"Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather." ~ John Ruskin

First day of hiking - done and dusted! Woke up to sun, but that quickly clouded in and our hosts guaranteed there would be rain today. However, when signing up for one of these hikes, it's 'go' time and you need to get to the next destination regardless of the weather. New word for the day - scunnered (meaning very annoyed). Guess I could use that word for the weather we're getting. But it's okay - we are rambling through the Scottish borders and then into England. It's an adventure we love to do together and that has us both very chuffed.

Just starting out from the Abbey.

Beginning with 133 steps up! 

Leaving the quaint little town of Melrose behind.

Looking upward towards the Eildon Hills.

Following the sign posts. For today our phones recorded 76 flights of stairs!

Following the St. Cuthbert's Way cross - note the post on the left. No turning back.

Walking through a characterful old beech wood. It's not raining yet!

 Great view of the Eildon Hills from the other side. We just walked through there! The first century had a military outpost near here called Trimontium (triple mountain).

There is a story here. As we were walking through Newtown, looking bewildered and confused, ready to stop for a quick bite somewhere, a very sweet lady who was watering the village outdoor plants, crossed the road to ask us if we were looking for a place to eat. Well, there seemed to be 2 options, the local pub or a lunch at the local hall sponsored by the Borders College. Students make and serve lunch at the Newtown Community Wing one day a week (Thursday), so we were very fortunate to hook into this deal. It was very sweet as we sat with several ladies and had a very delicious chicken stew and a scone. Andrew also snagged a great cup of tea. One of those moments that make this type of holiday so very special.

Our first glimpse of the River Tweed, a 97 mile long river running east through the border region of Scotland and known for it's great salmon fishing in season.

Grandchildren - botanical question of the day - identify this flower. It grows extensively here on thorny bushes.

This is our second little nest for tonight, a combination restaurant, pub and tired looking hotel in the village of St. Boswell's. We weren't sure how to pronounce Buccleuch but try 'book look' and that's pretty close. It began to rain hard just after we arrived.