Drow 'n' Smirr

The eastern section of the SUW, from the River Tweed at Yair to the North Sea is 50.2 of the SUW’s 212 miles, though our journey clocked up 54.1 miles with 2628m ascent. This took us across the Tweed three times, over the Lammermuir Hills, and to the coastal cliffs overlooking the North Sea.

The official end of the walk is at the Mercat Cross in Cockburnspath, but 150m short of that is an information shelter that also claims to be the end of the SUW. For me though, the SUW is a coast to coast walk and ended at the coast as I dipped my feet in the water of Cove Harbour.

The Eastern section of the SUW, from the Tweed to the North Sea, took us along riverbanks, through farmland, woodland and finally a cliff top walk. The ruggedness of the west was now long behind us and we found ourselves walking into summer weather. To be honest I lost my SUW mojo a little in the Lammermuirs but after that the end was in our grasp and I got my energy back. At Twinlaw we looked excitedly for our first glimpse of the North Sea and again each time we reached high ground, but we were denied until within a kilometre of coast. We had found one kist but missed two.

We split this into the following sections:

1. Galashiels to Lauder
2. Lauder to Watch Water reservoir
3. Watch Water to Abbey St Bathans
4. Abbey St Bathans to Cockburnspath

For the previous sections see: The Western Marches and The Middle Marches

For Yair to Gala see Traquair to Galashiels

Galashiels to Lauder    15 miles  5h 45m  682m ascent

Easy walking on minor roads, an old Roman road, fields and a riverside stroll.

Look out for: The Quin Memorial, The Eildon Hills, kist

                                                           ***************************

Lauder to Watch Water reservoir     13.6 miles  5h 22m  ascent 552m

Easy walking on minor roads, across fields and over the moors of the Lammermuir Hills on the ancient herring road.

Look out for: Thirlestane Castle, the drystane seat at Snawdon, the Herring Road, Twinlaw Cairns, a Kist and possibly a glimpse of the sea.

                                                    *****************************

Watch Water to Abbey St Bathans     10 miles 4h 35m ascent 332m

Pleasant walking on minor roads, meadow and a final woodland stroll.

Look out for: Ali’s Cairn, views of the Dirrington Laws, Beech woods, Lammermuir Kirk, and the rusty ostrich.

                                         **********************************

Abbey St Bathans to Cockburnspath     12 miles 5h 33m  ascent 414m

Straightforward walks on grassy tracks, minor roads and woodland tracks before a final cliff top walk.

Look out for: that ostrich again, Whiteburn Cairn, cliff top paraphernalia, THE SEA, Cove Harbour

                                          *************************************

Previous: The Middle Marches

12 miles 5h 33m  ascent 414m

Route: SUW Abbey St Bathans to Cockburnspath, plus Cove Harbour

This was the final leg of our Southern Upland Way trek and the weather forecast was for heavy rain all day, the TV news was warning of bad weather, the met office had issued an amber warning and our drove took us past several signs warning of the heavy rain. But we’ve seen it all before and came prepared with waterproofs and spare clothing.

We set off from the car park at the Riverside Restaurant in Abbey St Bathans, across the Whiteadder ford, having paused to watch some ducks (and a curlew) and rejoined the SUW by the rusty ostrich. The rain seemed to have stopped and it was pretty muggy so the waterproofs stayed in our bags.

The first section of this walk is in a valley carrying the Whare Burn. There is a grassy track which passes some cottages with a wide selection of flowers then skirts woodland beside the burn. The Burn itself was covered with small white flowers growing from a plant growing in the water, there were plenty of insects, both the annoying kind and butterflies. Ahead of us we could se birds of prey having a bit of a disagreement.

Path to Whiteburn

The SUW then left the track and climbed up across a field, the way indicated by a mown track. We walked watched by cows and calves up to an impressive cairn with a red weather cock atop. The cairn looked to be leaning slightly and had a fence around it but with a gate. There looked to be a small plinth that could have held an information board but there is nothing now. The cairn was apparently built to celebrate 100 years of tenure of the Whiteburn Farm by the Cockburn family (1848-1948). After this we passed through some trees and reached a minor road and Whiteburn Farm. A large sign here advertised the ultimate drink experience, but we had to leave that for another day.

Cairn near Whiteburn

The SUW here takes a detour around the farm rejoining the farm track on the far side of the buildings. A deer watched us then bounded away in the adjacent field. The track soon turned left but we struck out across a field, as advised by the SUW markers, and came to a minor road close to a lay-by. I had intended this to be our first drink stop but I must have been distracted and didn’t notice it.

