Scotland : Scottish Borders chat about tentative Borders mini-tour (Apr/May)

[Telemark]

Following on from various chats elsewhere, there seems to be some interest in a mini-tour (1 night only), and I promised to investigate some options in the Borders.

So here it goes ... found two bunkhouse/hostel type places (both independently run) that seem to fit the bill:

• Kailzie Bunkhouse a.k.a. 'bike spa' (as in a spa for the bikes ) located here
  
• Kirk Yetholm hostel/bunkhouse located here

Kailzie (near Cardrona/Glentress, between Peebles and Innerleithen) is much closer to Edinburgh than Kirk Yetholm (near Kelso). Both can be reached via mostly wee backroads and are around ~£20 for a night (self-catering, with pub meals available either a short walk or cycle away if required).

Kailzie is not far off the NCN1, which could be used one way (apart from a silly diversion east from Edinburgh) ~ 60 km (40 miles), with various options for the other way (longer route ~ 85k/50-odd miles) - example map here.
Could be done either way, mostly flat, some lumps .

Kirk Yetholm - the sample route here is a bit more lumpy in nature, and also a fair bit longer (~210 km in total)...

Any thoughts?

T

 

[Pro Tour Punditry]

Unfortunately I am not available in April or May due to other cycling stuff (TTs, Audax, social stuff (Melrose 7s) and Giro d'Italia in Belfast), which is a pity as I'd have liked to have met up.

 

[mcshroom]

I'm not sure what I'm doing April/May time yet (except Holy Week and Easter will be out due to choir commitments). Thanks for the accommodation links though, they could be very useful to me as I'm riding Coast and Castles (The whole lot up to Aberdeen) in mid-March.

 

[ShooglyDougie]

Glentress has mud

 

[Rasmus]

Put me in the "interested" category.

I stayed in the hostel at Kirk Yetholm on my trip through the Borders last year. It is very cheap, and also very basic. I was there on a cold night and the heaters were not terribly impressive. The village pub served up some nice fish&chips, though.

 

[Telemark]

I was thinking about this some more ... if there are people needing to catch trains to the start point and back home on the Sunday, maybe we should go for the Kailzie option, which is a lot shorter, and leaves time for messing about a bit more (whether a wee excursion to the muddy place or local ambling about ... Kailzie does have an osprey nest/nest camera, and there are other places to lounge about or cycle to locally, Traquair brewery, etc)

The Kirk Yetholm route is definitely a bit more hard core in terms of 'flatness'

T

 

[Fubar]

Also potentially "interested", April/May are filling up so need to make sure I'm not overcommitting/double-booking myself.