Day 73 - Peebles to West Linton - 11.7 miles
It was great to meet up with Barrie and Sheila who were just starting their three week tour of Scotland and had arranged to stay in West Linton before joining me for breakfast so that Barrie could walk with me for the day.
Apparently the arrangent of fish on the flag
We admired an Aberdeen Angus bull off to join his lady friends.
and a wee dram of Talisker to toast Barrie's success in getting funding for the next steps in her research into diagnostic tests for Chagas disease in Latin America.
with wonderful lichens and ferns.
before dropping down to Romannobridge.
The week-long Peebles Festival was in full swing and as we walked out of the town passed houses festooned in bunting and flags we attempted to translate the Latin town motto
Contra Nando Incrementum
and spotted a number of red flags.
refers to the migration of fish travelling upstream to spawn and implies that for every salmon swimming up river, two return to the sea.
Contra Nando Incrementum
- increase by swimming against the stream!?
The trail led out of town and through good farming land up on to Hamilton Hill.
Coming towards us for the next couple of hours we met groups of cyclists
who were participating in an event riding from Edinburgh to Manchester over 5 days.
Though they might have a whole field in which to lie down, sheep and cattle seem to like sitting right on the line of the path.
Barrie was concerned about the health of one of the Highland cattle - though it seemed not to have been at all perturbed by 80 passing cyclists.
Barry's interest in farming started when she was ten, helping on her parents cattle farm in Kinlough, County Leitrim. With developing interest and knowledge of animals, by the time she was a teenager she was effectively running the farm, tending the animals and keeping the paperwork.
This all means that she has a detailed understanding of the different breeds and their behaviour.
Then a stop for a brew-up at the edge of the forest
Then up through the forest
On the way, we met Jackie and Eva who were walking their lovely black labrador Raven.
Then across the A701 and up to West Linton.
Total distance walked so far = 928.7 miles
Total ascent so far = 111 388 feet
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email: david.LL.thomas@gmail.com
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If you'd like to contribute to any or all of the great charities I'm supporting, here are the relevant links.
- Parkinsons UK - My dad had Parkinsons in his latter years and the research work this charity funds and the support it provides to patients and their families is invaluable. - https://www.justgiving.com/
- Just Wheels UK - this is a small charity set up to provide wheelchairs in a rural community in Tanzania. It does this through funding training, education and the local fabrication and servicing of bespoke wheelchairs. My nephew uses a wheelchair and as he grows I can see the life changing freedoms that proper wheelchairs can bring to both users and their families.-
- RNLI - these are the brave guys who selflessly head out to sea to help others. I volunteer at Littlehampton RNLI shop and often meet families of those who’ve had first hand experience of their loved ones being saved from the sea. Having sailed for years I can say thankfully we’ve never had to call on the RNLI's services but it’s amazing what it does to know they are there
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