Friday 8 July 2011

A Date With An Old Friend! Now To Get There!

It was time to return to Inverness and Collect my old friend my bike!
This time though it would be a journey along the road.
The A1 North past Darlington, then the A68 and through my old Town and places along the A7 through some stunning countryside.
The A720 city bypass of Edinburgh Over the Forfar Bridge along the M90 and finally the A9 that would take us all the way to Inverness..........


 
The route began pleasantly enough with not much traffic, but as we got further north speed restrictions came in as roads were being widened, but a lorry thought that 50mph was to slow for him and with blaring horn and flashing lights we were eventually forced over by him as he accelerated passed doing well in excess of 60mph (I wonder if he altered his tachograph as I used to be a lorry driver and know all about tacho`s etc).
It`s 50mph for a reason, not so you can please yourself - idiot!
If you see this Lorry driver Vehicle reg can clearly be seen, be sure to afford him the same courtesy as he afforded us, or better still get a woman driver to show him how to drive properly with a load!

 

With fields of poppies joining us along the A68, the weather also changed to sunshine and a clearer journey, indeed as we passed the sign for Newcastle I gave JZ a wave! And soon we were upon the route that changed England into a very welcome Scotland and Alan Smith the Scottish Piper was there welcoming us in and his light hearted manner and cheerful tunes made for pleasant memories. 
 

 The view from the top of the Scottish Borders was outstanding and the welcome cup of tea would take us a little further as we would stop for a while in Jedburgh.

Jedburgh is a lovely old place to go and visit and is near a place called ColdStream - because of the Coldstream Guards.
It was first documented in 847 as Gedwearde and then in 1147 the Abbey was formed although being near the borders, constant battles between the English and Scottish and also the French (who helped Scotland hold the Abbey and other areas) meant that the Abbey was constantly being ruined then re-built and then ruined again.
Today it still stands proud, a testament to the Scottish builders who failed to bow down to English bullies and bureaucrats for centuries.



 The main front of the Abbey that awaits visitors.


This picture holds a different story.
As I took this and thought I saw something in the archway, on closer inspection, a figure can be seen.
My friend also took the same picture but on closer inspection, nothing could be seen on her picture.
Was this an apparition watching everyday life of an ever changing Jedburgh or is it just a trick of light and stone that makes it look as if someone is there, but the other 8 people who looked at the photograph can`t be wrong, can we?


You`ll have to decide.......
 

Many gravestones still line the Abbey and also inside and this was one of the oldest.


The main graveyard is just next door.


The ruins of the Abbey are well worth a visit and the £5.50 entrance fee we paid was very acceptable.














Whilst in Jedburgh we grabbed a couple more photographs before going to the Edinburgh Woollen Mill for a soup and a well deserved cup of tea!

 


Pleasantly full we continued north and turned off onto the A7 through Galashiels before joining the A720 and over the Forfar Bridge and then into the wilds of the Highlands and eventually Inverness.
 
Inverness by night is stunning and I`m finally re-united with my bike that had completed a long journey of over 200 miles, now to get it back home...........!!




3 comments:

  1. Glad you got your bike back. That must be some bike to make that journey for it! :-) The photos are great. Lure me with castles and abbeys and I'll go anywhere!

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  2. What a post & in my patch again. If only you knew how close to my house you actually were ... 3 minutes walk !!
    Those Yorkshire roadworks on the A1 are so frustrating. I suffered them the last two weekends to Sheffield & Bala in Wales & next weekend to Manchester.... it's only 14 miles but it feels like 30 !
    No matter what anyone says, the best road route to take to Edinburgh is the A68 ... distance, scenery and sheer variety. I must make the effort to go into the Abbey sometime, it's been years .. these are wonderful interior shots.
    I always laugh at the idea of going into the Jedburgh & Edinburgh woollen mills particularly when it is shared with numerous coach parties but it is an ideal toilet stop even if the catering is a little on the expensive side.
    Nice photos of Inverness at night ... memories of the distant past for me once again.
    Lastly, it's good to hear that you got your bike back ... I was on a hired one in Bala and have been inspired !!

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  3. Glad you got your bike back, Karen. Lovely photos. Jim

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