Day 67: Innerleithen to Peebles (Edinburgh)

Today did not go to plan, at all. Since I’ve been in Scotland, the weather has generally been awful. Today was no exception. 

• Date: 26 May 2024
• Start: Innerleithen
• End: Peebles
• Miles: 7.1
• Total miles: 879.6
• Accommodation: Haymarket Hostel Edinburgh

I woke up a lot in the night with the sound of lashing rain on my tent. When it was time to properly wake up, the rain was still coming down, and a visit to the bathroom suggested it had been raining a lot. The tent field was flooded in most places, luckily not in my tent. Although there were a series of damp patches throughout. 

When checking the weather forecast, it was pretty grim reading. Weather warnings were in place for the whole area. It wasn’t going to be a dry day. 

There was no way I was going to be able to complete the 25 miles I had planned, and also the thought of camping was not ideal. Given the lack of any other options, I decided that I would walk to the next town, Peebles, and then get a bus into Edinburgh and stay there the night. 

There was a slight break in the heavy rain for a couple of hours, so I made my move at about 10am. 

My route took me along a cycle track, and through a housing estate and a tunnel, all the way into Peebles. 

At Peebles, I jumped on the next bus to Edinburgh. Edinburgh was of course very busy given it was a bank holiday weekend. 

I walked through the busy streets and checked into my hostel, finally sheltered from the rain. My only excursion was to the nearby Wetherspoons for some food. 

It’s been a very miserable day, but I’m grateful to be indoors. I’ll get the bus back to Peebles tomorrow morning, after moving my big backpack to the hostel I was intending to spend tomorrow night and the night after in. 

I don’t know how many miles I’ll actually get done tomorrow. There’s one get out point at about 13 miles, but the next one isn’t until 25 miles. I’ll only have a day pack on so things should be easier, but the forecast isn’t great tomorrow either.