We turned right after a short walk and followed a farm track down towards Blackburn Mill. On the way we passed a black bull lying by the fence. He had a heart on his shoulder which caught our eye. As we were taking some photos the farmer arrived and told us that they needed two bulls because there were so many cows but this rather forlorn beast was the number two bull and had been having a hard time of it in disputes with the other bull. He had a sore foot so was resting here on his own. The heart is apparently a Rawburn mark.

Bull with Heart

At the bottom of the slope we crossed Eye Water and turned right. Another bird of prey was active here. The track turned left but a sign asked SUW walkers to follow a route in a field rather than stay on the road. I did wonder who other than walkers could be following the SUW. Anyway an SUW gate invited us onto the grass. Unfortunately I difficulty squeezing through the gate, which would only open wide enough for the most lithe to pass. with some wriggling I passed the litheness test. Audrey and Gwyneth having watched my contortions, diagnosed the problem and opened the gate the other way. I have reflected on this experience and though they may have gained points for observation and intelligence, I did pass the litheness test that they chose to forego.

The field did not have a definite track other than immediately next to a beech hedge. Audrey thought this had been made by cows rather than people and I’m inclined to agree. You could only use the track by leaning out to avoid the hedge poking into your face. The alternative was very uneven ground. I don’t know why but there were lots of butterflies in the field. We left the field by another gate but this was designed to only open the one way.

A farm track led us to Blackburn Farm that was quite extensive with several Yorkshire boarded buildings. there weren’t any animals about though and I thought it looked like the kind of place one sees in gangster films. I didn’t see any film crews though. On the way out we passed a rusting pump that looked to be a piece of industrial sculpture rather than scrap. A minor road from the farm lead down to the A1, and by now we were looking for a spot to stop for a snack. I don’t like stopping near farms because it feels like having a break in someones garden.

There were no obvious places to sit so we took a break where the drive to Blackburn House left the road. Unfortunately about five minutes after our rest, the rain reached us. At first it was the odd spot but soon increased to the point that waterproof jackets were needed non-waterproof stuff was packed away. So we approached the A! in rain. Across the valley were some very tall trees with little foliage except on top suggesting the woods had been more extensive until recently.

The A1

An SUW sign told us were half-way, since both Abbey St Bathans and Cockburnspath were 5 miles. The A1 was busy but we didn’t have to wait too long before a break in traffic allowed us to cross. I don’t think Audrey was paying attention though because she didn’t cross and we had to wait another couple of minutes for her to get another chance.

There is a grassy path cut through the undergrowth on the far side of the A1 which winds along and reaches a tarmac road, the old A1. Its surprising how narrow this road was, and how quickly nature is beginning to overgrow it. The surface was very slippery, in places it was like walking on ice.

The main east coast railway to to our right. We passed a large concrete structure where the Pease Burn passed under the railway. I think this is some sort of siphon to protect the railway if the burn floods. We crossed the railway on a footbridge with signs asking that any vehicle impact with the bridge be reported to the police.

Penmanshiel Cottage

Once over the Railway we were in Penmanshiel Woods. We passed a derelict Penmanshiel Cottage with some unusual pink flowers. My photos didn’t turn out but perhaps G or A will have photos that allow us to identify it.

We were now walking on a woodland tack covered with pine needles and cones. The path gradually climbed and we were soon high above the burn. The OS map route of the SUW is rather confusing here but the route is well signed and much simpler than the OS map would suggest. In addition to the usual sounds of a forest we could hear shooting off to our left. Luckily it didn’t seem to be particularly close. By now our body clocks were recognising lunchtime but there were no handy logs or rocks to sit on. We decided to sit against a small bank that was relatively, dry being under thick branches and were able to dispense with our jackets.

Lunch in relative dryness, sitting down and sheltered from the elements recharged my batteries, though truth be told I was’t particularly in need of re-charging just then. After lunch we set off. Our waterproofs were packed away which was much more comfortable in the warm humid afternoon and when we later emerged from the trees the rain had stopped. About ten minutes after setting off after lunch we came to a bench that would have done nicely for lunch. I presume it was set where it was for the views but visibility was such that the only view was greyness beyond the trees. I imagine the sea would usually be visible from there.

