A Day in Hawick is not a day Wasted

They say in Hawick that a day out of Hawick is a day wasted so we decided to spend a day in Hawick to see if that was true. It was dry and reasonably mild so we headed out from The Teviotdale Leisure Centre along the old Waverley railway line to the outlying hamlets of Hornshole, Ormiston and Cavers, a distance of 7.5 miles.  

This is Mansfield Park the home of Hawick RFC 

An old bridge on the Waverley Line. If the extend the new line from Edinburgh any further we think it might just come as far as Hawick but it is very unlikely it will come as far as Langholm 

Half a mile after this photo Tom realised his walking stick was back at the bridge. 

The line has become very much waterlogged and unsuitable for walking 

John tells us the hills are at Minto and are shaped like a woman's breasts. I could not possibly comment.  

This bridge over the River Teviot is called Hornshole Bridge where a famous battle was fought in 1514

The monument commemorating the Battle of Hornshole in 1514

The seat has an inscription on it "Bright Eyed Daughters" but what it means I have no idea. 

This is Cavers Church and it has a weekly service unlike many rural churches 

In the grounds of Cavers Church there is a statue to William Leggat. Born in 1716, the son of a Blacksmith he worked as a servant for the Douglas family of Cavers House where Lady Cavers had a soft spot for him. In return he ran messages and fetched vegetables. Legend has it that he was stabbed to death with a carving knife by the cook, enraged when he brought the wrong vegetables.
It was an excellent walk and we finished up in a small cafe on Hawick High St called the Pickled Orange where we had excellent soup and sandwiches at a reasonable price.