Crown Walking Club

Long Distance Walk

2019

The Borders Abbey Way

Introduction

In 2018 we completed ‘The Cotswold Round’, a walk of ‘Chocolate Box’ charm, based on the HF House in Bourton on the water. We enjoyed it very much but decided that for 2019 we should go north again and revert to the old system of moving on each day to a new location. So, after much discussion, we decided that the Borders Abbey Way would fit the bill.

The Borders Abbeys Way is a long-distance walk around the Countryside, it is associated with the 12th Century Abbeys that were built when this area was so very prosperous. It is a circular walk in the heart of the Scottish Borders, full of attractive countryside, passing by four 12th Century Abbeys and through several Border Towns. It sounded just right for us. We had done the St Cuthbert’s Way in 2014, so were familiar with some of the area.

The walk would encompass:

Jedburgh – - Selkirk- Melrose- Kelso-Returning to Jedburgh There were only seven of us on this year’s walk. Theo Dibbits, Peter Proctor, Dave Wallwork, John Merrick, Colin Billiet, Dave Thompson, and our President, Jeff Hibbert.

Unfortunately, three regulars, Ron Clark, Reg Collier and Peter Brookes could not make the trip due to various reasons.

Sunday 2nd June We assembled in Jedburgh late afternoon, in B&B’s that were not too far apart, then walked down to have dinner in the Carters Rest Pub. Jedburgh is a fascinating town with a significant historical past.

The Abbey dates from 1118, but there was an earlier church on the site in the 9th Century. There is a castle on an elevated site that was fought over by various English/ Scottish factions for hundreds of years, but later it became a prison.

Queen Mary's House is in the centre of the town and was occupied by the Queen for a month in 1566. From here she visited the Earl of Bothwell at Hermitage Castle and while she was ill was visited in the house by the infamous Lord Darnley. Prince Charles Edward Stuart stayed here on his march into England during the Jacobite uprising.

There are literary associations with Sir , Robert Burns and William Wordsworth. This was also the hometown of Mary Somerville the mathematician born in 1780 and of Sir David Brewster the scientist born in 1781. In short, if you are a history buff, then there is much to do and see.

Monday 3rd June – Jedburgh to Hawick

The Monday morning saw us move the cars to an excellent free car park in the centre of the town, then walk up past the old prison and castle, which had been built in a truly dominating position. We then gently ascending to ‘Black Law’, which gave us some excellent views over the town.

In truth this had been a hard climb to the top on our first day, but a coffee stop was taken in Blacklaw Strip, before making our way down to the little hamlet of . On the way down we came across a door that had been positioned by the side of a wood. We were invited to leave a message on it, very strange indeed. Bedrule has a large church on a hill, a fine ‘Manse’ that had been turned into a B&B, a lovely old bridge across the Rule Water, but not too much more. The weather so far had been rather dull, with some showery rain, but it soon improved; by the time we reached our destination the sun was out.

Our next objective was the village of Denholm, where we had to cross over the . We took some lunch by the river, on well-placed seats. Denholm was interesting, with well-kept gardens and very tidy streets.

From here we turned South West, down the River, following its gentle bends to Knowetown Cottages, along the way we came across some wonderful Sycamore trees. We were now approaching Hawick, so it was along the riverbank and through trees that had overgrown the path in places, the writer managed to be tripped up by some tree roots and went flying, but no harm done. The last mile into the town seemed a long way, passing old mills, industrial units and sports fields but we made it in good order. Dave Wallwork found us a very interesting old ‘Wetherspoons’ and so we rested for a little while. The drink prices were sensible, so we had a couple before walking back along the south bank of the river to Mansfield House our hotel for the night. (We spotted a ‘Morrisons’ supermarket on the way which was to provide the following days lunches). It seemed a long way to the hotel, but it was only a mile.

