climb up to a scramble over a crag, then six miles of bog-hopping against a headwind. I crossed the border 5 times between 10 am and noon, none of them marked sadly, and then made my way along the remains of a Roman road virtually all the way to Jedburgh. There was something spectacular about walking along the remains of a road built and walked upon by Roman soldiers nearly 2 millennia ago.

I struggled to sleep last night worrying about this walk: it was long, I knew I would be leaving later than I'd like for a 9-hour tramp (according to Naismith), I was worried about finding somewhere to eat in Jedburgh as there's a big event on this weekend, and because of the access laws in Scotland, there are no footpaths- so anything you choose to walk along is a gamble.

I needn't have worried. The path today is clearly well-trodden and, apart from one stretch of thigh-high grass, all the Scottish parts were easier to walk than virtually any section of the Pennine Way (with the exception of those bits that are limestone pavement); I arrived before 5pm, having left at ten to nine - turns out the threat of no dinner is a spectacular motivator, and I averaged 3mph despite all the climbs; and Jedburgh is a town over-endowed with places to eat and things to do, for its size. I'm really in a very good mood, and not all of that is because this morning I said goodbye to the Pennine Way, most likely forever. I'm really looking forward to a rest day full of history and cake; I've enjoyed the walking today; I am ready to absolutely love the Borders; and in a week I'll be in Edinburgh and I'll get to see a person I know already!

But, really, the best thing is: I've walked to Scotland.

 Distance walked: 21.82 miles (I took a wrong path for a bit. It was a very nice path, I liked it, but it went in the wrong direction)
Time taken: 7h11
Percentage completed: 61.4%
Miles per £1 of boot: 5.21
Days since I was last rained on: 4
Lunch: ham and pickle sandwich, crisps and the last of the M&S flapjacks; snacks were a breakfast drink (don't knock it, it had protein in it) and an orange I've been carrying since Langdon Beck
Last night's B&B: Spruce Cottage, associated with Forest View Walkers' Inn, Byrness: excellent- and really set up for looking after walkers!


 So unalarming. It was right next to a sign marking an "archaeological site", wonder how those go together
 I know it looks like a gate and a barbed wire fence, but this is the border

 What a lovely path
No idea what this is but I'm going tui try to find out

Comments

  1. Latti17 June 2017 at 22:15

    Congrats Louise. You are in Scotland now!! And yes, you walked there all the way up frtom Cornwall. Aren't we crazy? Hugs from Lairg

    ReplyDelete
  2. Catherine Ames18 June 2017 at 17:17

    Well done Louise!!!

    ReplyDelete

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