Sunday Times Where Was I? Holiday Competition

Near as I can figure it, through the possibly flawed perceptual filters of my own reality tunnel, the most likely answers this week, seem to me to be:


Q1. Crichton Castle


Q2. Tweedbank


Very tricky today, Sunday Times seem to have moved the web page where the puzzle normally resides, Ordnance Survey have cunningly disguised the active Borders Railway as a 'Dismantled Railway', just to make things easier and the Eastender's tablet ran out of juice but I digress, the initial clues appear to place us on the aforementioned Borders Railway, which follows the old 'Waverley Route' (which was opened by the 'North British Railway' c 1849), for part of its course, from Newcraighall in Edinburgh, to Tweedbank via Galashiels. Dr Beeching closed the old Waverley Route c 1969 but the Scottish Parliament voted to re-open 31 miles of single track, as far as Tweedbank c 2006.

The country's largest mining settlement is most likely Newtongrange as the line passes through there, although it looks like the station is closed. The village sits next the river South Esk, which some of the reference sources I checked, claim rises in Blackhope Scar and then flows some nineteen miles through the Gladhouse and Rosebery reservoirs, passing through Newtongrange,  before joining the North Esk to become the Esk proper.

The South Esk flows past Dalhousie castle, which was once the seat of William Ramsay (died c 1672), First Earl of Dalhousie. Clan Ramsay's motto was 'Pray and Labour'. The castle does seem to be a hotel now.

The railway turns east shortly after Gorebridge station and to the south lies Borthwick Castle, which was constructed c 1430, for Sir William Borthwick. I found a reference which claimed that it was used to store national treasures (like Frankie Howerd and Irene Handl) during the second world war. Cromwell was asked to leave c 1650, after one of his drummers got hammered and threw a TV out of the hotel window, he fired some cannon balls at the wall in retaliation but they still told him to hop it. The damage is still visible today. To the north of the track lies Crichton Castle and this is where William Crichton (First Lord Crichton), who was appointed master of the king's household c 1432, lived for a time.

The second town is most likely Galashiels, as the town's sigil is two foxes stretching to eat plums from a tree. There is a legend that the sour plums (soor plums) myth was created when some English soldiers picking said fruit in the locale, were slaughtered by the townsfolk.

The border railway ends at the village of Tweedbank which is next to the confluence of the river Tweed and the Gala Water. Sir Walter Scott (born c 1771) had a house called Abbotsford on the outskirts of the village.


N.B. Due to the number of people who normally write poison pen letters in green ink posting on his page, the Eastender has moved to moderated comments but rest assured, if you have a non abusive comment our quip relating to the puzzle and its solution, he will endeavour to publish it....