7.9 miles 3h 21m ascent 557m
Birks Hill, Birkscairn Hill, Glensheil Banks
"And birks saw I three or four, Wi' grey moss bearded owre,-- The last that are left o' the birken shaw, Whar mony a simmer e'en Fond lovers did convene, Thae bonny, bonny gloamins that are lang awa'
This walk started on the road from Kirkhouse up towards Glen House. Parking wasn’t easy and I thought I might have to leave the car at the church in Kirkhouse but managed to squeeze it at the side of the road a little closer.
At a Tweed Trails sign, I followed the track signed for “Peebles”. This leads up towards Birks and gives the first views of Birks Hill. The OS map shows a path turning left towards the house at Birks but the Tweed Trail turns right through woodland and then drops towards the Glass Burn.
From here I headed north, still on a definite path, but one obviously not much used. There had been some tree-felling and by a felled field, filled with foxgloves, some rustling in the ferns beside the track turned out to be a deer that stood watching me for a moment before bounding off. The next rustling was a sheep. I don’t usually expect to see them in the ferns.
The path petered out and I set out across a field of ferns which then gave way to rushes. I expect this section could be wet but in the midst of the heatwave it was dry. At the boundary between fern and rush was a substantial stand of nettles, which made me regret wearing shorts. I hesitated briefly then pushed on through (a true adventurer?). Much to my surprise they didn’t sting.
After the rushes I met a well worn track that led to the col below Birks Hill. The track continued around Birks Hill climbing slowly onto its northern slopes. I left the track at its highest point, where there was a Tweed Trail marker post, and headed directly up the slopes. There seemed to be a swathe of grass through the heather, which I presume must once have been burned a few seasons ago, and that made the going easier. I met a track coming from the NE which made me wonder if I had missed a direct route up from the col. There are a couple of small cairns on Birks Hill. One might be the summit though to my eye an un-cairned rise to the SW looked higher.
A faint track led across a dried-up bed of moss in the col and up to Birkscairn Hill where there was a cairn big enough to sit on for lunch.
From Birkscairn Hill I walked down and joined the Old Drove Road which is now just a faint track. This took me over the shoulder of Stake Law and across two wee burns. Though it must be well over a century since the drovers used this pathway it still remains and must be kept in existence by occasional walkers. It is certainly a pretty glen to walk in though the ground looked as if it could muddy up with a little water. Once I could see Glenshiel Banks I headed directly down the slope towards it.
Glenshiel Banks is enclosed in a stone wall. A small cottage is obviously still used and a ruined building stands nearby. There is a bridge over Banks Burn which is a major tributory of Quair Water. From there it was a slightly monotonous farm track back to the start. But the hedgerows were brimming with plants and butterflies and there was a good view of Loch Eddy nestling in its deep glen. A future outing perhaps.
[osmap gpx=”http://www.screel.co.uk/walks/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/RK_gpx-_2013-07-13_1033.gpx”]