LEJOG D14. .DAY OF REST

What a welcome relief it is to have a day off after so many days in a row on the  bike.  Never done so many strenuous days in a row before and might not again of course.  We are in Peebles, a Scottish border town and it is festival time .. Beltane Festival,  their annual celebration of the town. Everyone is involved and a great time obviously had by all.

On Thursday  night we heard a marching band,  which turned out to be accompanying the Beltane Queen home, ending up returning just below our hotel.

Friday morning dawned cool, or really cold, and after breakfast we delivered the washing to the service was laundry and wandered around town, ending the , owning with a walk alongside the River Tweed past the castle. Then followed Richard's directions to cross the now disused railway bridge and follow the old track line back to town. We would come across so, e thing very special, and would need our phones with us. This turned out to be a tunnel that you can walk through.  We started through it, but before long were completely disoriented in the very very dark with insufficient light from our phones. We couldn't see the end at all and could only hear dripping water.  So we abandoned that and started back along the river. We asked some locals about the tunnel and heard that we couldn't see the other end as there is a turn in the tunnel and the trick is to carry a stick and keep it on the wall alongside you so you know where you are in the tunnel.  We decided not to go back anyway but next time ......

Award winning bakery with flapjacks/pancakes/griddle scones in the window

Lunch, a fair bit of doing nothing and an early dinner so we were free to watch the parade go by.  It seemed the whole town was massing at the back of the hotel in fancy dress, some on floats, but it also seemed the whole town was in the road waiting for the parade. A stage just outside the hotel was ready and wiring for the heavily costumed Rugby team to perform routines from Disney films (Aladdin, Mary Poppins, Toy Story,  and more. They were not good, but very enthusiastic. Men do like getting dressed up as women.

Then the parade led by the marching band, many participants on foot, three bagpipe bands, floats from a range of local organisations and then it was gone.   The rugby boys started to repeat their show and we escaped to our nice quiet room at the rear of the hotel for another good night's sleep.  A relaxing day, refreshed, rested and ready to start again tomorrow ..