Second Week of Self Isolation

Our second week of self isolation started on Sunday with a Mothers Day afternoon tea provided by The Buccleuch Centre and paid for by Fiona. It was excellent and we enjoyed it at home.

At the start of the week I was still continuing to travel a few miles for my morning walk and this was near Rowanburn 

I have met very few people on my morning walks and those I do meet we keep a good distance apart. On this walk at Rowanburn I met an old friend George Steele and his daughter Georgia. George was in The Boys Brigade for many years when I was Captain and we had many enjoyable times together on BB Camps and sporting occasions. 

Because the weather has been so good on Wednesday Gaye and I sat in the Sitooterie in the garden and played 7 Card Rummy. Gaye has never played it before but she managed to beat me. It was great fun and I got my revenge on Saturday when we played again in the Conservatory at Birkwood 

Todays walk was round Jenny Nobles and it was nice and dry but a biting cold wind. I had to take my regular photo from The Skippers Bridge and will show the various changes in the season there during our enforced isolation.  

Canonbie Kirk from the banks of the Esk 

This pair followed me thinking they were going to be fed 

Daffodils at Lands End on the outskirts of Langholm. From Tuesday I have now stopped travelling out of town for my walks so this coming week I will try and do a different walk each day and yet never be more than about a mile and a half from Langholm

Our First Week of Self Isolation

On Tuesday we started our enforced Isolation on instructions of the Government. I still plan to walk every day but will just do it in the remote areas round Langholm of which there are plenty. We visited Rowanburn, Terras Valley, and Westerhall Estate. The weather has been excellent and Gaye joined me on two out of the four walking trips. She met the Tin Man at Rowanburn.

A flood damaged bridge on the Terras river near Cooms Farm

Westerkirk Parish Church

Some of the Daffodils on Westerhall Estate. They will be at their best in another week or so

The remotest part of Terras Valley with Lodgegill in the background. The house was destroyed by fire a few years ago but The Langholm Moor Purchase Group would like to turn it into a Bunkhouse and Outdoor Adventure Centre if they succeed in raising the money to purchase the 10,000 acres 

The garden of Westerhall House

One of several statues in the grounds of the estate

The river Tarras

Rowanburnhead Farm

A tree carving in the grounds of Westerhall estate 

The upper stretch of the river Tarras 

A Toad laying its spawn in a pond at the quarry on the Newcastleton road a couple of miles out of Langholm

A Day out in Ae Village

I originally posted this blog on Wednesday afternoon after our walk but for some reason several of the photographs did not upload. I deleted the original blog and have reposted the photographs but wont write much of the blog. This was a lovely walk at 7 Stanes in Ae Village.

This is the prickliest tree I have seen on our walks 

A lovely fancy seat

The Bridge over the river Ae

A lovely couple 

Sandria and Elizabeth enjoying a good catch up

A large wind farm from the highest point of our walk

There is an exhibition of old forestry ploughs with some of them almost 100 years old.
It was a lovely walk and we managed to avoid most of the rain with it only raining on the last mile. We finished with a lovely lunch h in the cafe at the bike shop. The food was excellent.

Back at Stobs Camp After Eight Years

Our Wednesday Walk this week headed to Stobs camp near Hawick. We met John in Hawick and then the 3 of us  took the Newcastleton road to the Camp. On the entrance to the camp there is this memorial and if you look closely it is for the 1914-1919 War. John who is the font of all knowledge tells me it was because for another year after the 14-18 World War 1 we had troops in Russia fighting against the Communist uprising.

Tom and John at the entrance to Stobs Camp. The 10,000 acre Stobs Estate was purchased by the War Office in 1902 as a military training ground. It became a Prisoner of War camp with about 6000 German troops interred there during World War One and a smaller number during World War Two. After the War it was a resettlement camp for Polish Forces before their repatriation and then a training camp for the Territorial Army until it closed in 1959.

There used to be huts there and I think the mounds would protect them from the weather. It must have been a terrible place to live for any length of time never mind for 4 years.

The largest of the 2 reservoirs further up the valley

This is the smaller of the two reservoirs

From the highest point of our walk the view accross the Border Hills is spectacular with the Eildons in the distance. We finished our walk with a nice lunch in The Damascus Drum.