A SPORTS broadcaster cantered from the Ryder Cup to a packed St Boswell’s village hall.

Clare Balding combined reporting on last weekend’s golf with a whistle stop tour of the Borders to promote her latest book.

Ms Balding, who first came to fame as the BBC’s voice of horse racing commentating alongside such greats as Willie Carson, entertained a capacity crowd of more than 200 people.

‘Walking Home - My Family and other Rambles’ formed the basis for a talk which had the audience in stitches.

Ms Balding revealed that she invented Mo Farah’s famous Mobot signature duing a show with james Corden and gave details of a dinner party where she enjoyed ice cream baps with Nigella Lawson.

Loosely based on her 10-year radio rambling broadcasts the book covers a braod swathe of the UK but Ms Balding said that she had not walked in the Borders.

As local groups often join her for rambles a member of the audience challenged Ms Balding to return with her team.

Ms Balding said: “Today I was driven at breakneck speed from my last talk in Wigtown through the beautiful Borders and would love to come back and walk on the Southern Upland way, so watch this space.

“The key to happiness is enjoying the moment and doing something that’s as free and easy as walking opens your mind.”