I can see for miles and miles

I went for a walk on Sunday. No, let's start again. I was becoming such an utter tetch grumpy sod that L ordered me to go for a walk (preferably a long one). I'd intended to go hillwalking with the Scottish Borders Hillwalking Club, but due to a misunderstanding my lift did not materialise. Undaunted I went on one of the Border walks that actually goes through Jed - The Border Abbeys Way.

This links the abbeys of Kelso, Jedburgh, Dryburgh, Melrose, Selkirk and (incongruously cos there's no abbey there) Hawick. The route from Jed to Kelso starts on the road out of town and initially is shared with one of the marked mountain bike trails. After a short distance the path forks and you take the right hand fork which passes the Jedburgh TV transmitter (not enabled for Digital Terrestrial yet) and then joins a bridleway.

The width and straightness of the bridleway causes puzzlement for a short period until the penny drops - this is Dere Street, the Roman road which runs from the South of Scotland into East Yorkshire and beyond. The route here is shared with St Cuthbert's Way.

After Dere Street the path follows the Teviot along disused railway lines eventually emerging at Roxburgh in what was at one time a railway junction. Two bridges used to carry the railway across the road here. Both have been removed, but the splendid stone viaduct crossing the Teviot is still there.

A few miles further on and the road to Kelso is reached. The last two miles were extremely hard going due to the lack of hillwalking in the last 10 months. Ow!