In this post we will be carrying on with our tour of Scotland. For several weeks now we have been travelling around Dumfries and Galloway looking at the area's attractions. Now we are going to move inland across the other side of the M74 to a place called Peebles.
The photo on the right shows a typical view of the countryside in the area.
Peebles isn't a place that many people other than locals are acquainted with. It's quite a large border town, but being between the main roads that lead to either Glasgow or Edinburgh it is seldom found by accident.
We decided to give Peebles a try because it was closer than going to the highlands and it was a inland which would be a refreshing change from the seaside. I suppose it is quite strange that even when we get older we still tend to drift towards the coast for our holidays. It's a bit crazy when you think about it. The sea is too cold to swim in, and sand is only good for kids and ruining your sandwiches. And what's more, if you like to have a good look around the area when you are on holiday, the sea itself restricts movement by about 50 percent. So an inland holiday may not have amusement arcades, rock shops and candyfloss, but you will get 360 degree access to the surrounding area.
The journey to Peebles was simple, we went straight up the M6 and got off at Moffat, which is another border town that is often missed by those travelling north. It has wide streets some lovely pubs and hotels. We had our lunch in one of these and the plaid carpet put us in the right mood for the first day of our holiday. In fact I got right into the spirit of things by ordering a plate of haggis. I would like to say I enjoyed it, but it left me a little disappointed because it was on the bland side. I had expected it to taste a bit like faggots because I thought it was made from all the bits that nobody wanted for their Sunday dinner. I don't know what was in the haggis I had, perhaps it was best Aberdeen Angus steak. Whatever it was, it wasn't what I expected.
After Moffat we carried on up north and followed the majestic river tweed (Photo on the left) all the way to Peebles.We only stopped once more to take a look around a glass showroom in Tweedsmuir, where we purchased a nice paperweight. Eventually we reached Peebles and drove through the centre of town to find our caravan site. We were staying in a static caravan because there wasn't a large choice of self-catering accommodation in the area, especially for holiday makers with a dog. If that wasn't bad enough, I was a smoker, so our choices were restricted even further.
Anyway, we thought the caravan would be fine, because if you've followed us this far, you will know that we don't spend much time in the accommodation. Having said that, it seems we were allocated the worst caravan on the site. There was nothing wrong with the caravan itself, but its position was grim.
The big leylandi hedge at the bedroom end of the caravan failed to dampen the noise from the A703. Now I don't mind a bit of road noise, which is just as well because I live within yodelling distance of the M6. What made this so bad was that on the other side of the Leylandi hedge was a big white sign with a black diagonal line through it. This is one of the best signs the motorist ever sees because it means that they can put their foot down. And put their foot down they did, every driver just as they passed our caravan jammed their foot on the accelerator as if they were being chased by the Loch Ness Monster.
My wife and I would lie there every night listening as each car came out of town with its engine purring like a kitten. As it got closer we would count down to that moment when the driver's stamped his foot on the juice.
Like all bad things in life you don't learn to like these things, but you do find a
way to tolerate them and by the end of the week we hardly knew the road was there.
I think I'll leave you with another photo of the Borders countyside and take a break before we seriously set about Peebles and its environs. If you want any more information about me, my writing services and books, or would just like to read some of my short stories. Click here
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