Mansfield House proved to be very welcoming, if a little swish for our group, with good rooms and excellent views and gardens. Dinner was taken, but the wine prices proved to be very high, in fact, they said they had run out of the sensibly priced wine, so we had to negotiate a special price of only £25 per bottle! It turned out that this was a wedding venue, so they were not really used to people like us. The leader for the day had been Dave Wallwork, who never put a foot wrong, ably backed up by Jeff Hibbert, we had walked 14.2 miles and had ascended 2082 feet in total.

Hawick is an interesting old town. It suffered, like its Border neighbours, at the hands of the English in 1543-47, the time of the ‘Rough Wooing’. It remembers old traditions in the form of ‘Common Riding’ and the celebration of the return of the young men after Flodden.

‘Common Riding’ needs a little explanation, it seems that in olden times the small towns in the Borders would assemble up to 200 riders on horses to do a circuit of the area to drive off cattle thieves from England. They still continue the tradition, making it quite a celebration, we had just missed one at the weekend in Selkirk. However, today Hawick is associated with the textile and hosier trade. At its height over 5000 were employed, hence the closed down mills that we saw when we walked into the town. (Shades of Bolton!)

The town is also known for its great rugby tradition and the "Greens" have been the home of many Scottish international players.

Tuesday 4th June. – Hawick to Selkirk

Theo and Jeff, our leaders for the day, took us at a steady pace back into Hawick, the first stop being Morrisons for our lunch-packs. Some things are important! Then it was across the river Teviot again, up through the leisure complex and along a slowly climbing road almost due north to reach the bridge that would take us across the strangely named ‘Boonraw Burn’. We were now at over 900 ft elevation and the views were opening up to reveal a wonderful landscape. The weather was atmospheric, with rain in the clouds, but we were fortunate in that none came down on us. We then followed the ‘’ for several miles, coming to the start of the ‘Ettrick Forest’, a huge area of forestry through which we tramped for approximately four miles.

It was here that me met Susan Gray, who was the District Warden for the Borders Abbey Way. We congratulated her and her assistant on the excellent way-marking of this walk. It is probably the best that we have ever seen on a long-distance walk. (Jeff has since written to her, with photographs of us and saying how much we enjoyed our trip to the Borders.)

Without the sensible way- marking it might have proved difficult to find our way through the forest, but we easily made our way down to the tiny Middlestead hamlet, to join the road that would take us across the Hartwood Burn and Haining Moss. From here it was but a short stroll across Murieston Hill which afforded glimpses of Haining Loch. This area is now a large park, with much timber felling going on; it is dominated by a very impressive mansion called ‘The Haining’, which is next to Peel Hill. We exited the park through large gates and wandered up to the centre of Selkirk. It had been a terrific days walking, of over 14.2 miles and with 1394 ft of ascent. Our two leaders had done a fine job. The necessary photos were taken in front of the statue of Sir Walter Scott who was the Deputy Sheriff and sat in the courtroom in the Market Square. It also has associations with Robert Burns, but then so did many of the places we went through, he obviously spread his oats far and wide.

The Selkirk area was the setting of the first 12th century Border Abbey founded in 1113 by Prince David (later to become King David I). This Abbey did not last long and the Tyronensian monks moved to Kelso to form their new Abbey. (We saw the remains of it later in the week.) The town was spared many fights between the Scots and English until Selkirk was burnt to the ground by the English in 1513. This followed the well-known return of only one of the 100 soldiers who went from the town to fight for the King on the Flodden fields.

The party was booked into two B&B’s, the County Hotel on the main square, and the Glen Hotel which was half a mile out of town. It was decided that a drink was required before making the effort to walk out of the town, so we retired to the County Hotel, where two very obliging ladies looked after us.

We later met up at a restaurant near to the County, but not before taking drinks at the Town House Pub, a very unusual place with a terrific bar maid who told us that most of the customers were upstairs playing chess. It had one of the most unusual bars that we had ever seen. The day ended well despite a heavy downpour which flooded the streets as some of us made our way down to the Glen Hotel.

Selkirk did not make a great first impression on us when we walked into the town, but it has its charm, and some lovely buildings, and the people were wonderfully friendly to us Sassenachs.

