It's a couple of weeks now since we were relieved from the obligation to travel no further han 5 miles from home for leisure.  But since we were still enjoined to avoid public transport the concession appeared to favour car users (of whom I am no longer one), stalwart cyclists (certainly more than 60 years since I travelled 5 miles on a bike) and wheelers (I'm not one of those yet).  And I suppose walkers, but walking 5 miles before setting out on a leisure walk?

However, without worrying much about the fine print of the regulations and after a couple of false starts thanks to on the day adverse weather reports I set off for Abbotsford, that extraordinary house that Walter Scott built between Galashiels and Melrose.

The house has not yet reopened to the public but the gardens and grounds are open.  I caught the train to Tweedbank on the reopened Borders Railway.  Why on earth doesn't it go on to Selkirk, Hawick, Langholm and Carlisle? Perhaps like Edinburgh's trams they'll get an extension underway eventually.

I had intended to walk alongside the Tweed since the little bus that serves Abbotsford from the station doesn't run at weekends but there seemed no ready access to the river from the station so I walked there on a well signposted route through a housing area, across a main road and along a minor road.

Since my last visit decades ago they've built a visitor centre that hosts an interesting exhibition about the great man and his works, a gift shop and a café.  I visited the exhibition but left the rest for later, bought an entry ticket, provided my contact details for virus fighting and wandered around the gardens.

They are rather splendid.  I don't know who the chappie with his hands clasped is.  I expect there's a guidebook that tells all.

After the gardens I lunched in the café where I was served by a man in a perspex visor and gave my contact details again.  Next was the gift shoppe where I invested in some chutney and a copy of The Antiquary.  I've read several of Scott's novels but not that one.

I decided I would try to get back to Tweedbank by following the river.  It was a pleasant walk, narrower and muddier than I had perhaps bargained for.

At a point where the path split, one branch continuing along the river and one heading for the town I sought advice from some other walkers as to which would be the better route to get back to the station.  Their advice was to take the town path.  I wish I hadn't.  It was a boring walk and looking at a local map at the station when I got there ( a map I hadn't seen on my arrival) I could see how I might have got nearer by continuing along the river.  Even if I'd had to carry on to Melrose it would have been a more interesting walk.  Next time.