Day 2

Dear Diary...

Up at 06.30. Not a very peaceful night with entertainment (singing) during the night. An OK breakfast but overall a pretty crummy hotel. Trev didn't have much choice when booking because of a ladies golf tournament taking all the accommodation in the town.

We ride down to the A1 and decide to brave the road rather than take the alternative 15 mile detour over very hilly terrain. Ray calls at the gatehouse to a cement works and they help us miss out as much of the A1 as possible by going through the works. In the end it wasn't too bad and the 4 miles or so we did was OK. ..'we counted them out and we counted them in'...

Some pretty steep hills on the way to Eyemouth saw lots of heavy breathing, but the spectacular coastline views were worth it.

The Contented Sole on the quay at Eyemouth was our lunch stop. Excellent steak and onion sandwiches were dispatched and we were raring to go, but oh no! Trev's got a puncture.. Supermechanic Trev with the help of 'the black gloves' (not another BMW!) sees us fixed and on our way in 15 minutes.

The coastal path was really tough going here. Derek has a puncture...more hard going on grass now.. we are all getting tired. We eventually cross the A1 again and it's only 7 miles to our overnight stop at Belford.

Up and up, more and more hills and we are getting really tired now (overtired?). It's a great feeling rolling down the steep hill into the village of Belford at 18.10. We split into two different B&B's tonight, Trev and I in the Old Vicarage, Ray and Derek in the Farmhouse Guest House both excellent establishments. We vie with each other to claim the best accommodation.

Trev and I are in the Armoury named after an old soldier who used to lodge here at the turn of the twentieth century. We have a huge bath (separately!) with lashings of hotwater.

We all meet up in the Black Swan for a tremendous meal and watch more football in the smoky bar.

We are all in bed for 10pm musing on the realisation that it's further tomorrow!

We are pleased to be leaving the Belhaven Hotel	Derek's broken his specs...overtired!
..is this the A1?	all the hills are up!
Coffee stop after a steep climb	a well deserved lunch at the Contented Soul on Eyemouth Harbour
Trev's got a puncture..and he's not let his lunch settle!
Ray guards Trev's good wheel	Derek guards against subsidence
now Derek's got a puncture	On the border (we nearly missed it!)
Dad..Dad..can I have an ice cream ?	Hmmmm...I think Trev's enjoying that
	It's hard going on the coastal path
Dear Diary... Up at 06.30. Not a very peaceful night with entertainment (singing) during the night. An OK breakfast but overall a pretty crummy hotel. Trev didn't have much choice when booking because of a ladies golf tournament taking all the accommodation in the town. We ride down to the A1 and decide to brave the road rather than take the alternative 15 mile detour over very hilly terrain. Ray calls at the gatehouse to a cement works and they help us miss out as much of the A1 as possible by going through the works. In the end it wasn't too bad and the 4 miles or so we did was OK. ..'we counted them out and we counted them in'... Some pretty steep hills on the way to Eyemouth saw lots of heavy breathing, but the spectacular coastline views were worth it. The Contented Sole on the quay at Eyemouth was our lunch stop. Excellent steak and onion sandwiches were dispatched and we were raring to go, but oh no! Trev's got a puncture.. Supermechanic Trev with the help of 'the black gloves' (not another BMW!) sees us fixed and on our way in 15 minutes. The coastal path was really tough going here. Derek has a puncture...more hard going on grass now.. we are all getting tired. We eventually cross the A1 again and it's only 7 miles to our overnight stop at Belford. Up and up, more and more hills and we are getting really tired now (overtired?). It's a great feeling rolling down the steep hill into the village of Belford at 18.10. We split into two different B&B's tonight, Trev and I in the Old Vicarage, Ray and Derek in the Farmhouse Guest House both excellent establishments. We vie with each other to claim the best accommodation. Trev and I are in the Armoury named after an old soldier who used to lodge here at the turn of the twentieth century. We have a huge bath (separately!) with lashings of hotwater. We all meet up in the Black Swan for a tremendous meal and watch more football in the smoky bar. We are all in bed for 10pm musing on the realisation that it's further tomorrow!