Harrietsfield to Morebattle

After breakfast at Lilliard B&B and a chat with Mr and Mrs Anderson, we picked up our sandwiches (which, despite the fact that we'd said we only wanted sandwiches, came with free chocolate rolls and satsumas!) and retraced our steps from the back garden back to Dere Street. It had rained in the night but, somewhat to our surprise, it was dry when we left the B&B. We put on overtrousers because we'd expected the long grass en route back to St Cuthbert's Way to be very wet - even more to our surprise, it wasn't. It drizzled from time to time during the day, but it never came to much.

We crossed a minor road then walked through attractive woodland (with rhodedendrons) to the B6400. Then we followed a short diversion to the Harestanes Visitor Centre. The visitor centre was a bit disappointing (it appears to be set up predominently for children) but we bought postcards and used the toilets. We retraced our steps to St Cuthbert's Way and followed it as it skirted its way around the grounds of Monteviot House (seat of the Earls of Ancrum and the earlier Earls of Lothian) and down to the River Teviot.

We watched a heron on the river then crossed it by way of a long suspension bridge - I didn't enjoy that bit much! Then we followed the river bank back to the confluence with the Jed Water. We followed the Jed Water up to the A698 and crossed it by way of the road bridge before turning onto another stretch of Dere Street (and it is a track here) which climbed, with views behind us to the Waterloo Monument. The Border Abbeys Way, whose route we had been sharing, turned off to the right, then we turned left, through woodland. The views were good, though the weather was closing in a bit and the visibility deteriorated for a while. We stopped for lunch, sitting on a felled or fallen branch from a tree, then continued through the woodland, glad of the shelter which it provided. We put on waterproofs as we reached more open ground, but we didn't need them for long.

Cessford was memorable for its row of workers' cottages, its large dene (hollow) with a rather small stream (Cessford Burn) running through it, and for Cessford Castle, built in the 15th Century by the Ker family and a stronghold against regular attacks by the English as well as more local feuds.

From Cessford to Morebattle the walking was on roads, but nevertheless interesting. We walked for about 1.5 miles on a minor road, past the entrance to Otterburn House (where I'm sure I've stayed, all be it a long time ago) and we were only passed by one bicycle and one car! We then turned right onto the B6401 for the final mile into Morebattle, and we were passed by 10 vehicles - a real motorway! It seemed strange that two of the ten vehicles were horse-related (one horse-box, one trailer) and as we walked through the village there were several other horsey vehicles parked - and when we got to the Templehall Inn (also known of the Templehall Hotel), it was absolutely thronging with people - and horse boxes! It turned out that the 'Vigilante Ride', which had come over the hills from Kelso, with a Church service at Hownam and various 'ceremonies', was just ending. The riders came back to the Templehall Inn in the evening for a party, including much singing and dancing - we could see them in the function room from our bedroom (a pleasant dual aspect family room with a poppy theme, and there were also poppies in flower in the attractive back garden) and we could hear them too, especially from the bar. However they didn't really disturb us. We had a little walk around the village then had a meal before returning to our room to be entertained by the revellers.

Following day