Patchwork

Chris and I went up Simonside this afternoon. It was grey to start with then we had sunny patches through cloud which highlighted the patchwork colours of the fields down in the valley. The flat-topped blue hill in the distance on the left is Cheviot. The summit, 2674ft, is just inside England. I first climbed it aged 10, with my parents from Cocklawfoot in the Bowmont Valley on the Scottish side, but since then have taken many different routes up. The top is ridden with peat hags, and it used to be hard to find the summit, but big stone flags have been laid now to protect the bog, so there is an obvious route.