Tina & Al's LEJOG - Stage 5

Tina & Al's LEJOG - Stage 5

The fifth stage of our LEJOG followed a route taking us from Byrness in Northumberland, England to Milngavie in East Dumbartonshire, Scotland. The journey took us through the border towns of Jedburgh, Melrose and Peebles, with some walking along that great river border, the River Tweed, through the Eildon hills, used a bit of the Southern Upland Way then headed along canal paths to the outskirts of Glasgow and the start of the West Highland Way.

To plan the route I used The Alternative Pennine Way by Denis Brook & Phil Hinchcliffe to get us from Byrness to Jedburgh, then The End To End Trail - a Cicerone guide written by Andy Robinson for the route to Milngavie. I also used the brilliant Memory Map software, which has the advantage of being a GPS that utilises Ordinance Survey maps. Although it's quite expensive for the initial software, it gives you the added advantage of being able to print out Ordinance Survey maps onto conveniently sized bits of Toughprint waterproof paper - so no more trying to open up a big map in the middle of a downpour and/or a howling gale!

We decided not to take a fortnight off work to complete this stage of the LEJOG, it seemed all too near home for that. Instead we completed the Border stages during Easter holidays and the rest during various weekends. This was the stage where our prearranged rule about not having to complete everything in order most came into play. We completed sections as time and transport (cars and trains) permitted.

Below is a summary of the walks and mileage undertaken for this stage: -