A couple of weekends ago Jack and I went to Peebles to meet up with Evee of Evee’s Blog who lives in Peebles and also to have a mooch around the annual Peebles Peace Group booksale. The photo below is me on the right looking fat in my raincoat, it had been bucketing with rain all the way until we got to Peebles. I don’t think I’m that hefty, it was the bulky jumper I was wearing underneath which did it – honest! Evee is on the left of course and is looking svelte due to the paleo diet which she is having great success with.
We started to walk along the banks of the River Tweed, at this point the pathway is wide and flat as you can see but it isn’t long before you have to scramble over tree roots and go up and down close to the banks of the river and it got muddier and muddier as we walked along.
The photo above is of the bridge at Peebles town and we walked over that to get to the riverside path.
The photo below is the view looking back in the direction of Peebles.
It doesn’t give any impression of the speed of the river which was really fast and fierce. We probably wouldn’t have gone on the walk at all if we had realised how windy it was. Due to a combination of the wrong footwear, mud and a howling gale, poor Evee came a cropper three times, the third time she had an alarming close encounter with her camera as she fell. Worryingly she was bleeding quite badly from a cut above her eye where her camera caught her. Even worse than that though was the news a few days later that she had cracked a few ribs too! It could have been disastrous though as at the time Evee and I were both worried about being blown into the River Tweed as we were so close to the banks and the wind was so strong. I had a vision of us both being human Poohsticks and Jack hanging over the bridge to see which one of us passed under it first – drowned of course.
Neidpath Castle loomed up through the trees, annoyingly this one isn’t open to the public although you can hire it for your wedding if you are that way inclined. You can see more images of it here.
And below is a much closer photo. That chunk of stonework in the foreground seems to match the bite which is missing from the castle wall at the top.
The photo below is of Jack and Evee, taken before Evee had her accident. Although Evee and I had met up before in Edinburgh this was a first meeting for Jack and Evee. Evee and I only got to know each other through blogging which has turned out to be a great way of meeting friends whether in reality or just online.
Amazingly in early May fellow blogger Peggy Ann of Peggy Ann’s Post is coming to Scotland all the way from Pennsylvania to visit us for a month, she’ll be seeing various internet friends while she’s here, as well as Evee and myself, the four of us are going up to the Highlands for a few days. Fingers crossed for good weather! All because of the internet. Peggy Ann has always wanted to visit Scotland so she’s just about off the scale with excitement about the whole thing. I’m still biding my time before crossing to the other side of that pond, waiting for that ‘Beam me up Scotty’ gadget.
I am, I am so excited! The pics of you guys are so good! One more month and I’ll get to be in the pics too! ❤️
Peggy Ann,
You certainly will, I bet you can hardly believe it!
Looking forward to it!
Anyway, I’ve survived the fall, and am recovering! My eye has healed and the bruising has gone. Just waiting for the ribs to stop hurting! They’re not as bad as they have been, but still give me a few reminders that they’ve taken a bashing!
Evee,
I’m glad you’re on the mend but I suspect your ribs will be reminding you for a wee while yet!
Meant to say, I’ve never noticed that chunk of brickwork before, Katrina! You could be right! Amazingly well stuck together as it didn’t break up during the fall from the walls!
I love that castle and am sorry it doesn’t open to the public any more! I used to take everyone there!
Evee,
I’ll have to look out that old photo we have of Neidpath to see if it looks any different. I think it must have been taken in the days when you could go inside it.
That castle looks like it has a few stories to tell. Lovely photos of you all and I look forward to seeing more when Peggy Ann comes over. I am a long way to pop up for a cup of tea, so will be there virtually.
Jo,
It’s such a shame that you are so far down south, maybe sometime in the future you’ll manage up here. As you say, until then it’ll have to be a virtual cuppa!
Thank you for identifying the “Priorsford” in Anna Buchan’s novels as Peebles.
I was aware that the Buchan family hailed from Peebles, and Anna died there in 1948, but didn’t make the connection. “Kirkcaple = Kirkcaldy” I identified by a process of elimination, and the appearance of the name iin one of John Buchan’s novels.
I came across “Olivia in India” many years ago but it’s only recently that I decided to read Anna Buchan’s other books. I’ve accumulated what I think is a complete set of her published works and am working through them in chronological order. Currently I’m enjoying “Penny Plain” and have spent some time on Google Maps Street View, trying to pin-point some of the locations.
Janusz,
I think I’ve read all of her books although it was several years ago when I read them. Some of the locations are very obvious if you know them, especially the coastal village of Dysart which is very close to Kirkcaldy and features in her book The Proper Place. If you don’t already have it you should read Anna’s autobiography Unforgettable, Unforgotten. You would find it interesting. When I reviewed her fiction books they were usually under the name of O.Douglas rather than Anna Buchan.
Thanks for dropping by, I’m glad that people are still enjoying these old Scottish stories.
Katrina