There wasn’t anything particularly special about this ride, considering that we’ve done it (or similar variants) quite a number of times. It’s just that it felt such a perfect day, and I’d heartily recommend anyone looking for a half-day ride in the Kelso area to try it out. It would only take an averagely fit rider around two and a half hours to zip round, but we took more like five hours at a leisurely pace, complete with plenty of stops.
I guess one reason that put me in the mind to write this one up was that just as we were getting ready for the off from the wee car park next to the river in Kelso, we got talking to a lady who was just about to return permanently to Scotland after living and working in the USA, and was asking whether there were any good cycle rides in the area. This one would make a good starting point…
We headed out of Kelso on the B6352, with the usual climb to warm us up, not that we needed any warming with the temperature already in high teens at 9.30 in the morning. A right turn at the farm machinery showroom quickly took us onto very quiet roads, with the notable exception of a spluttering, wheezing, banging rally car that passed us going lot slower than expected, given all that racket.
After passing over Kale Water (that’s a small river, not a health food drink by the way), we took a left in the direction of Morebattle. Mostly flat, with a few ups and downs, we made our way sedately, soaking up the views over to the Cheviot Hills.
As we passed through Morebattle, I just had to stop and take a photo of the quaintly-named streets, and we also almost stopped at a shop offering takeaway coffees. However, we were less than 10 miles in, so just carried on.
Our next village was Town Yetholm, where an arresting display of garden gnomes demanded our attention. It was certainly something to behold, while clearly not being to everyone’s taste. However, as it was in aid of a children’s charity, we put a few pennies into the box.
By this time, I was regretting turning up the opportunity of a coffee at Morebattle, as I didn’t know of any cafes in Town Yetholm. However, as we passed the Plough Hotel, we noticed tables outside and a sign advertising breakfast and lunch. We figured that they might do coffees inbetween those times, so went inside to enquire. Yes they did, and they even had oat milk, which was good, as I’m trying to avoid milk completely at the moment.
We drank our coffees and observed Town Yetholm life go by at a very sedate pace. But once we were finished, we needed to get back on those bikes and keep going at our own sedate pace, taking us out of town and over the border into Northumberland.
Although it was warming up, it wasn’t yet as oppressive as it had been recently. Everything was just perfect: the warmth, the lack of headwind, the scenery and the peace and quiet. It’s not always like this, so we knew to appreciate it!
A long, straight road took us to East Learmouth, and then shortly after, we reached Cornhill on Tweed, where we came back into traffic once more. The road that ran from there to the Scottish border was smooth and fast, contrasting the rough and lumpy surface that greets you once you reach the bridge at Coldstream.
We then headed straight to our usual stop in Coldstream: the Mad Hatter’s Tearoom. On entering there was a suitably mad party going on, with a large Geordie family spanning two tables singing and shouting across at each other. They departed a few minutes later, leaving a deafening silence in their wake.
Colette ordered a tuna toastie and I had the quiche of the day, which was excellent. We had also been eyeing up the large and delicious-looking selection of cakes since our arrival, but after our mains, all we could manage was one slice of cherry and almond cake between us with our coffees. I had to take my coffee black, as the cafe unfortunately don’t serve any alternatives to dairy. Very much the minority these days, it seems. Anyway, that didn’t spoil our enjoyment, and we got back on our bikes feeling perhaps a little over full after a very tasty lunch.
Lake of the Hirsel
On the way out of town, we diverted through the Hirsel estate, then I got us onto National Cycle Route 1, which I intended would take us all the way back to Kelso. However, Colette was feeling the after effects of a recent crash and requested that I follow the shortest route back. We were also beginning to get a bit overheated, as the mercury had been rising steadily all day, and had now reached the stage where certain sections of tarmac were beginning to melt, giving that unpleasant sticky tyre feeling as we rode through them.
After passing through Eccles, we stayed on the B6461, rather than turn onto the cycle route as planned. That left just a few miles to Kelso, where a fast descent took us down towards the river. We turned right onto Bullet Loan, then followed the path for the short distance back to the car.
Before packing the bikes away, we had a quick diversion to the nextdoor garden centre, in search of cold drinks, where Colette managed to drop her sunglasses, and no amount of searching could find them. Luckily, she only buys cheapies now anyway, as this is not an uncommon occurrence. In fact, it gave her an excuse to buy a new pair, to match the new helmet she just bought to replace the one that got broken during her recent crash. It certainly couldn’t put a downer on what had been a perfect, relaxing day out.