Swimming in the River Whiteadder

What a wonderful joyous day - and such a contrast with yesterday!

Mr hazelh picked me up in the car after my pilates class for a day out by the River Whiteadder in Berwickshire. Our first stop was the Woodlands café in Abbey St Bathans. Here we consumed tea, coffee, and the largest piece of millionaire's shortbread we have ever seen. I suggested to the owners that the traybake should be renamed 'billionaire's shortbread'.

Then, after taking directions from the café staff, we set off for a picnic, sunbathing (rock lizard extra), and swimming on the banks of/in the River Whiteadder. 

Everything was idyllic: the location, the weather, the company... It was so warm that we dried very quickly whenever we came out of the water, the heat rendering our carefully packed towels completely redundant. 

The water itself was a perfect temperature and beautifully clear, with a couple of natural jacuzzis under the falls (extra). It was wonderful to swim along, gently pushed by the current, listening to the birds and watching the wildlife - dragonflies skimming above the river, grey wagtails on the bank, butterflies overhead, and small fish plopping in and out of the water. On the return 'lengths' to our spot on the rocks, we played a game of 'returning salmon' as we pushed upstream against the flow of the current. 

At first we had the spot to ourselves, then later in the afternoon we were joined by two families who sat on the wee pebble beach just below our rock roost next to the falls.

Our evening was lots of fun too. As soon as we returned home again, we joined our neighbours for the latter part of 'Friendly Friday', sitting out in the warmth of our shared garden until around 8:30pm. We only came indoors because everyone was getting hungry.   

In other news, our colds have been vanquished and we will sleep in the same bed tonight for the first time in ages - hurrah!

Exercise today: 1 hour on the exercise bike; pilates class; river swimming; walking (12,027 steps).