Yesterday saw Margaret, our intrepid trustee leave for the Borders Abbeys Way walk, to trek 67 miles to raise money for Leicester City of Sanctuary. The theory is that she’ll be sending me pictures and information throughout her journey and I’ll be able to post them up here so people can follow her progress! The journey began from Leicester Station and when smoothly with the exception of a point failure at Morpeth where everyone got booted off the train – but at least the sun was shining there.
The starting point for the walk will be Kelso, and you can see Margaret here outside of a ruined Abbey.
Kelso came into being as a direct result of the creation of Kelso Abbey in 1128, and the name stems from the fact that the original settlement stood on a chalky outcrop and was known as Calkou and apparently, for some period of time, the parish of Kelso was able to levy a tax of 2 pence on every Scottish pint of ale, beer or porter sold within the town.
Sir Walter Scott attended Kelso Grammar School in 1783 and is quoted as saying that “it is the most beautiful, if not the most romantic village in Scotland”. So all in all, it sounds like a pretty lovely place to be visiting, especially if you, like Margaret are about to embark on a huge walk through the countryside.
Good luck Margaret, well be looking forward to getting more updates from you soon!
If you’d like to donate to Margaret’s fundraising drive, please pop over to her page HERE
