Wattie's Hoose

 I was still a bit upset after a traumatic Easter Sunday. We had gone out on the mountain bikes and I had been a nightmare. I lose my confidence sometimes and become fearful of travelling over anything slippery or stony! It hadn't helped that we were caught in a sleet storm and had hit the very first stage of becoming hypothermic. I said to Rosemary that on a scale of 1-10 with 1 being dead, I felt like a 2!
 
However, my chimp was put in its cage after a few tears and by watching a 5 year old girl wearing a pink anorak ride a bit of trail that I refused to try. The final hour playing on the trails of Glentress and a mac n cheese lunch switched my mood!
 
My upset was due to me acting like a baby and upsetting Rosemary, sensing that she was still frustrated with me. Sometimes I get unduly sensitive.
 
We left Peebles, saying our goodbye's to Mrs Muir and headed off towards Innerleithen. The weather was much better than on the previous days, albeit a little cold. I enjoyed riding along the banks of the Tweed. Beyond Walkerburn, we had the choice of a road section or heading over a few hills towards Abbotsford House, the home of Sir Walter Scott. I had a stupid tizzy on thee 2nd big hill because, despite trying the very basic and fundamental skill of a hill start, I couldn’t get it! "Chimp in the Cage, Andy" I kept saying to myself but sensed I had frustrated the beloved again!
 
My bum was quite sore when we got back to the road and I was more tired than I was letting on. The Tweet Valley was beautiful here and it was great to see our lunch destination at Wattie's hoose. We locked our bikes up outside the visitor's centre……although I think I would have prefered leaving them unguarded if it had meant not heaving that muckle lock through the borders.
 
The café was nice, even though service was a bit strained because of a staff shortage. My scones were outstanding. Unfortunately, because of the service we missed the chance to go round the exhibition and definitely didn’t have time to visit the house. Rather, we set off for Tweedbank and my first trip on the new railway!
 
Disaster!!!  There was a peloton of bikes on the platform and I didn't hold much hope of getting on the train. It transpired that the guard on the previous train hadn't let on more than the 'regulation' 2 bikes and a pile up had formed. Fortunately, this guard was far more accommodating and we were soon on our way back to Edinburgh!