Wednesday 5th June. – Selkirk to Melrose

We assembled in the town square at 9.00am, collected our lunches from a very obliging lady in the sandwich shop on the corner, and walked out of town. The leaders for the day were the writer, and Colin Billiet. Colin had started the week carrying a leg injury, by this section of the walk it was really beginning to trouble him. So, we nudged out of Selkirk at a steady pace, up past St Mungo’s well and onto the hills, with the very attractive Selkirk golf course above us.

The route finding was easy, north to the tiny village of Buxton, through an area that was obviously a local walking spot, with very good paths, flowers and flowering shrubs abounded. We then went onwards to ‘Shawmount’ with a stretch of road walking compensated for by some beautiful views across to the east.

Coffee and snacks were taken next to an empty barn at Upper Faldonside, which was overlooked by Cauldshiels Hill. This was the highest point in the area, at over 1100 ft, and had a stone age fort on the summit. Some in the party wondered if we had time to climb it.

We did not, our destination had been planned to be Melrose, but the Thursday stretch was to be nearly 17 miles long, so Peter Brooks had decided to take three miles off it, adding it to today’s walk. Adding three miles to the Wednesdays walk would therefore take us through Melrose and on to a small town called Newton St Boswell. So, on we went, too fast, unfortunately, Colin was beginning to suffer. I was the other leader, so it was my fault!

However, we came down to Caulshiels Loch, went around the top of it, and met our only other walkers of the day; three ladies who asked if we were taking a swim in the Loch. We declined, of course.

Now it was some zig – zagging through the Shilling law Plantations to eventually reach the banks of the famous Tweed River. We had lunch at a large open park at Tweedbank, it had seats where we could rest before marching on to Melrose. However, it was apparent that Colin was in real trouble by now. We needed to get him to Melrose where he could rest his leg.

We therefore picked up the route of the Southern Uplands trail, which follows the railway into Melrose, easier walking than the path around the Tweed, this enabled us to reach the centre of the town reasonably quickly. We deposited Colin at the attractive looking Station Hotel, where the lady proprietor assured us that she would look after him. After a short break, we took the path by the side of the Abbey that would take us out towards Newstead. This was excellent walking, with good paths and much to see on the hillsides around us.

We then turned south-east at ‘Alice Knowe’, and came to the road that would take us down to Eildon. However, it was uphill again, but past a very impressive stables establishment, Theo was quite amazed at the money that it must have cost. We paused to look at the famous ‘Rhymers Stone’, they like their poets in this area, then walked down through Eildon into Newton St Boswells. We soon found the ‘Five Star’ Taxi place that would provide the mini coach that would return us to Melrose. We had time for a drink before it arrived at 4.00 pm, but; what a disappointment, the only pub in the locality was closed on a Wednesday afternoon! Newton St Boswells was rapidly declining in our opinion. It may have flowers, and nice friendly people, and was very tidy, and had some interesting buildings and a very large Council Headquarters, but it had no pub that was open. Our President Jeff tried to arrange for the Taxi to arrive earlier, but to no avail. The only point of interest was a vintage MG TF sports car driven by a Dutch couple; they were staying in the pub that we were standing outside of. What a trial life can be.

The Taxi came on time and the jovial driver soon had us back in Melrose. David Wallwork was keen to sample ‘cask’ ales, so we had two things to do, find Colin, and locate a suitable establishment.

It’s a brave man who stands between David and his pint of cask ale after a day’s walking.

We soon found Colin, who had recovered to some extent, and the George and Abbotsford Hotel on the High Street fitted the bill for those who wished to sample the cask ales. So, a few drinks were had, and people’s spirits restored, walkers are a simple lot.

Arrangements were made to meet later in the ‘Burts’ restaurant, where a very convivial evening was had, although not without a little excitement. Peter Brookes had made a booking for us there weeks ago, but they denied having one. Our President intervened, and a very nice lady managed to shoehorn us in onto a table despite them being full. The proprietor gave us a free bottle of wine to apologise for the misunderstanding.

