Having dodged the rain on the way to Peebles a round dozen Strollers met for a walk from Kingsmeadows car park to Haystoun estate and Cademuir Forest. Memories of Kingsmeadows House and cottages, built in 1795 by Sir John Hay, are always recalled when we meet here.
As well as being a storage place for files the house and cottages were
used as holiday lets for the staff of SL and a lot of attendees had fond
recollections of times they spent there.
Going through Victoria Park we made our way up Glen Road to Gypsy Glen. This
is the route the cattle drovers used on their way from Crieff and West Linton
to the English markets. Here we turned into the grounds of Haystoun Estate and
went towards Haystoun House which was the home of the Hay family who built
Kingsmeadows.
From here we turned and went up the road to Cademuir forest, with a few
complaints about the ‘slight’ slope that had been mentioned. We stopped for
lunch here and admired the views over the rolling hills. Following the path, we
exited the forest above Tantah House named after a village in Egypt by its
original owner, James Inglis, to remember time he spent there.
Our exit from the forest was just in time to get a bit wet in a shower
which quickly passed and we dried out as we walked down Edderstone Road to join
the Tweed and follow the path back to the car park.
Our thanks to Drew for the walk if not for the ‘slope’ and slight shower.
