Jedburgh Abbey

Ever hopeful that the weather forecast would be wrong, a picnic was packed and we set off to Jedburgh for a look round. (And to visit an old-fashioned ironmonger's to collect a latch for our bathroom door, but they didn't have one in stock... .) The town seemed quite dour in the rain.

The picnic was eaten in the car with a view of low cloud and driving rain, and an occasional blurry glimpse of the Cheviot. Then on to Kielder where we started a walk by the river, but gave up after a short while in favour of a dry hide, where we waited - unsuccessfully - to see some wildlife, and dripped all over the floor! Every self-respecting bird or mammal was sheltering in the dry!

So we set off again, this time for Hexham - for a meal (fish & chips) and then a concert by a jazz guitar duo - James Birkett and Bradley Johnston - in the bar of the Arts Centre. It was excellent, and a great end to a good day, despite the weather. (And, it seems, the weather wasn't bad compared to that in the South of England, where storm 'Katie' was on the rampage!)