Train ride to Edinburgh

More free tickets from Scotrail and we decide to travel to Edinburgh on the new Borders line from Tweedbank for a trip around the city on a Hop on Hop off bus.

This time friends Keith and Margaret invited us to stay over with them in Hawick so we could get away a bit earlier and they would join us for a day out.

We also decided to call and see a friend from Val’s school days who also lives in the Hawick area.

The weather was not good as we headed to Hawick but after an hour we were off the beaten track searching for a hidden cottage in the middle of nowhere. After a good catch up of over 40 years of news we mentioned our trip on the train and were surprised to find that Ashley had written a book about the rebirth of the Borders Line.

Another move to our hosts for the evening and ready for an early-ish start.

With Tweedbank being a new station, it has been built on the outskirts of the town with plenty of space for a 600 space car park. However, these soon fill up and sure enough even at 10 o’clock there were no ‘official’ spaces left. People are starting to use the transport link to commute into the city.

The platform was quite busy but plenty of seats on the train. It did fill up quite quickly at other stops along the line.

Edinburgh didn’t seem quite as busy as we’d expected but perhaps because we’d caught the ‘early-ish’ train? 

We took advantage of a near-by Wetherspoons to get a last minute warm-up before heading for the bus tour.
There were some great views of the castle and other buildings around the city.

We were held up for some time near the Holyrood Parliament Building due to some security alert.

Roads were blocked by ambulances, Police and Fire engines. National security and Resilience vehicles arrived too. Once the driver had been told of a detour we continued our journey. On the news that night we found that letters containing powder had been found but they were later dismissed as harmless!!

Around the city tour we kept an eye out for a convenient stop near a museum to return to in the afternoon.

We decided to head for the National Museum of Scotland but once there decided their refreshment facilities were a bit expensive, so looked around for alternative coffee shops nearby.

By coincidence we found the Elephant House which apparently has been a source of inspiration for famous writers and the service and refreshments were first class.

We were very lucky to get a table!!

Returning to the museum we had a wander around the ground floor but soon realised we would not get the whole 6 floors completed in one visit.

The robot spells out any name which is input by the public . . . but we beat the robot by using Jazzy. It gave up and sulked !

A quick brisk walk back to the Waverley Station reminded Keith and Margaret of a short cut which took us to another entrance meaning we caught an earlier off peak train.

Another trip has been planned next month with an overnight stay in the capital so we might manage to see more of the museum and Christmas markets.

Lanark trip

Donnie Munro concert in Lanark!!  Close enough in distance but why not stay over and take a slow drive back the next day ??

The weather looked fair so we decided to head off via Moffat but hit a few heavy showers. This, however, produced quite a few spectacular rainbows.

We found a Dobbies Garden Centre near our destination so headed there for an afternoon cuppa before heading for our B&B. Luckily the Sat Nav knew where we were going but the journey involved quite a few narrow roads and reflex turnings !!

The route to the concert took us past a very congested part of Lanark with traffic looking for parking places - they can't all be going to see Donnie! - No! It was a local firework display and traffic was really slow with poor parking and hoards of pedestrians.

Again Sat Nav to the rescue as our route took us past a parking area with a few spaces. The Lanark Memorial Hall was busy and the concert Sold Out.

After the music we headed back to the B&B but even the Sat Nav couldn't help find the turnings in the dark when there are no road signs at the end of the roads.

Next morning was a cold and frosty but sunny  day so after a hearty breakfast we decided to take a leisurely journey back to Annan via Peebles and St Mary's Loch.

We were treated to some fine Autumnal colours and views.

We managed to get back home by lunchtime, ready for a rest before embarking on a very full week of  further excursions and activities.