Borders Abbey Way: Jedburgh to Hawick (Day 3)

Waking to rain I was somewhat hacked off, all the more so as the forecast suggested that it was likely to rain for much of the day. Disappointingly the sky wasn’t suggesting anything different so after much checking of various forecasts I made the decision to WALK! Something not quite right there as I’m on a ‘running’ holiday, but the prospect of getting wet from the top down in addition to the feet up did not hold any great appeal.

Decision made, I repacked my bag, dug out the boots and waterproofs and stashed the trainers. Typically, after I’d done this and was set to leave the rain appeared to have stopped and the skies were brighter. I had a brief moment of contemplation, but as the baggage company could turn up at any moment I stuck with my plan. I was walking!

Jedburgh Abbey

Retracing my steps from yesterday, I passed Jedburgh Abbey.

If I’d been running I would have gone in for a look around; walking however would take up the day so I plodded on uphill towards the Jail Museum once again. I was already feeling the heat from the additional layers, beginning to drown on the inside! The joy of having a running pack rather than a rucksack precluded me from stashing my waterproofs (or so I thought at this point).

On The Way

Leaving the town behind, I followed the Borders Abbey Way signs once more. These have been really fantastic thus far. Borders seem to be doing well in encouraging activity through the wide range of trails.

The initial track was good and again I questioned my decision to walk; too late to change my mind, I internally grumbled about feeling too hot, unzipping my trousers to vent the sides, not that it did much good with the distinct lack of breeze.

There was a wee bit of ascent on leaving Jedburgh, helped by some steps, particularly beneficial when it was a wee bit slippery in places due to the mud.

Due to my irritation about walking and being hot (have I mentioned that already?) I was quite delighted to come upon an overgrown section of path. My boots got soaked and I had a little moment of smugness on thinking how wet my trainers would have been.

This was short-lived as I then hit a decent section of minor road again.

Fields and Stiles

Coming off the road I hit grassy paths again, in some ways reminiscent of yesterday although the grass was shorter and not as wet. I began to wonder about the Walk Highlands bog rating. Today seemed less boggy than yesterday at this point.

Then I came upon the farm track which was initially rather muddy. Making the most of my boots I ploughed through it, only later realising the error of my ways … Bruce isn’t here to clean them for me! The grassy section that followed beyond might have helped a wee bit in terms of cleaning.

Finding My Groove

The views began to open up. I crossed another field and around 3 miles into the day decided that I’d found my groove, my fury at the weather forecasters finally abating. I was walking and that was it as I didn’t fancy running in boots.

There were farmers out working and one gave me a cheery wave as his tractor went up and down the neighbouring field. Another provided a source of entertainment, moving his sheep from one field to another. There wasn’t a dog present that I could see, instead he drove behind them tooting his horn to encourage them to move in the right direction. Some did and he persevered until they were in the desired field, the others then following behind tractor in their own sweet time.

I descended some steps before going up through a short section that was extremely overgrown.

Heading up through the next field again affirmed my decision as I’d have walked here anyway due to the steepness of the slope, not particularly steep as a walker but too much to run on weary legs. I was glad of my waterproofs as again I had to wade through waist deep grass and chest high ferns.

There were several stiles to climb over. The drizzle turned to light rain and I zipped up my waterproofs and put up my hood. Reaching the top of the climb I saw a sunny outcrop further afield.

Flies Galore!

By this point in time with little wind and the humid conditions I’d gathered my own troop of flies. I hope that nobody was around to witness the spectacle as I became increasingly frustrated by their presence. I may well have looked like I was doing some sort of modern interpretative dance as I flailed my arms around in turn before taking off my running vest and waving it around my head a couple of times. Rational thinking kicked in at this point and I concluded the arm flailing to be the best option, if only to avoid my soft water flasks coming loose and landing in sheep poo!

