oday was the day we had both been looking forward to since St.Mary’s Loch, as this was to be our second half-day and the easiest of the whole trip. Not only was it to be the shortest in mileage, and therefore time, but as it turned out it was also the easiest terrain we had crossed on the whole walk.

We set off late from the guesthouse after an excellent breakfast in a dining room overlooking Melrose, the Eildon Hills resplendent in the background. We had decided to go into Melrose before setting off for the Black Bull Hotel in Lauder, which meant crossing back over the Tweed (above), but there were provisions we needed buy. We had a leisurely look around the town as we purchased our supplies before setting off for Lauder at 10:00am. After a brief climb as we left the roadside it was thereafter a straightforward stroll through pleasant fields and along country lanes for the 9.5 miles into Lauder. That the walk was coming to an end had developed from being a vague feeling into a reality as the terrain was no longer the remote hill country that we had become used to over the previous ten days or so but had been replaced by rolling farming country. We arrived at the Black Bull Hotel and checked in shortly after 2:00pm and after removing our rucksacks and boots headed straight for the bar. After relaxing with a few pints we returned to the room and carried out the usual chores, mostly bathing and washing clothes, then watched television and dozed, enjoying the chance to relax before returning to the restaurant for a meal in the evening. We then spent the rest of the evening in the bar before retiring fairly early to bed where I for one was soon asleep.