Melrose is a lovely little town, well worth a visit, flowers everywhere, good shops and restaurants and a buzz that was missing from Selkirk. The local people organise themselves into volunteer groups to put the flowers around the town.

It had been a long day, 13 miles of walking and nearly 800 feet of ascent.

The following morning, we met up on the town square and departed for Newton St Boswells by taxi, but minus Colin who had decided to take a rest day to enable his leg to recover.

Thursday 6th June. – Newton St Boswells to Kelso

The leaders for the day were going to be Peter Brookes and Peter Proctor, but Peter B was not available, so Colin had volunteered, but now he was missing. This meant that our redoubtable president Jeff stepped into the breach.

Upon leaving Newton St Boswells he soon marshalled the group down to ‘Tweed Horizons’, crossing the river and then making the way through to Dryburgh, giving Peter Proctor help with navigation along the way.

We could not really see .

The earliest mention of Dryburgh is in 622 and relates to St Modan, a follower of St Columba who was said to be the Abbot of Dryburgh. No sign of the original Abbey remains have been found, and the next known development was not until the 12th century.

Hugh de Morville founded this abbey in 1152 for monks from Alnwick. It was destroyed by the English 1322, 1344 and 1385. It seems we could not do a proper job of it and had to keep coming back.

After the Monks had left it was under the control of lay nobles and this eventually fell to a Thomas Haliburton, the great grandfather of Sir Walter Scott. The Halliburton's later sold it, only retaining the opportunity for the family to be buried in the Abbey. In the grounds are the graves of Sir Walter Scott and Field - Marshal Earl Haig, of first World War fame. There now appears to be a hotel in the grounds.

However, this is a lovely area with neat gardens and many bright shrubs and flowers and magnificent trees. From there it was down to the Tweed and along its bank to the quaint village of Clintmains. The interesting thing here was at this point, the ‘St Cuthbert’s Way’ runs along the other bank of the river.

The walking now was superb, beautiful flowers bordered long stretches of the Tweed, we saw a few salmon fishermen, but not as many as might be expected. Birds were everywhere, including buzzards and herons, not to mention all kinds of wild fowl.

We then cut north East from the river to reach Makerstoun House, which is a privately-owned country home, set high above the River Tweed. Once a defensive position, the house now serves as the perfect venue for large summer events; particularly weddings. Not surprisingly the Estate includes two prime salmon beats.

We now began a section of road walking, Haymount, Wester Muirdean Strip, going north East for approximately two and a half miles. Fortunately, even after crossing the main Kelso to Edinburgh road there is a very wide grass verge on both sides of this attractive tree lined road which led us into Harrietfield. We then abruptly turned south west to head down Kelso Race- Track, with the golf course nearby.

It was now a straight -forward trek into Kelso itself, meeting up with the River Tweed again, taking the path along its bank into the town centre. Along the way we could see some of the fine church steeples, and the top of the remains of the Abbey.

We met up with Colin on the town square, he had travelled by bus into Kelso earlier in the day and had taken the opportunity to evaluate the local hostelries for us. He was much improved; the rest had ensured that he would complete the following days walk back to Jedburgh. The necessary Photo was taken in the Square in front of the town hall, and we then decamped into the Rutherfords, which is a ‘Micropub’.

After a few drinks in this strange establishment, plans were made for the evening. After departing to our B&B’s, in which Theo, Peter Proctor and myself found great difficulty in finding, we later met up at the Cobbles Restaurant, the best in Kelso according to some locals. A rather unique occurrence took place Colin refused to drink wine. The wine prices at this establishment were ridiculous, so he said that as a point of principle, he would not take any. Some of us did, very reluctantly.

It had been a very good day, of just under 15 miles of walking, and a height climbed of approximately 600 ft. It had been impeccable led by our President, with some support from Peter P.

Kelso Town hall was very impressive indeed, as were many of the Buildings on the Square.

