ricketyrambler

1st January 2017

Happy New Year Everyone!

It’s the first walk of the year and the first walk of the 2017 #walk1000miles challenge organised by Country Walking magazine.  It’s all gone a bit mad this year with badges and Facebook groups (there’s even a special one for us ramblers living in Scotland) and progress spreadsheets to download and questions about the right trackers and boots and all sorts of other kit. Personally, I shall be aiming to walk 1000 miles over the year, using my trusty pedometer to measure the miles and wearing my usual walking gear plus waterproofs when I remember to bring them! Oh….and I’ll be writing about some of the walks on here.  So……lets get on with it!

Melrose circular via Lowood Bridge (4.2 miles)

Despite the cold and frosty morning Mr RR and I (that’s us in the top photo!) stepped out for a short ramble around Melrose.  We’ve done this one a couple of times before – I think I last wrote about it here: Meandering around Melrose

Today we were impressed by the number of people out walking.  We’ve never seen so many, – I was a little worried about that chain bridge – which has a notice quite clearly stating that no more than 8 people should walk across at one time!

We were also impressed by the birdlife including some herons, a pair of unidentified geese, a pair of goosander and a lively dipper doing some energetic leaping and diving in the river.

I was feeling decidedly cold as we walked back into Melrose along the river bank, in the last of the days sunshine with a watery rainbow forming behind us and the clouds closing in.

 

So – 4.2 miles down – 995.8 to go!!

Keep reading – send me some encouraging comments too!  Or let me know if you’re walking 1000 miles this year too.  Love to hear from you.  I’m off to watch Sherlock now!

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