After a gradual descent on the woodland track there was a steep narrow path down to the road at the bridge over Pease Dean. The bridge looked impressive but we didn’t find a good spot to photograph it. We decided to walk not the bridge for a better look at the deep wooded valley of Pease Dean. I hadn’t noticed it but Eagle-eyed Audrey spotted the sea from there, just visible 1km away. So we had to come to within a kilometre of the coast before we could see the sea. I sniffed for the odour of the sea but smelt Italian restaurant smell instead.

Pease Dean from the bridge

The next leg was through the Pease Dean Nature Reserve. the narrow grassy path here soaked my trousers below the calf. there were several steep descents with wooden steps. though these had chicken-wire on them they were still quite slippery and needed extra care. we crossed Pease Burn on footbridges and came to some newly constructed wooden steps and SUW gates that led us into a builder’s yard. What long distance footpath would be complete without sight of a cement mixer? Outside the builders yard there was a way around it.

Pease Dean Nature Reserve

We were now at a large seaside caravan park but there was a sea mist so the sea only 200m away was only just visible. some of the static mobile homes by the road look to be very nice (and I am sure, expensive) with excellent views on a clear day. The very minor road we now stood on had been the main Edinburgh-London coach route until the Pease Bridge was built in 1784. I certainly wouldn’t have fancied riding a coach on that steep narrow road. We walked up the road to a cottage with large bouncing dogs. Woof-woof- head appears above wall-woof-woof-another head appears briefly. It did look as if they were using a trampoline.

Signs indicated we should leave the road and join a cliff-top path. We were also now on the James Hutton Walk, one of the Borders Brains walks apparently.

Tricky gate

The cliff top walk was straightforward to follow. Most of the time it was on the sea side of the fence but did sometimes cross to the field side where we walked beside a field of barley. There was a kissing gate designed for the slighter walker and there was some smiling as I tried to wriggle through. It was fun to watch the others have the same problem. These gates aren’t designed for people with rucksacks.

Coast near Cove

Unfortunately, the sea mist stole the views from us though we could make out some of the rock formations. I gritted my teeth in annoyance when we walked past a sign warning of the dangers of falling off steep cliffs. There were no signs warning that the sea was wet, though.

The cliff top had a few unexplained structures: a white pole with steps like those on a telegraph pole (perhaps and old warning beacon); a pole with two dangling kite like structures (a scarecrow?); and a twisted railway track (some sort of sculpture). We could see Cove Harbour below us and decided that we needed to go down to the sea to have completed the Coast to Coast Walk. So where the SUW turned inland we continued on to the few houses above the harbour. There is a memorial here for those who lost their lives in a fishing disaster in 1881.

Fishing Disaster Memorial

We then turned down a path leading to the harbour. When the tide is in in would not have been possible to walk from one pier to another and a tunnel has built through the cliffs to allow access. Audrey and I were aware of the tunnel from reading our SUW guidebooks. Gwyneth was unaware and lagging a few paces behind us looking out to sea, so when Audrey and I turned into the tunnel, Gwyneth carried on the path.

So when we got down to the beach and looked around we saw Gwyneth up on the pier. She had though she would need to use a ladder to get down to us but luckily she found the stone steps. Cove harbour is a pretty place even when the surrounding area is shrouded in mist, but I’ll have to admit that my mind was concentrating on reaching the water’s edge to complete the Coast to Coast. As I strode across sea-weed I knew I was at the coast and when I dipped my feet in the North Sea I felt the walk was complete. Audrey did the same and we had a few minutes of exchanging cameras for photos.

Cove Harbour, the end of the coast to coast

That might have been the “end” of the walk in mind but the official end was still a mile away in Cockburnspath. So we walked back up to the cliff top and rejoined the SUW. A track took us past Cove Farm, under the main railway and the A1. By the Cockburnspath War Memorial is a Southern Upland Way information shelter with a sign reading “Cockburnspath – End of the Southern Upland Way”. So we posed for more end of the walk photos.

End of the SUW

The official end of the SUW though is at the Mercat Cross in Cockburnspath so we walked up (yes, up) the last 150m to the Mercat Cross for more photos.

We celebrated with Ginger Beer and bucket-and-spade cakes courtesy of Audrey.

So that is the SUW completed. It has taken us 19 days. We have walked 230.2 miles with 10,295m of climb (and obviously 10,295m of descent). The official distance is 212 miles and I worked out we walked 6.8 miles off piste so to speak, in walking to the car or visiting places off the SUW, so our SUW walk was 223.4 miles.

