Day 24 Newtongrange to Hareshawhead

I left the campsite just before 8am and had breakfast in Lothianbridge. I then walked as far as Newtongrange which has a war memorial in a very nice park where I sat on a park bench and aired my feet. Shortly after leaving the area I was approached by a gentleman with an envelope bearing my name. He said that he knew who I was from the website and the envelope enclosed a very generous 20 pounds for the charity to be given in the name of ‘a proud Scotsman’. He is also a walker and has been to all the extremities of the British Isles.

I met up with him again at a pie cart on the A7 and he said that he would meet up with me again further on. We met about 2 miles out of Stow and then he said that he would drive into Stow and then walk back to meet me and we would then walk together into Stow, which we did. He then walked back to Stow to pick up his car and I carried on towards Melrose. I had just got the Hareshawhead wood plantations when he found me again and we drove to the camp site at Lauder. The first bit of the route from Gore Bridge was near the A7 but the latter half was on a quiet rural road parallel to the A7. Pastoral - quite a few encouraging baas from sheep.

Tomorrow he is picking me up from the camp site and dropping me off at the Hareshawhead plantations so I can start walking again.

On commenting on all that he was doing for me he said that this was his way of thanking all the people who had helped him on his walks. As I am a ‘people’ person
This has been a great day.