Friday 7th June. – Kelso to Jedbrugh

A few words need to be said about Kelso; it is a lovely town, the streets are cobbled, very clean and tidy. Old and interesting buildings are everywhere, with splendid churches of many denominations. St Andrews Church is stunning inside and situated in an area that has been renovated with the use of EU Grants.

Kelso Abbey was founded in 1128 by David I, and is thought to have been the biggest of the Border Abbeys. (Set up by those Tyronensian monks from Selkirk!) It was the setting of the hastily arranged crowning of the nine-year- old King James III in 1460. The town developed on the strength of the Abbey and its strategic location at the merging of the Tweed and Teviot Rivers. However, it was soon one of the largest and richest in , having a superb library in medieval times.

The abbey's wealth came from its vast lands, its churches, schools, farms and its granges in the Cheviot Hills. Regrettably, it was also close to the English Border and for this reason the town was burnt in fighting in the 1500's, on several occasions. It was also subject to cannon fire by Henry VIII’s armies during the ‘Rough Wooing’ of the 1540s. However, even in its fragmentary state, is a superb piece of architecture.

The two nominated leaders of the day were Jeff Hibbert and John Merrick, it had been decided by Colin and John that they should leave the town early, about an hour in front of the remaining party. This was to enable Colin to take his time and not put too much strain on his leg.

We walked out of the town, past the Abbey, and down to the very impressive Kelso Bridge that crosses the River Teviot. We were to follow this river for many miles, the sun was shinning and the paths good along its bank. We passed a large show ground called ‘Springwood Park’ where large marquees were being erected. It turned out that this was to be a dog show the following week, an eliminator show for Crufts. Apparently, dog lovers come to it from all over the world. Our President would have had nightmares.

The walking was quite straightforward, south through to Roxburgh, passing the remains of Roxburgh Castle on the way. The walking was sublime, flower strew meadows, and birds of many descriptions, what surprised us was the number and different types of bees.

We caught up Colin and John in time for lunch at Nisbet, sitting on the river- bank enjoying the view. An interesting feature hear-about is how the fields had been protected from flooding by embankments, they must have been put in place over centuries.

It was not long before we were in Jedburgh, the walking had been flat along the river, except for a nasty little sting in the tail at the end, which resulted in us climbing several hundred feet. It was called Mount Ulstock, we could have done without it, but it gave good views.

We proceeded into Jedburgh along the river park pathway, with very high sandstone cliffs, rusty-red in the sunshine. They dominated the opposite bank.

We proceeded up the high street to find the cross where we had started on the Monday morning, took some photos, and retired to the pub that we used on the first night. The last day was over,13 miles long and nearly 500 feet of ascent, ably led by John and Jeff.

It will be noticed that we were all wearing the same shirts on different days, dark blue, light blue and grey. An innovation this year to advertise the Crown Walking Club. A celebratory drink was had, then it was homeward bound, another long- distance walk completed. Overall the weather had been kind, hardly any rain and much sunshine. (On the way back down the M6 we faced a tremendous storm, one that had apparently come up from Spain)

We must thank our wives for allowing us to leave them for another week, we were also indebted to Peter Brookes who had made all the accommodation and dining arrangements but then was not able to join us. We also raised a glass to Reg Collier and Ron Clark, who also could not be with us this year. Our President supplied the maps of the route, and led when necessary, thank you Jeff. A person who we never met also needs a mention, Mr John Henderson, of ‘Walking Support’ in Melrose, who transported our baggage around the Borders Abbey Way, faultlessly. Thank you, John.

Theo Dibbits, to whom I am indebted for the photographs above, will put a full set on the Club Website in due course. Thank you, Theo.

Lastly, it was very good that Colin completed the walk with us, despite his injury. I must also mention John Merrick, who had manfully walked the last day despite having sore feet!

The Borders Abbey Way was a very memorable walk. A lasting impression will be that of the friendliness of the Border people, and perhaps the very strange pubs!!

D. A. Thompson, June 2019