My early morning coffee and croissants were conveniently from the petrol station next to the campsite and by 8:00 am I was leaving Peebles. Beginning with a steep climb, today's route took me into the hills. At lower levels there were fields for sheep or cows. Higher up the walls and fences were fewer and the landscape of grass covered hills more open, more as I remembered them as a student in Edinburgh, cycling south on a weekend. There was also forestry, conifer plantations. The paths through them could either be dark and mysterious where the trees were tall and close, or where they were more youthful, blessed with many flowers. In places a yellow carpet of bird's foot trefoil covered the track. As I neared my destination there was also a rough patch where recent tree planting (of oaks surprisingly) had disturbed whatever path there might have been. Their aim seems to have been to create a hollow before each sapling, maybe to collect the rainwater.
I crossed paths with a cyclist a few times. He was also at the campsite the previous night, he engaged me in the toilets when I had a mouthful of toothpaste. He was delayed by a puncture and a desire for a "brew" so I passed him more than once. Our final meeting was at a fine tea shop at West Linton (the Olde Toll Tea House). He was on a sponsored ride to raise money for his charity. When not prevented by Coronavirus he supports teaching of IT skills in a remote area of Nepal. I sometimes fear that charities are ineffective in developing countries for a variety of reasons, but his endeavours had a clear focus in providing useful computer skills to local Nepalese and were sustained over a number years. Consequently, after reading his website I gave a small donation to via PayPal.
I am now at the Gordon Arms in West Linton, an attractive village of stone built houses with a small Co-op, post office and the like, trying to work out accommodation options for the West Highland Way.
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