Day 49 - Jedburgh to Galashiels 21.5 Miles

  Once again I've pushed my body long enough that it is now desperate for a day off. I woke up to the rain and wondered whether I should simply drift back to sleep and hang out here for the day. Ten minutes later I still found myself packing up. Melrose was a simple 14 or so miles away, there would be a long line of shops and museums for my day off.

Suspension Bridge over The Hutches

  Rain lessened slightly allowing my to roll up my tent and wrap my rain cover over the pack. As I left I was joined by Janet, the other End to Ender, and we walked the first ten on so minutes together. I wished a little that she was heading my way as I believed she was the type of companion I would enjoy. I took the lane going past New Mill Farm to rejoin the Roman Road and after a short bit of twisting along and across the river Hutches by means of a very handsome wire bridge it straightened out again

Historical sites along the St Cuthberr's Way

into a six foot wide track enclosed by stone walls. Most of today's walk would be along the St Cuthberr's Way and because of this I met a few B&B hikers walking it.
  About this time I heard an interview on BBC4 with the author of the Sharp series, and finding him rather slimy but charming decided to buy and download the first book in his series the next time I found some free WiFi.
  A large part of today is paved roads between small towns. Boswell was the first. I looked for a cafe but finding none ate too many sugary things and made myself feel a little sick. Just before Newton St Boswell two kilometers later I popped into a garden center and bought some soup. A few miles along a disused road called Bolgleburn Strip and I was entering Melrose. There is something very strange about a shut off road, and I confess I had a few flashes to Walking Dead which I enjoyed.
  Before Melrose you have to cross under an A road and twist along several others before you reach the center. Small towers marked the entrance to the town and the high street seemed charming. I figured I'd set up camp and come back after, this was until I found the campsite cost £12. If I took my day off here it would cost me £24 which was too much and, less than graciously, I retreated. Picking up some groceries from the Co-Op I headed out. I'd stop and have a drink of some sort at Galashiels before wild camping above the town. The path to Galashiels is yet another two or so miles of dull pavements and a cycle path around a hospital and along a newly laid railway track.

Looking back down towards Galashiels

  At Galashiels I stumbled over a trading park with giant Tescos and Asda. I popped into both searching for earphones. For the last three weeks I'd been walking with only one earphone working, and that in the last day or so that too had also started to play up. I also restocked my supplies and bought some chicken for dinner. Last task before leaving to attempts to refill my water bladder. Tesco's water was off so I sheepishly crossed the road and approached a shopping clerk in New Look who kindly obliged.

View from my Wild Camp

  The roads up out of the Old Town are of Galashiels is steep and I found myself lost and trapped in the Academy grounds. I walked around towards the tennis courts where two girls helped me out, teenagers playing with roller blades. They also confirmed something that Janet said, another hiker had passed them today and since this was far from a national trail it was probably another End to Ender. I kept my eyes open but saw no sign of him.
  Exhausted I took the first chance to stop and change into my sandals in the hope it would refresh my feet. People seemed to be gathering in the field bellow, cars were parking and there were even parking attendants. I worried that they'd guess I was camping nearby as it was already nearly 8. That said the first hiding place I found I stopped. I reached a clump of trees a kilometer of so after the field called 'Earthwork (course of)' encircled by a broken stone wall. I scrambled over and climbed higher up away from the path until the view of the town opened up below me. Apart from the rather nasty task of clearing the grass of sheep excrement it was a lovely scenic spot with great views and my camp hidden on all sides. Settling down I hate a late dinner before tucking myself into my sleeping back and attempting to go to sleep. Sheep spent a great deal of the night calling to each other which was part of the reason I remained awake till late into the night, but also I kept hearing a voice on a loud speaker down below. It must have been from the field I'd passed but unable to make out what was been said I still didn't have a clue what they were up to. It was nearly midnight when I finally dropped off.