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Today's travel was a wet and windy trip from Northumberland through the border areas and into Scotland.
The first dose of culture for the day was a visit to the Roman town ruins and display centre at Corbridge. It was wet and very windy and although much of the town was visible from behind panoramic glass windows, I did venture a quick trip outside to walk among the ruins, a very quick trip.
Just down the road was a fortified manor house called Aydon Castle, almost a good name that. The spectacular wooded location added to it's charm. The sun had re-emerged by this time, but the wind was fairly howling and leaves and branches were coming down here and there.
The drive to the border was through rolling bare hills, spectacular but austere looking and the road featured some unusually long straight sections.
The border crossing was atop a great hill. It was grey and rainy and when I got out of the car for a perfunctory look around at the border, the wind nearly blew me over, no mean feat. Scottish flags flew, or were blown rigid actually. How would you be wandering about in this weather in a kilt? Perhaps there lies the origin of the term 'Scotland the Brave'!
Next stop was the charming village of Melrose. Melrose Abbey is an impressive old ruin that has been built and damaged and re-built a number of times over the centuries.
The wind fairly roared through the archways and had many of us visitors grimacing and shuffling for shelter.
There are connections with early Scottish royalty such as David 1 and Robert the Bruce's heart is buried here and there are a number of curious looking headstones throughout the graveyard.
Onto Edinburgh and what a bloody awful drive into my hotel into the city centre. The instructions issued by my heretofore trusty GPS were not always helpful and the drivers here are not the smiling waving English country drivers I have become accustomed to.
I battled into a parking space at the rear of the hotel. After a lamb tikka and a pint of some Indian lager, all seemed much better.
Ah, what about tomorrow....
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