From the gypsy stronghold of Kirk Yetholm, cross the border to venture into the Cheviots in search of prehistoric hill forts and a tranquil waterfall.
Continue reading “Ring Chesters and Hethpool Linn”Tibbie Tamson’s Grave
Little is known of the life of Selkirk’s Isabella Tamson, known as “Tibbie”. A woman of simple mind, in 1790 she was accused of stealing a ball of yarn and summoned to trial. The thought of being considered a criminal proved too much to bear, and Tibbie hanged herself in shame – a crime in itself at the time, which forbade her from burial in consecrated ground. Sympathetic souls took her to a hillside outside the town and laid her to rest on a hillside where she could be persecuted no longer. This walk is a pilgrimage of sorts to find this poor woman’s peaceful grave.
Continue reading “Tibbie Tamson’s Grave”The Tweed Valley Railway
The opening of the Borders Railway in 2015 may have restored rail service to the south-east of Scotland, yet a vast number of towns and villages were once connected on a multitude of lines that have long since vanished. One of these was the Peebles Railway, a section of which is now a multi-use path along the banks of the Tweed.
Continue reading “The Tweed Valley Railway”Hadrian’s Wall and Housesteads
A pleasant walk in the footsteps of Romans along a well preserved section of Hadrian’s Wall.
Continue reading “Hadrian’s Wall and Housesteads”Cardrona Forest
A peaceful walk in Borders woodland taking in an Iron Age fort and a ruined peel tower.
Continue reading “Cardrona Forest”Loch of the Lowes and Riskinhope
“Oft had he viewed, as morning rose, the bosom of the lonely Lowes”. So began the Borders poet James Hogg when writing of the Loch of the Lowes in his poem The Queen’s Wake. The busy road passing by may have rendered it significantly less lonely than in Hogg’s day, but a short walk into the Ettrick hills provides an opportunity to capture the sense of solitude of a bygone age.
Continue reading “Loch of the Lowes and Riskinhope”Loch Eddy
Deep in a glen in the Manor Hills lies tranquil Loch Eddy. Once a retreat for the upper echelons of society, it makes for a lovely short walk full of natural splendour.
Wylam and Prudhoe
A stone’s throw from industrial Tyneside, I hadn’t expected to find such a scenic walk so close to the city – nor, as it happens, to follow in the footsteps of so many railway pioneers.
Ford Moss
A peaceful walk around a nature reserve and surrounding countryside. Perfect for a Sunday afternoon.
Bewick Moor
The moors of north Northumberland may lack the picturesque fame of their Yorkshire cousins, but a little effort reveals a fine walk through history, from prehistoric cairns and Iron Age fortresses, to a medieval tower and a 19th century farmhouse. Though there are no steep climbs, the pervasive thick heather across the open moorland makes progress slow and much of the route can be difficult to discern at times.