Monday 7th
Stay in St Johns, dry out, rest, walk round in socks all day.

Decide cannot manage packs for next stretch to Sanquhar. We've seen signs on previous days advertising a bag carrier - can remember code but not all of number! By chance, Andrew is on phone to this guy when we go down to bar to ask for Yellow Pages. Fixed up - what a relief! Thank God for mobile phones and Paul. Potter round town rest of day - good shops - Watch Simpsons on telly - another good meal - another good bath, drinks. Watch telly in bed about Olympic Rowing Team. Sleep!!

Tuesday 8th
Go to Sanquhar - Good breakfast - leave by 9am - Walk up through village and gentle climb up. Feels great without the bags and the sun is shining.
Beautiful views for miles - plenty of undulation but easy.

Stop for lunch at Black Hill - We bought rolls from shop in St Johns - not too much though and views are spectacular. Pass bothy onto road now.
See four owls (Barn) within a few feet of us. Then climb again to Cloud Hill - eventually see Kirkconnel and Sanquhar in the valley. Arrived about 7pm at campsite. Bags waiting - Have dinner, sunny evening, tired but what a glorious journey - Sleep soundly!!

Wednesday 9th
Day of Rest - got up late - walk round town, Sanquhar museum, bank. Go to café and have toasties for lunch. Café was burgled night before (microwaves / freezer etc stolen). Buy supplies - good shops here. Watch cat chasing rabbits in next field. Go back into town to pub - what a cheap round - £2.80!! Same round (1 pint Guinness and Vodka & Tonic - £4.80 at home). Stay for more cheap drinks with Rab C Nesbitt and his mates in the bar.

Back to tent - cook dinner, more drinks, bed. Weather mixed all day.

Thursday 10th
Drizzle and mist today. Going to Wanlockhead - short walk today but good climb. Walking in clouds most of the time so see little. Hard as we have packs again (loaded with essentials - fags and Vodka!!)

Mist and rain clears as we come over Glengaber Hill and see Wanlockhead in valley. Stop for lunch by nice ruins and then walk to B&B (The Garage). Leave bags and walk round village. Visit museum, village shop (museum café very good).

Back to B&B as we've been instructed dinner is at 7pm sharp!! It was on table dead on! Nice room/telly - but strange lady. Disappeared after dinner - is nowhere to be seen!

Visit pub - under refurbishment and won't be open till tomorrow night - Bugger! Just our luck. Still we chat with owners and warm ourselves by their fire.

Back to B&B after several fags as B&B is non-smoking. Open our own bar, watch telly and smoke out of the window! Ring Paul to arrange bag carrying for rest of walk - says he'll meet us at St Mary's Loch.

Friday 11th
Good breakfast. Leave for Beattock. Wanlockhead was definitely out of the League of Gentlemen - Local shop!! Big climb ahead of us & long walk but weather is pretty good. Up to Lowther Hill - cloud very low so views impossible. The 'golf balls' we had seen for day previous were invisible despite passing so close.

Met tramp coming opposite direction - looked rough - had spent night on moor.

We haven't met a soul yet walking the whole way. Steep climbs up and down - glad we haven't had packs.

Cloud lifts and sun is out - eventually reach road at Troloss Cottage.
Cross and enter forest on other side of track to Daer Reservoir. Have to brave cows and bulls at reservoir entrance. Make it round and go up round back. Lunch in pasture above. Amazing views back over where we have come from. Carry on, moorland, more forest but pleasant ponds and dragonflies.
Beattock and Moffat come into view - make for Beattock and Campsite. Site OK, bar, good toilets etc. Advertises shop - does not exist.
Drink then bed - exhausted!

Talked to man in bar earlier and he tells us hard day ahead - his daughter is in Mountain Rescue - we find out truth tomorrow.

Saturday 12th
Get up early - pouring with rain. Have to leave bags outside campsite bar - no-one up. Got into Moffat - do lottery, buy food etc. Start section to St Mary's Loch - 21 miles. Weather is awful - can't see properly for rain on face and in eyes.

Forest stretch - not too bad. See Golden Hind right in front of us. Constant up and down - up gorge with path that is slippery, boggy and non-existent in places. Glad we can't see drop in mist. Thought we wouldn't make it.
Eventually reach track past bothy and on towards road and Ettrick Valley. Long road stretch - this section could be more interesting using Grey Mares Tail surely!

Meet man from Kenilworth walking stretch from road to Loch with parents. Stop for lunch as track climbs up from road - rain stopped briefly.
Easy walk now along valley and up over hill. Sue loses earring somewhere here! Follow clear track down to Loch seen in distance - thought is was much further before we were going to reach journeys end.
Meet Paul (The Way Forward) and Claire his girlfriend in Tibbie Shiels Inn. He is just as I imagined, very friendly.

