JOGLE 6.5 Day 6 Sat 7 Sep 13

Depart Pathhead 9.05 at Arrive at Lauder 15.00 Distance 16 Miles.

Ian had whiskey in his porridge this morning not sure whether that will speed things up or slow things down or just provide general medicinal pain relief? To quote “we are a bit like old cars - you just learn to live with the rattles”. We stopped at the newly opened very modern and pleasant House of Soutra coffee shop that is along the A68 next to the Soutra Farm. Luckily for us the dingy pub before the coffee shop was closed so we couldn’t stop there. At least the coffee shop had Wi-Fi and we able to catch up on Facebook and emails. Internet access in the Borders area is a bit intermittent.   The walk along the A68 was very boring being mostly pavement and grass verge. The traffic wasn’t too bad and reasonably light. There were some nice views but not many distractions which is why we made good progress all day and arrived in a good time. I even managed to grab a sneaky Costa Coffee at the BP Garage on the way into Lauder. The Eagle Hotel was ok as hotels go but it had a dodgy shower but the main bathroom was good. The original Hotel that we had booked in had gone bust. Whilst on a motorcycle tour around Scotland I called in on the way home to make sure our booking was secure as I had not received an acknowledgement. As I walked through the door the owner asked me if I was from the Bank. Well for me that said it all and when I checked the trip advisor reviews, it had been labelled as a Fawlty Towers, a lucky escape me thinks. The evening meal was good and the pub classics that were simple but filling were being served. Lauder was celebrating the battle of Flodden that evening, that’s a battle the Scott’s lost, not quite sure why you would celebrate a defeat. We heard the bagpipes, saw men on horseback and people marching up the street. The celebration carried on most of the night until about 2am with people learning to play bagpipes in the street! There was also loud music from the bar thumping through the walls into our room, luckily that stopped about 10pm. Conclusion, don't stay in Hotels in towns in Scotland on Sat nights if you want a quiet night.