Walking

As a nod to the bride, we visited Saint Abbs today to take in the nature walk along the cliff tops and then inland past a Loch.

It is a very pretty place and the weather was hot and sunny. T-shirt weather except for the cooling breeze. It was a 6.3 kilometre trek and good practice for some more walks as the holiday progresses. Kirsty’s bum shuffle down some steeper parts was a sight to behold!!

The best part about the walk was not the views, the bird life, the cows, the sheep, the clear crystal water or the lighthouse….it was the beer at the cafe afterwards and the lunch. Mine was a black pudding and bacon panini, yum.

As is my want, I can’t backtrack over the same ground, so I chose a circular route back to Chirnside. I only got a little lost, and we were back for a bit of a rest before heading out to Haddington, Kirsty’s old home town.

We had a lovely walk around with Kirsty as our guide pointing out her old school, Doc’s old practice premises, the Church grounds where she played, the gardens where she played and the walk by the river where she played. We found her old home which has changed a lot, but it still retains the original name on the gate post: “Windy Knowe”. It was great to see that.

Next stop was to Dunbar to see Ian and Morag for dinner. But first, we visited the Dunbar harbour and the old castle that was actually blown apart to make an entrance into the now harbour. The highlight of stopping here was the sighting of a seal, but even better, a Basking Shark. Very uncommon in this area ( not seen around Dunbar in 65 years!!) and a very kind couple with binoculars pointed it out and let us have a look.

It was terrific to again be at Ian and Morag’s place, such a fantastic home with uninterrupted views onto the Firth of Forth or is it the North Sea….the debate continues on that point. A dram, a seafood pie, a crumble and it was off back down the A1 for home. We are being so social that we are all in need of a good sleep in and a quiet day…..but that will be some way off yet.