We drink plenty over the next 2 -3 hours. Decide to pitch tent before we are incapable! Came back into Inn. Good meal, more drinks - bed! It's raining hard again.

Paul drops off day sack for us to borrow about 9.20am. 11am Paul returns to collect bags - we have only just got round to packing tent - leave Inn and walk up side of loch. Shame the weather's so bad - can't see an awful lot.

Climb up farm track and hill over west side of Mid Hill. Good tracks, Weather brightens - see Traquair below - stop for lunch on Fetham Hill.

Drop down and joined road to Traquair - horse event going on in fields around here. Walk road round into Innerleithen. Find Hotel/Pub, off licence and - a Chinese Takeaway!!

We are early - easier than we thought so bags haven't arrived and clean socks. Have a couple of drinks - ring Paul - he's on his way. Paul arrives plus clean, fresh socks - well done Paul!!

Bath, drinks - hang out kit and tent all around room. Watch Fawlty Towers again - the one with the awkward old bat (like Sues Mom) and the secret bet on the horses.

Fetch Chinese takeaway back to room - staff a having party downstairs - lie on bed - eat takeaway - bliss!!

Back on road to rejoin way. Climb steadily through field. Look back over Traquair. The landscape is changing visibly now - more rolling.

Meet German couple - he is struggling from a knee operation - resist asking is they were doing the whole war - I mean walk!!!

Fast walking now through forested area - weather threatening rain now though. Pass 'cheese well' and onto Minch Moor - weather brightens. Meet chap using way on his route to John O'Groats just before 3 Brethren.

Stop for lunch here as views around are clear - Eildons clear in front. Carry on way, up, down, up, down - but much easier now. Pass farm, climb up, along and site Galashiels.

Made good time - surprised.

Reach town - shopping. Bump into Paul in Woolworths - he's surprised to see us. Go for coffee all three of us.

Then walk to campsite at Melrose. This is longer than we thought and one or two signposts have been moved round and vandalised. Low punching needed just when we didn't want it but reach campsite in Melrose.

Lovely site, clean, cheap - sunny evening. Walk into town - couple of beers, shopping, back to tent. Dinner and sleep!

Plenty of sunshine but windy, especially round edge of golf course above Lauder. Drop into Lauder. Strong sunshine - have a few pints outside Black Bull (its only 2pm). Talk to local couple - do shopping - lottery. Head to Thirlestane Castle Camp Site. Weather suddenly changes - by time reach site it is pouring.

We get really wet. Warden on site is an eccentric.

Early night - dinner, home bar. Sleep! Good site though, clean, cheap, good showers.

Wednesday 16th
Lauder to Longformacus.

Sunny start. Went shopping in Lauder first. Restart was at 10am. Walk away up fields from Lauder. Good view of Castle behind - Black Hills, Eildons etc. but nothing is as spectacular now as on the Western section.

Weather changes to rain and wind as we head out in the open to Twin Law. This seems a hell of a long detour round to the Twin Laws, but track good.

Reach Twin Law Cairn - Lunch - sun comes out and views are far reaching with the Lammermuirs visible. Walk on now down to reservoir (Watch Water) there is a café here.

Only a short walk on road now to Longformacus. Booked into B&B here - nothing else!! Arrive at 'Kintra Ha' - Mr & Mrs Lamb - converted primary school - we have a bet as to his profession. Gray wins - he's an architect.

Despite late start we beat Paul. Nice place. Dinner was brill - Mr Lamb plies us with homemade wine which is surprisingly good. This is the first evening we've spent with company since the start. Help us book travel home - 3 days hence by train from Edinburgh.

Non-smoking house - but don't really care as we are tired and well fed.

Climb up through Renmanshiel Wood - quiet considering main railway and A1 below. Suddenly reach high point and view opens out - the sea!

Just like when we were kids - who sees first!! Fife coast clear - Pease Bay, Cockburnspath and Torners Power Station.

Emerge from wood - cross road - through and down Peace Dean. Arrive in Pease Bay - Campsite excellent - (shop, pub, restaurant, cashback!)

The route ends here as far as we are concerned. You start on the coast and end on the coast. Book in after childish paddle and splash in sea in afternoon sunshine.

Paul arrives with bags - we have a drink and a laugh in the site bar. Paul leaves - we go to pitch tent up far end of site. Dinner - Sue has a Pulitzer Prize for can opening - drink - sleep soundly.

The walk ends at Pease Bay!!! - spend day on beach sunbathing, but can't understand why any of the people here would want to spend their fortnights holiday here.

Waverley Station - spend time drinking and people watching till train arrives.

Good journey - 4 seats to two of us - as we move our reservations to seats next to us and smoke profusely to put off potential occupants.

Scenery passes by - it all changes - back to grim reality now.

We miss the moors, the isolation, the hills…