Tom's Birthday Walk in Gala

Although a week earlier than his birthday Tom with a little help from Martin decided the best place for his birthday walk would be halfway between Edinburgh and Langholm so Galashiels was selected.

A circular 6 mile walk was chosen with the highest point being about 1400 ft and to follow we arranged lunch at Abbotsford House.

The weather was almost perfect and very mild with sunshine during the first hour of the walk.

Setting out from near the swimming pool in Gala. The photograph at the top is the Cairn on Hog Hill about 1200ft up.

On the way to the top of Hog Hill we crossed this spring where the Stannis Burn starts in the middle of a field.

In this area the Eildons are always in view and must be one of the finest views in Scotland. Over the last year we have viewed them from every point of the compass.

From the cairn at the top of Hog Hill this memorial to the KOSB can be seen.

A superb Heather Moor on Neidpath Hill.

From Neidpath Hill we climbed to these three masts at the top of Meigle Hill at a height of just under 1400ft. From here it was a very steep drop downhill into Galashiels.

Near the masts is this huge cairn which shows the way to Wallace's Putting Stone in the wood.. As the wood is so dence we decided not to enter it so I will tell you the stone is an enormous glacial erratic boulder over 1.2m high. The rest will have to be left to your imagination.

The trig point at the top of Meigle Hill.

Back down in Galashiels we walked along this street called Eildon Street and we all agreed that it is one of the nicest streets in the Borders and probably the only place we would live if we were forced to move to Gala.

And this is the reason for Eildon Street being so nice, a superb view of the Eildon Hills with a lovely area of parkland in front of the houses.

We headed to Abbotsford after the walk to have a meal in the Ochiltree. This was a big disappointment  and proved to be overpriced with food not very good. Four of us chose Haddock and Chips only to be told that there was only one piece of fish left so we were forced to make do with the minute steak which turned up on a bread roll and was definately minute. Not good value for money. The visitor centre is however very attractive and well laid out, but everything in the shop is overpriced and not good value for money. None of us bought anything. 

Despite this it was still a superb day in great company and with smashing weather. 

This is the last birthday walk of the year so we will have to do it all over again next year.