I decided to take a rest day and stay another night in Jean Muir Student Village in Galashiels, since this was the only budget accommodation I knew of in the Scottish Borders region. During the student term it is used by Textiles and Design students, then made available to visitors in the summer. You might have heard of one local fabric – Tweed – named (perhaps accidentally) after the River Tweed which flows past Galashiels.
Thursday 18th August 2016
Breakfast downstairs – continental only. Proceeded to do nothing. Used a few GB of 4G mobile bandwidth though! I was reminded of halls in first year of uni – many things were the same, although these were far more modern (it was 10 years ago, and in need of refurbishment even then!). I ate a lot and felt I had far more strength in my legs by the end of the day. Had a couple of beers. Didn’t leave the building.
Distance: none!
Spending: £35
I considered spending my rest day in Edinburgh, as the Borders Railway had opened less than one year before my visit. The railway was one of many closed in the 1960s but has been re-opened (unlike many others which are now cycling routes).
Tweed actually has its origins in the Hebrides. It was original called tweel which was basically just Scots for twill weave. It was renamed tweed in the 19th century due to a clerical error.