General photos inc a hike to the top of the Cairn + the rotten MacDonald

As ever we crossed the border on the A68, it was nice and quiet on the Monday and we called in past Hawick on the way up. We went to Morrisons for some shopping, a massive breakfast and fuel. We also had a walk around the town before heading to Selkirk then Innerleithen.
We stayed the MacDonald - half way between Innerleithen and Peebles. We have passed it hundreds of times and always thought we should stay there sometime. We did room only as the food and drink is mega expensive, for example a cup of tea was £4.55! We just nipped up the road to Peebles for our food / evening meal and drinks.
The hotel swimming pool, sauna and steam room were free to use and was never that busy. They were lovely and clean compared to our room.
I did read on Trip Advisor before we left and there was loads of poor reviews about the standard of the rooms, food and drink etc. The food and drink did not affect us as we did not buy any. Our room - carpet was nearly down to the concrete in several places, curtains needed chucking in a skip. The single chair - the bottom and back had gone completely so when you sat it in you disappeared, not to mention it was filthy. The shower tray waste was blocked so when you had a shower you were standing in 2" of water. The toilet flush was hit n miss, sometimes took 7 to 9 goes for it to flush. The sliding wardrobe door was broken and did not slide. The second bed was a pull out sofa bed which had seen better days. I could have never slept on it. The dust on the skirtings / headboard / heater was a 1/4" thick. Plastic objects under the table. On the plus side the main bed was comfy and clean. The bathroom was also clean. We also asked for the "Golf view" side of the hotel which was way better than the road side. We were also on the 4th floor so no noise from above. Some guests never got into their rooms until 6pm, that was 3 hours later than when they booked in! Staff were just not bothered, kept saying we are due for a refurbishment, never once apologised etc. Oh well whats what you get when you cough up top dollar money!
Due to the fantastic weather for the whole five days we were there we also had a walk up to the local cairn just of the John Buckan Way, see photos below. We also had a look around the shops in Peebles and Alpine bikes at Glentress. I-Cycles have moved to the old church where Alpine bikes used to  be and have a great selection of biking goodies.

 

 

 

Haggis lasagne slice, unreal taste.