There were plenty of waymarker posts across this section of the hill which meant that there was no option of going the wrong way on an otherwise relatively featureless area. The fences would also provide some sense of boundary worse case scenario. I then headed down across a field with a clear path through the ferns. This was followed by a couple of stiles over electric fences and a wade through yet more long grass. I got soaked to the knees before finally …

A Gate and a Proper Path!

I was 5 miles into the day when I came upon a gate which was very closely followed by a proper track. I was delighted and celebrated by eating a few Haribo.

The proper track led to a proper road; however, I was slightly less impressed by the fact that the flies who’s been noticeably absent for a time returned.

Hidden Markers

The route is so well marked; if at any point I started to feel unsure and was contemplating a route check, a marker post would appear. That is except at one minor road junction where I went a few steps before checking and then spotting the squirrel post hidden by undergrowth.

The correct route took me up a hill on a minor road where I got a wave from the Postie in his van. Further up the hill I heard voices and had a peek behind the Telecoms vans to double check that they weren’t obscuring my route (they were) and had a brief chat with the men before continuing up the grassy slope.

Further on conditions deteriorated into a mucky woodland track that had been churned up a bit by hooves.

Stiles and Fields

Continuing on, I skirted around the edge of two fields, crossing a couple of stiles. I had to go diagonally across another field and across a stile built into the dyke.

There were a couple of these stiles. One took me through a field of sheep who weren’t overly bothered by my presence.

The next took me into a field of young bulls. I was less than enthusiastic about this so it was with relief that I spied the electric fence that had not been visible from the distance. One ‘loose’ bull remained, he appeared to have gone rogue and was outwith the fence. I double checked the Walk Highlands app to discover (with relief) I’d also marginally gone off path; I quickly righted myself before he was distracted from eating!

Back on course I followed the track round the farm. Once again the rain came on, this time a proper shower.

Let There Be Lunch

Having gone up, I then continued downhill to Denholm where I’d be very disappointed if there was no coffee, the route guide advising that I would pass a coffee shop! As I cut off onto a wee muddy track all I could think about was food and the luxury of being able to enjoy a proper lunch as I didn’t have to run. I wasn’t disappointed.

Diversions

Reluctantly leaving Denholm, I crossed the river and continued on a minor road due to path closure following a land slip.

It appeared for a time that I might get into a game of Tig & Tag with a bin lorry as they drove along slowly having passed me, just managing to get ahead before I caught them up again. The road being really narrow I didn’t want to be jumping into the verge to let them pass repeatedly so I was relieved when they turned off.

I was beginning to think I’d missed the diversion and may be on the road for the rest of the route as the sign appeared! Phew! There followed a long walk along a minor road and I felt uncomfortably hot again.

The flat road continued and the bin lorry passed me again; I crossed to a passing place to allow them to get by and this was rewarded by big waves and a friendly toot.

I noticed the small things on this section of road. I love the hedgerows and wild flowers that frequently adorn this part of the world.

The minor road that I was on ran parallel to the main road, separated by the river. This was a bit disconcerting as it sometimes sounded like there were cars coming when in fact they were on the other road. I decided on this section to finally discard my waterproofs as I was way too hot and had a brainwave that they could be attached to the outside of my running vest using the elastic. This felt so much better!

Crossing the bridge and going off road onto the riverside path I found my happy place again. The terrain varied with grass, rooty trails and boardwalk. There were also big lily pads where the water must overflow.

I passed a caravan park and then climbed a little to come out by a bridge. This stretch of minor road was the busiest I’d seen for quite some time!

Crossing the road, I dropped onto the river path again. This took me over a long section of boardwalk. There were also lots more of the lovely big lily pads.

As the path reached the outskirts of Hawick the rain came on properly and I was forced to put my jacket on. Knowing how close I was to my home for the night I didn’t bother with the trousers.

Another couple of diversion saw me re-routed further, not too far off the intended line but enough to confuse me once in the centre of Hawick.

Finally reached my destination though and was delighted to have a bath! Sheer bliss for my weary legs!