Day 84 Rest day 13 in Peebles

Today I am tired. It is two weeks since my last rest day and I’ve really felt it. Peebles is a perfect place for a rest day, compact, lots of shops, easy to re-supply (unless you want dehydrated camping meals or a travel-size tube of toothpaste), and food available without stepping out into the the rather persistent rain.

The only problem with a persistently wet rest day is that one doesn’t take photos.

Picture taken from inside of the view in the persistent rain. And yes, that is a litter bin.

We had a late breakfast, followed by a wander round town looking at options for buying tomorrow’s lunch (Greggs and a local bakery for flapjacks). We bought some postcards, I posted some maps home (no point carrying them). We have washed quite a few of our clothes, our shoes are still rather damp, but we have bought newspapers to stuff them with (the Daily Record and the Scottish Daily Mail -cheap and lots of pages, better page value, although not necessarily better content value than the Southern Reporter).

I have spent the afternoon lying on my bed reading, apart from a foray to the hotel lounge for coffee and cake. Sue has been more adventurous and took a short walk outside (testing out her blister dressings acquired at Boots this morning) which was cut shorter by a very black cloud that did indeed deposit a deluge of rain on Peebles just minutes after she got in.

The gold Edward VII postbox also outside our hotel. Scott Brash Equestrian Team -jumping

This was another Edward VII postbox I spotted in Peebles. It’s almost exactly the same as the VR ones. An early specimen, I’m guessing.

There really isn’t a lot more to say. I have looked back through my photos hoping to find one I can insert. I’ve got a photo that didn’t make the grade earlier (not a great photo and a common flower). And I’ve got a woodland path outside Melrose, because as you might have noticed I like a woodland path photo.

There are a few things I’ve forgotten to put in the blog over the last few days. There was the wild fruit salad (red currants -a garden escape-raspberries and bilberries) that we ate in our way up Byrness Hill. There were the feral goats seen up on the top on the way from Byrness to Jedburgh. There was the first message to Sue from her husband Duncan after he dropped her off at Bellingham -not How was your day, darling? -but Where’s the Branston pickle? It made us laugh. There was the tracker error (I have a tracker so Matthew can see where I am) that had me do 5 miles in 20 minutes around Jedburgh