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Jack Frost, Mischief Maker

The mischievous Jack Frost has been out creating his magic while we have slept. Covering trees and other objects with white feathery ice crystals, hoar frost, creating a surreal landscape.

The name is derived from the Old English, har, meaning white or grey with age as the frost looks like white hairs.

And now the science bit……
The feathery crystals are formed when water vapour in the air comes into contact with a surface that is below freezing. Immediately ice crystals are formed and continue to grow as more vapour freezes causing this beautiful phenomenon lighting up when the morning sun hits it.


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Galashiels walking festival
With the Galashiels Walking festival on this weekend it is an ideal time to pick up a copy of the new edition of Borders Station Walks. It details eleven circular walks from the station in Galashiels, all of which can be completed within a few hours. Copies of the book are available form the Cafe at the Interchange, the Fountain newsagent in the center of town or from the Tapestry building. Also of source from our website at http://www.drumlinwalks.co.uk
Enjoy the walking this weekend
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New Galashiels Outlet
We are delighted that the Fountain newsagent in Market Street Galashiels has agreed to stock the new edition of Borders Station Walks – next time you drop in to update your sweetie supply pick up a copy !

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The Perfect Xmas Gift

The second edition of the hugely popular Border Station Walks is now available
Sitting alongside its sister publication, Midlothian Station Walks, it provides details of circular walks from the three Borders Rail stations.
Both books open up the beautiful countryside and amazing walks available from Shawfair station in Midlothian to Tweedbank station in the Scottish Borders.
Walk off the Winter chills and Xmas excess by exploring the huge variety of routes these books give access to.
The perfect Xmas gift for those who love the outdoors !
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Exciting News!

We are really pleased to announce that the updated version of Border Station Walks is currently with the printer! The book has been revamped by our brilliant Graphic Designer, John of Industry Cottage.
Here is a sneak preview.



The book is available for pre-order in our shop to ensure your copy arrives before Christmas.
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Galashiels Walk Highlights G1: Bloody Deeds and Silent Pipes

Buckholm Tower was built in 1582 by John Hoppringil and stands above the Gala Water. Legend has it that, Pringle, the Laird of Buckholm was cursed by the wife of a covenanter after he murdered her husband and son then hung their bodies from hooks in the vaulted cellar.

Dobies grave is marked by a pile of stones in a narrow cleft on Ladhope Moor. In 1790 the piper accepted a wager that he could play his pipes from Lauder to Galashiels but collapsed from the effort and died.

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Spotlight on Buckholm Tower

The now ruin of Buckholm Tower, built in 1582 by John Hoppringil, stands above the Gala Water.

Legend has it that , Pringle the Laird of Buckholm, was cursed by the wife of a covenanter after he murdered her husband and son then hung their bodies from ceiling hooks in the vaulted cellar.

Every June on the anniversary of his death it is said that terrifying screams have been heard in the tower and ghostly hounds seen in the hills nearby.
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Shawfair Walk Highlights S1: A Changing Landscape

Woolmet Colliery opened in 1904 with over 800 people working 305m (1000 feet) below the surface to produce more than 200,000 tonnes of coal a year. The bing was a prominent landmark on Edinburgh’s skyline until it was levelled and landscaped.

The miners memorial garden is dedicated to the miners that lost their lives at Monktonhall and Woolmet Collieries. It also commemorates the children who worked down the mines until the abolition of child labour in 1933.

The decoy anti-aircraft battery site is now derelict but the command post and four emplacements are still standing. It was constructed during WW11 to deceive enemy bombers bound for Edinburgh by using techniques from stage and screen.

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Spotlight on Crichton Castle

The Medieval Crichton Castle , now a ruin, sits on a terrace high above the River Tyne was built in the late 14th century.

There is a highly decorative diamond-faceted façade that overlooks the courtyard but unfortunately there is currently no access into the courtyard. Crichton Castle – Crichton Castle – Wikipedia

Mary Queen of Scots stayed at the castle for 2 years after her marriage to her half cousin, Lord Darnley.
The shell of what was once a stable block, now a home for bats and often mistaken as a chapel still stands.

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Eskbank Walk Highlights E2: Maidens & Ice

A 17th century grotto hides the entrance to an icehouse which has a brick built egg-shaped pit which was filled with ice in winter to store meat and other perishables.

Maiden Bridge was named as Margaret Tudor stopped here in 1503 on her way to Newbattle Abbey to meet her future spouse, king James 1V. This marriage paved the way for the Union of the Crowns a hundred years later.

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Stow Walk Highlights S2: An Ancient Well

St Mary of Wedale Church , built in 1876, has an impressive 140 feet tower containing a clock. The train drivers on the Waverley Line used to set their watches by it such was its reputation for accuracy.

Packhorse Bridge, also known as a subscription bridge, built in 1654-5 which allowed burdened horses to cross safely. It was built to link the old 17th century link with the old kirk and helped give Stow its early prosperity.

St Marys well is part of Stows religious history dating back nearly 2000 years. There was once a chapel on the site and a stone with an impression of the Virgin Marys foot. The site was renovated in 2000 as a millennium project.
