50 mile gusts. Directly from the west, which would make for an amazing headwind. Having been made aware of this, Shane had already called ahead to our proprietress at Kelso to see if her husband could transport us there. Though willing, he could not do this until 4pm due to prior commitments. Thankfully, Chris, the owner of the White Swan, volunteered to drive us and our two bikes in his van to Kelso (and would not take payment, even for the gas). We arrived at Kelso, our first Scottish town, around 11am, settled into our room, and was treated to a very nice pot of tea and biscuits by Christine, who seems to revel in new company. She runs a B&B with at most 3 rooms full, mostly as a diversion, it seems to us. Her husband works diligently in the garden and keeps an amazing array of beautiful roses and perfectly tended grass, overlooking the river with amazing view of downtown Kelso. We walked into town and attempted to go to the local castle, which we found “closed due to high winds”. I suppose they could not risk the liability if the limbs came crashing down on the visitors. I had another restorative nap today, and went into town again for a wonderful meal at “Lemon and Thyme”, with surprisingly fresh and inventive dishes, including Jamaican fish stew and Caesar with pan seared scallops. Apparently, visitors come “by the bus loads” to visit the castles in the area, which allows the small town to support a handful of very worthy restaurants.
