Newbattle Abbey in the rain

A rainy afternoon - but the dog still had to be walked - so I took him down to Newbattle and the Ancrum woods, up to the Maiden Brig - where it is said James IV met with Margaret Tudor on her journey from England to become his Queen. The woods were Pat's adventure playground as a child, since there was only the gamekeepers cottage across the Lauder Road from their bungalow (on the tomato farm), and the woods were wild - I remember it like that from when we were first going out. Later, when we moved to Kippielaw the woods (behind us, across the golf course) were still wild - but they have been "tamed", manicured (not too much) and paths put in (and the houses are creeping closer, west from Kippielaw). This could be walked to from our house in Eskbank, via Hardengreen, but it was raining and the dog is a bit "wabbit" in his back legs now, so we drove. There is so much around us here, spoilt for choice for walks.