One of the great things about cycling in the Borders is that in addition to loads of lovely roads to explore, the Borders council website has a set of very good suggested routes starting in all of the major towns, and those routes are also signposted at the key junctions to keep you on track. Kelso is no exception to this rule, so I joined up some of these routes to make a hybrid tour of about 25 miles, with a lunch stop just over halfway. The only quibble I would have with the website is that the suggested starting point, Mayfield car park, close to the River Tweed, is a little hard to find. However, sat nav came to the rescue and all of us managed to make our way to the start location without a hitch.
Colette’s friend Dotty, who lives in Kelso and loves getting about by bike, joined us for this ride. Since the bike is her only form of transport, she hasn’t been able to join in with any of our usual group rides, so we came up with the idea for this ride to give her a taste for what we do, in the company of a small subset of the Lothian Cyclists regulars.
We gathered by the river on a cold but calm and bright November morning, and made our way east along the river. The cycle track then continued via the bridge over the river, till we were able to cut away from the main road on a side path, leading back under the bridge (yes, it was a little complicated…) until we suddenly found ourselves on a small country lane with zero traffic.
What a handsome fellow you are!
The lane did lead uphill fairly incessantly, which caused some murmuring in the ranks, but finally came to a stop at a T-junction next to a field of turkeys, who came running to meet us. Cue a photo stop for Colette and Lynne!
From there, we headed roughly southwest, following the “red route”. Well, trying to follow it – I managed to take us the wrong way at one point, but luckily there are plenty of interconnecting roads, so the detour was no more than a quarter of a mile. While I checked our route, we were hit by a wintery shower that was thankfully very brief and didn’t dampen our spirits at all, since there was a good expanse of blue sky to the north that was coming our way.
Back on track, Dotty commented that we were heading towards her favourite gate. We certainly couldn’t miss that, so when we reached Bowmont Forest sawmill, we turned left off the main road and up the forest road for a short way. The favourite gate was easy to spot, being an opening with a view roughly north towards the Eildons, and featuring the Marquis of Lothian’s magnificent tower (I think that’s what Dotty said…). We all huggled close at the gate for group photos, where a passer-by kindly took some of the shots to get us all in.
A happy bunch at a favourite gate!
After that, it was back downhill and back on track, where we picked up the green route and followed it to a T-junction. There, some of the more hungry cyclists had spotted a smoke house / cafe a little further up the road, and there was some talk of whether to stop there for an early lunch. But was it any good? Luckily we had some local knowledge in the form of Dotty, and she advised we give it a miss. That was good enough for me, and besides, I was looking forward to our original planned lunch stop, even though it was a few miles further on.
River Teviot looking peaceful (but cold!)
So we turned right then left, bringing us to a lovely “weak” bridge over the River Teviot. As we admired the bridge and the river, we had to make way for a car wanting to cross. It hadn’t crossed my mind that this was anything other than a footbridge, but clearly it was a roadway and the car got over without incident.
Our route took us along the river, then turned east, ending at a T-junction in a wooded area. As we waited at the junction for me to double check which way to turn, Willie spotted a strange weather phenomenon, where it was raining to the left, with the rain ending abruptly less than 50 yards away, but where we stood it was perfectly dry. Sadly, I had to break the news that we were going left, but luckily the rain was again just short-lived.
We carried on through Nisbet to another junction where there was a sign for our lunch eatery, showing us that it wasn’t far off. Just a few minutes more cycling took us to the Woodside Garden Centre, which we had visited earlier in the year and were very impressed. The garden centre itself seemed pretty deserted but the cafe was busy. We were lucky enough to get a table – a big kitchen table that could seat all eight of us. I think we were all very satisfied with our choices, I certainly was, and I won’t forget that delicious huge slice of ginger and lemon cake in a hurry! Yum!
After lunch we very quickly arrived at a steep little hill. It didn’t last long but it definitely warmed us up! The road took us around a wooded hill, which is crowned with the Waterloo Tower monument. The balcony at the top looks like it would give a wonderful view of the surrounding countryside.
Turning right further on, we started heading northeast, back in the direction of Kelso. Much of this was open countryside, so we could properly feel the force of the northerly breeze for the first time. It was only mid-afternoon, but it was starting to get dark too, which further added to the downward trend in the perceived temperature. It was a good time to be heading back.
The final couple of miles back into town were on the A699, the only busy road of the day, so it was an unfortunate time for Willie to have a puncture. Keith went off to help him sort it out while the rest of us hung around in a nearby driveway to stay off the road (the verge there being almost non-existent). At this point, we parted company with Dotty, who needed to get back in time for her boys coming home. The rest of us hung around until the puncture was repaired then we covered the final ground quickly till we reached Kelso. As soon as we crossed the bridge over the Tweed, we diverted right onto the riverside path and ended up back where we started.
I think we all had a great time, cycling along quiet roads through beautiful countryside with good friends. I’m sure it won’t be long before we’re back…