The End….except for the alternative sections…

10 miles 4h 35m ascent 332m

Route: SUW Watch Water Reservoir; Highest point 316m on Commonside

It was another long drive in for this walk, and we were held up in traffic on a very minor road near Millburn Bridge. This looked to be a local riding of the marches with a great many horses which came along the road then galloped up Cockburn Law. After this minor hold up we drove on to Abbey St Bathans and parked near the Riverside Gallery. The owner came out and asked us to park on the far side of the track rather than the restaurant car park. She also suggested we might nip in for a drink after our walk. There is an SUW information board here with leaflets and a cist map.

More than three hours after setting off we reached Watch Water and squeezed the car in next to those of the anglers practising their hobby in the reservoir. The sun shone brightly to remind us of the need for sunscreen and was to give us good weather for the whole of our day.

Ali’s Cairn, Great Dirrington and Cheviot in the background

We started with a brief uphill walk onto Windy Law, so we were soon warmed up. At the top of the slope is Ali’s Cairn, commemorating a local keeper, Alisdair Thomson who died in 2011 at just 39 years old. From his cairn there are views back across Watch Water to the cairns of Twinlaw and south with The Cheviot and the Dirrington Laws, Great and Little, these last two are ancient volcanic intrusions with man-made cairns visible on their summits. I stood watching a tractor moving through the filed by road, seagulls swarming about it, and saw several hares escaping ahead of it.

Rawburn Farm was very neat with a well tended tree lined avenue leading down from it. After that we walked down the single track road past a Water Treatment plant, with an emergency shower just inside the perimeter fence, over the Watch Water and down through trees alongside the Dye Water into Longformacus. There were plenty of wild- flowers in the hedgerows, including white, pink and purple foxgloves, and even a few bright red poppies. Longformacus has an SUW information board with more leaflets, booklets on walks near the eastern part of the SUW and SUW postcards. As we walked into Longformacus I had been assailed by swarms of insects. I thought I was being selectively targeted but once I got closer to Audrey and Gwyneth I felt a little better to find they had the same problem. Luckily, Audrey had brought insect repellent along and I squirted it on my hat. Gwyneth decided to be the control arm of the study and did without (at first). Once we had shaken off the flies we could have a snack in peace.

Dye Water

Rehydrated and refuelled we set off again. The SUW turned along the road to Ellemford Bridge, initially through trees but then in more open farmland with views along the Dye Water.  Organic material on the road suggested that horses had passed that way before us.

Dye Water

After 3.4 miles of road walking the SUW crossed a stile, left the road behind and headed on to Otterburn Hill (which is not named on modern OS maps). Once over the stile it was not obvious which way to go. A shallow cleugh, if such a thing can exist, with rough ground either side climbed the hill, while an improved field stood across a fence. There was a gate, but that looked as if it would need machinery to open it, so working on the assumption that the SUW usually provides stiles or gates we ignored the gate and headed up the hill beside the red dirt of the cleugh.

As we climbed we could soon make out another stile at the top and once there an SUW marker post was visible on the hilltop beyond. Otterburn Hill has a look of moorland and there is a red dirt track across part of it. This red dirt was the first I recalled on the SUW, so perhaps we had walked into a different geological region. A fallen signpost informed us that Abbey St Bathans was 5.5 miles away oblong the SUW. A mile or so away to the SE on Black Hill stood a wind turbine farm, its blades all turning in unison.

On Otterburn Hill, amongst the grasses there were many small wildflowers and numerous thistles just coming into flower. There were several white thistles, which was a first for me.  The remainder of the climb up Commonside was through a wonderful meadow. The grass was at that perfect height that allows you to trail your hands through its tops as you walk. There were a variety of small and large butterflies, which flew ahead of me like the hares that had run before the tractor earlier in the walk. To our left was a beechwood the branches of its trees loaded with nuts. And for extra colour, numerous small bright flowers by my feet.

The meadow ended at at fence with a stile. The SUW here takes a very short dogleg turning left across the stile than immediately right. This immediate right turn, which basically means we are heading in the same direction, could be missed, the only indication that we should head that way was a stile. There was presumably once a fence or gate there but now the stile stands alone. This led us along a short overgrown grassy break that was insect infested. A poor crow that looked none too well was hopping along ahead of us. A right turn, and more stiles took us over the highest point of this walk. I had hoped we might have our first glimpse of the North Sea from here, but it was not to be.

Beech Nuts

We had by then entered “lunch-time”, the period during which one looks for suitable spots for lunch…somewhere to sit that is not fly infested. I suppose we could have sat in the grass of the hillside but the flies were still following us. Our trek across untracked fields, following SUW posts, led us to a farm/forestry track that took us through Lodge Wood to the B6355. There were no likely lunch spots in the wood.

