LEJOG day 45: Jedburgh to Melrose
I don't wish to give the impression that I'm hard to please, but having complained about the bad weather the whole way up the Pennines, I now feel the need to point out that 27 degrees is a little too warm for hiking. Especially when combined with humidity over 50% and large stretches of road-walking with no shade. I swear, I'm not picky.
So, I had a lovely day off in Jedburgh yesterday- the Abbey is another great example of buildings surviving best if they're used, because after the last canons left it continued to be the town's church until the mid-19th Century, and the Abbey itself is still complete except for the roof and glass in the windows, whereas the rest of the complex got built on and had to be excavated in the 1980s. It's spectacular, the audioguide wins a prize because I only once wanted to throw it into the river, and I was delighted to be charged less than I was at Glastonbury. Yes, 500 miles on and I'm still griping about it.
After the Abbey I had tea, and then lunch, and then a look around Mary Queen of Scots' House- a bit of a misnomer: she stayed in a house in Jedburgh for a month or so, and all the others like it fell down, so they think it's this one, conveniently- which was free but rather less well done. I was suspicious right from the offing when they said they were going to "portray the drama" rather than, say, the actual history. Anyway, they have her death mask, which is good evidence for the Tudors being creepy as heck, and what more could you want?
I was going to look around the castle/jail, but my day off clothes consist of black skinny jeans and a hoodie to carry everything (keys, phone, wallet, you know the drill) and I honestly thought I might pass out if I climbed the hill - they do like to put castles in high places - so I had an ice cream and went to flop hotly around my room with a book instead.
Today was also hot. Today, though, I had to walk, and flopping around wasn't an option, so off I struck with ice cubes in my waterbag and immediately started taking shortcuts, all of which seemed to involve lots of road-walking. The Borders Abbeys Way and St Cuthbert's are both well signposted and around here run together a lot- although they can't quite agree on which bank of the Tweed is best- but in the case of St Cuthbert I have come to the conclusion that either:
1) he wasn't in a rush to get where he was going, or
2) he couldn't read maps so had to stick with following obvious things like rivers, or
3) the route-planning committee have taken liberties with the route he took, or
4) the route isn't actually based on a journey at all and is instead a tour of the area thinly disguised as homage to their local favourite saint.
In any case, direct it isn't so at lunch I had a sneaky look at the map (which maybe I should have done sooner) and cobbled together a bastardisation of these two long-distance trails that cut 3 miles in the heat off my day, meaning I arrived at bit before 4pm with plenty of time to flop around being warm and drinking tea before dinner.
Distance walked: 16.53 miles
Time taken: 5h24
Percentage complete: 63.1%
Miles per £1 of boot: 5.29
Days since I was last rained on: 5
Lunch: hoi sin duck wrap- yes, I'm back in the land of supermarkets!- and a flapjack and about fifteen gallons of water
Last night's B&B: Kenmore Bank House, Jedburgh: lovely welcoming couple and a nice room, I'd stay there again.
I was so happy
Roof off, glass gone, otherwise looks like an Abbey
I was terrified taking this. It was really windy and high up and I dislike that combination
A suspension bridge! It moved as I walked over it so I didn't stop
The Tweed
Things I didn't climb
So, I had a lovely day off in Jedburgh yesterday- the Abbey is another great example of buildings surviving best if they're used, because after the last canons left it continued to be the town's church until the mid-19th Century, and the Abbey itself is still complete except for the roof and glass in the windows, whereas the rest of the complex got built on and had to be excavated in the 1980s. It's spectacular, the audioguide wins a prize because I only once wanted to throw it into the river, and I was delighted to be charged less than I was at Glastonbury. Yes, 500 miles on and I'm still griping about it.
After the Abbey I had tea, and then lunch, and then a look around Mary Queen of Scots' House- a bit of a misnomer: she stayed in a house in Jedburgh for a month or so, and all the others like it fell down, so they think it's this one, conveniently- which was free but rather less well done. I was suspicious right from the offing when they said they were going to "portray the drama" rather than, say, the actual history. Anyway, they have her death mask, which is good evidence for the Tudors being creepy as heck, and what more could you want?
I was going to look around the castle/jail, but my day off clothes consist of black skinny jeans and a hoodie to carry everything (keys, phone, wallet, you know the drill) and I honestly thought I might pass out if I climbed the hill - they do like to put castles in high places - so I had an ice cream and went to flop hotly around my room with a book instead.
Today was also hot. Today, though, I had to walk, and flopping around wasn't an option, so off I struck with ice cubes in my waterbag and immediately started taking shortcuts, all of which seemed to involve lots of road-walking. The Borders Abbeys Way and St Cuthbert's are both well signposted and around here run together a lot- although they can't quite agree on which bank of the Tweed is best- but in the case of St Cuthbert I have come to the conclusion that either:
1) he wasn't in a rush to get where he was going, or
2) he couldn't read maps so had to stick with following obvious things like rivers, or
3) the route-planning committee have taken liberties with the route he took, or
4) the route isn't actually based on a journey at all and is instead a tour of the area thinly disguised as homage to their local favourite saint.
In any case, direct it isn't so at lunch I had a sneaky look at the map (which maybe I should have done sooner) and cobbled together a bastardisation of these two long-distance trails that cut 3 miles in the heat off my day, meaning I arrived at bit before 4pm with plenty of time to flop around being warm and drinking tea before dinner.
Distance walked: 16.53 miles
Time taken: 5h24
Percentage complete: 63.1%
Miles per £1 of boot: 5.29
Days since I was last rained on: 5
Lunch: hoi sin duck wrap- yes, I'm back in the land of supermarkets!- and a flapjack and about fifteen gallons of water
Last night's B&B: Kenmore Bank House, Jedburgh: lovely welcoming couple and a nice room, I'd stay there again.
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