I woke to clear sky and was able to watch the sunrise through the
tent door as I made my first cup of coffee. As I was packing up my
camp the farmer returned to the adjacent field to start turning the
hay in the sunshine. We exchanged waves then I wheeled my bike
through the gate and set off down the lane. I soon re-joined my
original route along the B6357 towards Jedburgh.
The road undulated quite a bit then a descent took me down to the
main A68.The road undulated quite a bit then a descent took me down
to the main A68. Just ahead was a bridge and over it the entrance
drive to Ferniehirst Castle. The sign said it was open during July
except Mondays 2-5pm. I decided to ride up the steep drive to
have a look. I first visited in 1966 when it was a Youth Hostel. It
was used as a Youth Hostel from 1934 to 1984. The sun was shining
and the sky blue so had a walk round to check out the lawns.
Ferniehirst Castle
Jedburgh Abbey
Jedburgh Abbey
As I left to ride up the alternative exit I stopped to talk to a
workman who had been driving a grass mower. I continued up then a
long descent into Jedburgh. By the main car park I stopped at the
cafe to have a £2 bacon bun. I rode through the town to the Mary
Queen of Scots visitor centre. The gardens were impressive and
inside was free entry but I put £2 into the donation box.
Mary Queen of Scotts Visitors Centre
I managed to avoid the main road by following a minor lane to
Bonjedward where I joined the A698. The traffic was fast making
uncomfortable cycling. I was glad to reach the turn off to Eckford.
I followed the B6401 to Town Yetholm as the weather was warming up
to be the hottest of the year.
One of the first gardens was full of small gnomes. Just after the
village green I turned right up a minor lane to Kirk Yetholm then
down a minor road to visit the Youth Hostel which is the end of the
Pennine Way. There was no one around but it still looked open. I
continued to the England Scotland border and returned back in to
England where a minor sign was fixed to a wall. Looking the other
way the Scotland & Borders sign was much more impressive. A rode
along a very picturesque valley then joined the B6352 for a while. I
left it to make another climb towards Flodden and ride through the
extensive area of the 1513 battle.
Flodden Field 1513
I reached the car park and looked up to the monument on the hill to
mark Flodden Field. I followed the lane to the River Tweed and
Coldstream Bridge which crosses it and also marks the border back in
to Scotland. A plaque on the bridge states this the spot where
Robert Burns crossed in to England for the first time in 1787. In
Coldstream I stopped at the Co-Operative shop to buy a 5lt of water
and some biscuits. Inside was air conditioned and felt very cold. I
soon got used to it but as I left to re-join my bike outside I
realised how hot it was. It was probably about 27degC. I rode on to
the west then down a minor rough track to the north bank of the
Tweed. I found a spot at the edge of a field with a tree where I
pitched the tent in the shade. Later in the afternoon the sun moved
round to reach the tent.
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Whittle Wanderer
