Rev Sewell, April 2019
April 2019
Firstly, the cottage was tiny, especially the kitchen.. The dogs, two little Scotties, were not allowed on the furniture, the bedroom (which was up steep, narrow stairs that I struggled with), was inaccessible for them so that was OK.Yes? No. They lay on their blanket downstairs and 'cried' all night long. I went down so often that I actually thought I should sleep on the couch. The worst thing of all was that the garden, just asphalt and a small square of decking, was detached from the house itself, so one had to put leads on them then walk them round to it down a narrow path in the pitch dark late at night. They were not allowed to poo there, nor in the village itself and they again had to have leads on because there were lambs or calves in every field, except one on the far side of the village, although it too had a sign up saying 'No Entry April/May'. The whole experience was horrendous, so when I told Chris I was leaving, he said in a patronising tone that I should have researched the lambing issue and stomped away. I was astounded by his rudeness and explained to his wife that I have lived in rural settings for about 45 years....
I left after only one night, thereby forfeiting my rental fee. Don't go with dogs unless they are constipated. And if you do, I recommend taking a powerful torch and letting them loose in the old graveyard!
However, the Border country is beautiful and steeped in history. Even places like Mary Queen of Scots' House welcomed dogs in their grounds including drinking bowls.
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