Melrose to Innerleithan: LEJoG Day 48

Another great day in the borders, by rivers and over moorland mountains. 

The large breakfast at the Station Hotel gave me a rather full tummy. In addition to cereal with yoghurt and banana, there was a full English with two sausages, two bacon rashers and two eggs rather than the usual one of each. It was with regret that I then past the bakery, baguette shop and cafés on the main street of Melrose. I knew I would need nothing else to eat for the next eight hours. Indeed I was sad to leave Melrose with its little independent shops; stone, terraced buildings with slate roofs and dormer windows, and river side walks. I left town on one of those walks, today following the Southern Upland Way as it first followed the River Tweed with its sparkling riffles and fly fishermen. A little later I reached the start of the Borders Railway. Closed in 1969 as part of the Beeching cuts it was revived and ran again in 2015. A handful of people were waiting for the train to Edinburgh at the Tweedbank station. 

River Tweed near Melrose.

Crossing under the A7 road bridge I pondered why its massive girders supporting the concrete deck were bolted or riveted together rather welded. Then after a little climb, the Southern Uplands Way briefly drops down to the outskirts of Galashiels. My guidebook recommended missing this out and described a shortcut, but I rather liked the Scottish Border towns so followed the trail down. It did not go through much of the town, and I felt I did not have enough time to visit its centre (and my full stomach did not encourage a search for a coffee shop), so I continued by rhodendrons in bright purple flower and on up through a wild sort of park with trees, ponds and boardwalks.

Scottish Border hills crossed by my path.

The path then climbed over a ridge, crossing green fields, some with noisy sheep, only to descend on the other side through woodland to re-join the River Tweed. Crossing the river on an old stone bridge I spotted a heron among the white flowers floating on the still water to one side of the glittering river. After mooching around it flew off and I followed a lane beside the water for a short way. There was then a long climb up the side of a small wooded valley on a good path. Higher up it broke into the moors finally reaching the "Three Brethren", a group of three cairns by a white trig point. From here I could see hills for many miles around me, all the way back to the twin peaks of the Eildon mountains which I climbed over yesterday, and the hills beyond them that I probably climbed down on the day before. Above them the skies were overcast with mottled grey clouds.

Walk across the moors.

I continued to see such views from the high ridge I followed for many kilometres, across the heather, moss and whimberry moors, the path working its way around several summits. Eventually the route took me into trees and started to descend passing the "Cheese Well", where a stone carved with this name was placed above a spring. A little beyond the heather had been "sculpted" by cutting paths through it. From one angle the paths looked like circles, but from another perspective they were irregular ovals.

Walk through woods.

The Southern Uplands Way took me to Traquair, where it was too late to visit the famous Traquaur House and its gardens. There being no where to stay, I diverted up the road to the village of Innerleithan for a meal and a bed for the night.