Fifteen Strollers met at Innerleithen to walk
to Walkerburn using the tarmac path and then back on the other side of the
Tweed through the fields and over the old railway bridge.
It was a nice day for a walk, dull but not
too cold and it got a lot warmer on the way back. Innerleithen is home to the
Robert Smail print works and St Ronan’s Well but is more famous now as a
cycling centre with its access to Glentress and Cardrona as well as for walking
and fishing.
Leaving the Hall Street car park, we made our
way down Traquair Road to join the cycle route past the houses and then along
the side of the caravan park. We then followed the path to Walkerburn. A nice
quiet walk was only disturbed by the sound of the baby ducks on the river.
Reaching Walkerburn, we stopped for some lunch, with some of the Strollers
getting a room to themselves in the Caberston Cafe. I’m not sure whether that
was good luck or whether they were sent there! The rest of the Strollers sat
outside and had their sandwiches and drinks al fresco.
Walkerburn, like Innerleithen, is now more a
cycling and walking centre. The mills have gone as has the railway. The mills
used hydro power generated by pumping the water from the River Tweed up to a
reservoir and then letting it back down to drive a turbine. They even built a
funicular railway to haul the necessary building materials to the reservoir.
Setting off back down to the Tweed, we passed
houses built for the mill workers that looked as if they were shoring each
other up with joists, both stone and steel. We crossed the bridge and went into
the fields to follow the path along the Tweed back to Innerleithen, taking
great care to avoid the nice fertiliser left by the sheep, cows and horses we
met on the way back. There was even a strange siting of a cyclist going
paddling. He lasted about 2 seconds!
Some of the Strollers finished off the walk with a nice ice-cream from Caldwell’s in Innerleithen.
Thanks to Drew for arranging the walk and
hope for the same kind of weather next time.
