To Edinburgh

So today a repeat of my favourite train journey: up the east coast main line to Edinburgh. And as extra icing on the cake as we pottered along from Ely to Peterborough the Welney Washes were awash and glittering in the sun. Magnificent! Sadly I wasn't quick enough to take a photo: too busy going "wow!".

Peterborough station was bloody cold but I was well wrapped up so it wasn't too bad. Edinburgh was rather milder however so I was rather too warm by the time I got to Caroline's flat.

But before that I bought ... the kilt. There is something of a story here. I've been threatening to buy myself a kilt for a while, encouraged by both Beth and Caroline but I don't fit in a cheap "tourist" kilt (they're too short) so I've avoided buying one. But I'd found somewhere on the Web who sells second hand kilts and claimed to have one in my size. So I asked Caroline if anyone else was wearing kilts tomorrow. She assured me that they were.

Then it all went pear shaped. The suppliers seemed to be on holiday when I phoned. But all was not lost: Caroline suggested I try Armstrongs in the Grass Market so, having bought some whisky from the nice shop on the Royal Mile, I dived down into the Grass Market and into Armstrongs. They had lots of kilts ... but all 30" waist or less. The nice lady behind the till explained why: "they're all boys kilts, we get a lot of those as they grow out of them". But she had one, and only one, kilt in a larger size and as luck would have it it fitted me. It was Black Watch tartan in a 40" waist, 24.5" drop so a bit short (I really need a 25.5" or 26" drop) but it was a pretty good fit. She had a matching belt and found me a suitable sporran and some green hose and I was all set (and £135 poorer).

So then on to Caroline's via the deli around the corner that sells alcohol free beer.

At the flat I discovered the "Mark and Katie" I was going with in Caroline's car to Melrose were Mark Warman, an old friend mine from college, and his wife so that was an unexpected bonus.

Melrose Youth Hostel