1 EAGLETON NOTES: Travelling: The Scottish Borders

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Wednesday 5 July 2017

Travelling: The Scottish Borders

I have so many things to blog about I don't know where to start. I wish that I was organised like YP or Cro who manage to blog almost every day regardless of distractions. So far, since I left home, I've spent 4 nights near Glasgow, 3 nights in the Scottish Borders and this will be my fourth night on The Wirral before my brother (CJ) and I go to Exeter for three nights. Then we embark on a long journey back to Lewis where we should arrive five days later. 

I have gathered enough material for dozens of blogs but I'll try and get a few posted before I get home.

After a few days with a pal near Glasgow, I spent some time in the Scottish Borders with friends whom I was surprised to realise that I've known for 35 years (where do the years go?).

We set out to walk round the paddock and ended up starting to walk to England (which, I was assured, was just half a mile along the line of the old Waverley railway). Well after a mile and half I decided to check the map on my iPhone. Hmmm. England was still a good distance away so we turned around and walked back. An enjoyable walk it was too (but very cloudy, wet and green).  

Sue striding forth  (Brian and I following but you can't see us!):

Not far now!


I did meet some Blue Grey Cattle. The first I'd ever seen. They have a reputation for being unfriendly. I got that impression just from looking at them looking at me.

26 comments:

  1. Although I am sure you are enjoying every minute of your trip, I am also sure that the frequent change of place, packing and unpacking etc., is a little exhausting. It certainly felt that way when my sister and I did a round tour of Yorkshire in 2010, staying with various friends and relatives for sometimes just one or two nights.
    The look on the faces of those cattle makes me refrain from wanting to stroke their fluffy coats. Maybe that's deliberate!

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    1. Meike by the time I get home it will be three weeks of living out of suitcases. I enjoy almost every minute of seeing family, friends, places and experiencing things like galleries, operas and the like but, as you say, it does get tiring.

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  2. I have seen plenty of Blue Greys. They are a Galloway cross breed and ought to be fine. Make sure they are dead before trying to eat one.

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    1. Adrian although there are plenty of Blue Greys around on the poorer pastures particularly these are the first I'm conscious of ever seeing.

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  3. In your photos you make a good job of expressing your impressions! ♥

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    1. (PS. And in your writing as well!)

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    2. Thank you Monica. I've been a little frustrated by the vagaries of the internet connections when I've been trying to read blogs and keep in touch.

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  4. There's nothing like taking time to wander around for a few weeks. Getting blog post means you are seeing worth while things.

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  5. oh I love walks and wanders like that, always good to get out of the house. btw I don't blog every day either, between work and family I just don't have time.

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    1. Amy, living on a hill just overlooking the sea as I do I am ashamed at how little tramping I do these days. Like blogging it seems to come in bursts.

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  6. To me, the sights you see and people you meet are the only good things about living out of a suitcase. I've only seen Blue Greys once. I knocked on the farm house door to ask what they were and was accompanied by the farmer on a walk through the paddock with them to get a closer look. There were only 6 of them and had been handled a lot so were very quiet. Is it only me or does the one on the left look to have two heads?

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    1. Pauline you are soooo right. I prefer to do it in small bursts these days but living at least a two day drive from a lot of my family means a longer stay away.

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  7. I love the look of those blue-greys, I generally am a sucker for a grey animal!
    i don't think there is any loss in not blogging for a bit, it means you are doing other enriching things!

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    1. Kylie you made me start thinking about other grey animals and I'm amazed at how few, overall, there are. Your point about doing other enriching things strikes a chord I certainly agree.

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  8. Those cows look like a bunch of naughty schoolboys. Enjoy your trip.

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    1. I like that description, Cro. They certainly gave me the impression they'd love to get up to some no good which involved me.

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  9. I have not heard of Blue Grey cattle. They are certainly keeping an eye on you.

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    1. Lynda they were bred specifically for high yields from poor grassland.

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  10. I think those cows look quite friendly. Not as pretty as the highland variety, though. I love highland cattle.

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    1. On the whole, Frances, Highland Cattle are docile as well a good to look at (and eat).

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  11. CATTLE CAPTION COMPETITION: "No! It can't be! It is! It's Graham Edwards! Hell I read his blog all the time, now let's get him girls! Geronimo!"

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  12. Hey Graham!
    You have been busy!
    Please say hello to John for me, would you? Hope you two Liverpool lads don't get into any trouble! :-)
    I LOVE that last photo of the cows. They are looking at you as if to say, "How could you possibly eat us when we look so adorable?" Sorry, but that is what it looks like to me! (Cows don't look fierce to me!)
    NEVER have I seen blue grey cows...I am seeing my Dad today, wait until I tell him about them!

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    1. I'll say Hello to John Kay. We're unlikely to get into trouble although we'll keep trying! You're unlikely to see blue grey cattle because they were bred specifically for really poor grazing land.

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    2. Oh dear. The devilish comma managed to get left out. It should have read "I'll say 'hello' to John, Kay."

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