Our last morning in Scotland began like all the previous mornings -
clear skies and brilliant sunshine! We had a well deserved sleep in
after Tracy's birthday party the night before, and then loaded up the
vans, put on our leathers, and headed south to the border.

The region we rode through is the Borders, and it is one of the most
beautiful parts of Scotland - very different to the craggy peaks and
fields of Heather up north. Rolling hills and deep green forests that
the road dove down into and back up again like a roller coaster, and
sweeping curves just made for motorcycling.

In just an hour we arrived at Jedburgh, one of the Borders towns that
has a famous ruined monastery in the heart of the village. A quick
lunch and then back on the road towards the border with England.

The road was a series of sweeping switchbacks as we climbed up, and the
lights of the bikes and our support vans stretched out behind us. In
2005 when we crossed the border it hailed on us, but this year the
weather held and our Scottish riders are justly proud of the beautiful
countryside, fantastic weather, and wonderful people we encountered on
our visit.

The country on the other side of the Border is gradually changing as we
ride south. Rolling green hills, deep verdant forest, and stone walls
around farms full of sheep and cows. We stopped just short of our end
destination to visit Chesters, an ancient roman fort that was part of
Hadrian's wall. We explored the ruins and posed for photos at the
Northern gate. The sun shone down and lit up the fields and trees
straight from a Constable painting.

Then it was back on the bikes heading towards our youth hostel at Once
Brewed (which is right next door to a pub called Twice Brewed!). Our
road followed Hadrian's Wall and as we rolled along we saw great
stretches of the wall and ditches, and Housesteads, a large ruin of a
roman settlement.

After settling in to our youth hostel, it was next door to the pub for
dinner. The pub owners made a fantastic effort coping with an
unexpected 22 guests for dinner, and set special tables for us in the
dining area. The food was fabulous, as was the evening entertainment,
with a group of the UK girls sitting in a line on the floor
demonstrating a song and dance that we think was called "Oops upside
your head". The aussies reciprocated with the song and dance routine
from Abba - Mamma Mia. Fortunately the Scots raised the tone of the
evening with a rendition of Flower of Scotland, and a few other haunting
melodies - perfect for the surrounds.