We passed Whitchester Lodge, which was a pretty sizeable lodge. We hadn’t sen the big house itself but it must be massive if the lodge was this size. The SUW only used the road for a very short distance and we soon reached the SUW sign pointing us up a track climbing the slopes of Abbey Hill. There was a drystone wall by the road that would have served as a seat but we thought it best to lunch away from the road.

Perhaps it says something about me, or perhaps even my English teacher that when I saw the sign by the road, “no more wind turbines in the Lammermuirs”, my first thought was that the first letter was not capitalised. The sign also gives a URL but it no longer exists so perhaps the battles have already been fought and one side or the other has won through.

Abbey Hill

So, still in lunch-search-mode we took the path zig-zagging up the slope. A new signpost pointed to Windy Windshiel and an information board told us a little more. It was 500m off our course and there did not look to be any obvious track so we stuck with the SUW. The track we were on ended at a a gate. I had thought we should awl up to the tree line and follow that but Audrey spotted a signpost lying on the ground. This suggested we should carry straight on, but that would begin to take us down the hill, so we headed up for a short while then started to come down again at which point Gwyneth spotted a marker post below us and we were back on track. We joined a sheep trail that took us across the top of a gully and up to the tree line.

On the OS map the SUW leaves the trees and heads directly down into Robber’s Cleugh and one of my SUW books describes grassy steps descending the steep sides of the cleugh. The SUW marker posts however kept us alongside the trees and down into the cleugh beside the fence. The route then heads along the cleugh, passing through two SUW gates either side of a wee gully, before joining a forestry track where it crosses the burn. This must be an alteration from the route on the OS maps and guidebooks. Older maps have Robbers’ Cleugh rather than Robber’s Cleugh. Was it one, or many?

The forestry track had several large tree trunks beside it that were just what we needed for lunch seating. Comfortable dry seating makes such a difference to a walk.

After lunch we carried on along the track through Roughside Wood which took us past the 200 mile mark from the official SUW distances, but was 216 miles for us. (That would be just 210 miles if we exclude additional distances walked off the SUW such as visiting Minch Moor summit, or walking off SUW to the car.).

This track was high above Whiteadder Water with a steep drop. We couldn’t see the river very well at this stage but there were other things to see. Squirrels ran across the track a couple of times but I wasn’t fast enough with the camera. There were banks of fine grass that looked like green waterfalls and masses of hair-cap moss. After the dry ground of the start of this section, I was surprised to find muddy puddles on this track.

Lammermuir Kirk

I wondered how we would get down to the level of the river and if we had a steep descent ahead of us. As it was, though, once we left the trees the the track descended none too steeply and we were soon by the river. We had good views of a heron which then flew off downstream. There were more flowers by the river including some wild geraniums.

Abbey St Bathans was not far away and soon enough we were stood beside the village’s  red phone box, and GR post box. We walked by Lammermuir Kirk and a house with an SUW sign, perhaps a B&B?

Gurkha Bridge

A footbridge took us across the Whiteadder and into Shannabank Wood. I mentioned that it had been built by Gurkhas in 1987 and Gwyneth was very impressed that I knew this. I did know this before the walk but beside that there was a plaque by the bridge that said the same. The Whiteadder was certainly a pretty river and reminded me of both the Water of Milk and Annan Water from the Annandale Way.

Our final section was a woodland walk, the forget-me-nots had such bright colours that they looked to have been photoshopped into reality. I did begin to have some misgivings in these last minutes of the walk. I should have checked that there was still a bridge back across the Whiteadder to the car. If there wasn’t I might have to use the ford.

We crossed footbridge over a small burn and saw a substantial tree house in a garden nearby and then found ourselves at the ford. I could see my car across the river and there was a footbridge. The ford was there as well, but it was part ford and part bridge and stood dry above the water. An ostrich made of scrap metal watched me as I decided between the bridge and the ford.

I decided to use the ford and the water flowing beneath it looked so inviting that I did what I had dreamed of all along the SUW. I took off my boots and dangled my bare feet in the cool waters. Joy.

The Riverside Restaurant near which we were parked was too inviting to ignore so we had ginger beer sitting in its courtyard watching swallows darting about. The restaurant looks to have been a saw-mill in its previous life and is both a gallery and a restaurant now. There is a sawmill across the road so I presume that business merely moved to new premises.

I had not particularly enjoyed the last section, but this short section was very pleasant, and we had good weather while walking. The rain came as we drove home.

One more section to go.