I had spent the night in Calderwood, an ancient Woodland near Edinburgh.
Monday 15th August
Awoken by a small, loud dog that didn’t like me being on its walkies route. Disorientated, I walked back to Mid-Calder village by mistake before finding my bearings. The walk over to West Linton was tough, though the weather was nice, and I stopped to sit on a rock in the hills.
West Linton was the first village I visited in the Scottish Borders – the region which borders England. The Borders was one of my favourite parts of the whole journey, because it seemed to have everything one could want. Like in England and Wales, there are plenty of small towns and villages with well stocked shops and decent pubs. But wild camping is legal like the rest of Scotland. The landscape is fantastic, the weather was better than the Highlands and there were fewer midges.
Had dinner at the Gordon Arms (haggis and nachos) and stocked up on supplies at the Co-op. Continued down the road under a stunning sunset, then stopped to sleep in a hay field (which had just been collected into bales). Overnight I was surrounded by mist.
Distance: 16.6 miles [view on map]
Spending: £34
It may well have been my sister serving you in the Gordon Arms! She’s worked there for a couple of years and often mentions hikers having come in doing “lejog”.
I’m enjoying the log, thanks.
Small world! I don’t remember telling my story whilst in the Gordon Arms… I usually kept quiet about it when I could but still ended up talking about my experiences a few times each day!
Glad you’re enjoying it.