Old Cockpen Church

Today didn't go according to plan. The walk was conceived as a way of incorporating the new Borders Railway into the route. So we duly assembled at Newtongrange Station and eventually fathomed how to use the ticket machine. Then came the announcement that the train had been cancelled. So we had to rethink and use cars to get to Gorebridge where we were to start the walk. The walk itself went according to plan but was extremely muddy for most of the route - you had to watch where you were walking rather than admire the scenery. At the end we had to decide who was going in whose cars so that everyone could be eventually reunited with the car they had arrived in. However, the cafe at the Mining Museum in Newtongrange wasn't a bad place for people to await their lift. I'm not sure that the Borders Railway will get a second chance at appearing in our programme.

Old Cockpen Church dates from the Thirteenth Century; it's a pity to see it in such poor condition (I've hidden the fencing which surrounds the places where you could get into the church). There is some information about it here although it would have been good to find something a bit more human about it. I've included an extra photo of a gravestone in the burial ground which has a set square and an axe on it - presumably the tools used by the deceased. We couldn't make out the inscription beyond "Here lies Robert Rough".