Starting June off the right way

I can't believe we are into June now, but I am truly delighted to say that I finally got out for a proper walk last weekend!! It feels so good to throw off the shackles of the working week and to get proper fresh air and exercise in a beautiful part of Scotland. It is extremely good for the soul.

After our first foray onto the St Cuthbert's Way in March, Dave and I had been looking forward to the next stage. We knew that we had a tough section ahead of us, 16 or so miles from Harestanes to Kirk Yetholm. Looking at the route profile, it was clear that the toughest part of the day would be the latter part - after reaching Morebattle at the 10 mile mark, the trail heads uphill to the highest point of the St Cuthbert's Way, Wideopen Hill.

I debated whether it was better to have a hilly section at this point of the walk, or whether it would be better to get it out of the way at the start of the day. I think it makes for a pretty brutal start - as proved at the beginning of the St Cuthbert's Way with a plod up into the Eildons. However, as I'd find out, it is better (I think) to get the hills out of the way at the start. We underestimated how tough it would be to face a steep climb up so late on in the day...

We left home at 10am on Sunday morning, perhaps half an hour or so later than we meant to. It looked like it would be a glorious day - I worried it might be too hot for me. I was sensible though - we did put lots of suncream on before we left, and thankfully no sunburn to report of!

We drove first down to Kirk Yetholm to leave a car, although the Sunday morning day trippers meant it was a slow start to the day. By the time we'd driven back up to Harestanes to begin the walk, it was 11.30am.

We retraced our steps from Harestanes slightly, then joined the St Cuthbert's Way through a woodland section towards Monteviot House.

Through the woods we went, until we reached the river Teviot, and made our way across a fun bouncy bridge to the other side.

Then we strolled along the river Teviot, before making a right turn and heading the Jed water. After a short time we reached a main road, where we crossed and joined the Borders Abbeys Way for a while. In the space of a minute or so, we passed a number of walkers, a lovely chocolate labrador, a beautiful Border terrier, and a nice white horse. The peace was then shattered by 5 dirt bikes, hammering their way up Dere Street. I didn't get my camera ready in time but I just caught the dust they left behind!

The slog up Dere Street was exactly that - a slog. It was so hot, and it was uphill and whine whine whine. We soon reached the 'top', where the Borders Abbeys Way turns right towards Jedburgh, and just a bit further on the St Cuthbert's Way turns left towards more woodland.

I really enjoyed the wooded sections on this day. They were peaceful, quiet, and the walking was straightforward. There were also great views back towards the Waterloo Monument.

From here, we crossed the Oxnam water, and joined a field full of cows. Now, the cows were on the other side of the field, but I became extremely nervous about sharing their field. Turns out that events in Ireland on the Wicklow Way have perhaps led to a strong fear of the four-legged fiends. It would be far from the last time on this walk that the cows would give me cause for concern...

Although the path led us uphill, we moved quite quickly - well I certainly did.

We came to the farm and a cottage, then joined a tarmac road for another long uphill section. This was a tough test for the tired legs!

Thankfully the reward for this tough uphill section was another lovely peaceful woodland section. Happy days.

At the end of this section, we joined a road for a brief time then darted around the edges of a number of wheat fields. It was quite an interesting section of the trail, and I really did feel a sense of isolation being alone in these big fields of wheat with not another soul to be seen. My kind of walk really :)

One of the highlights of the day was just around the corner. After our adventures in the fields (where I also spotted a deer), we joined a track then a road and made it to the hamlet of Cessford. Its castle dominated the view ahead. Quite a sight, and a happy sight at that - it was to be our lunch stop!

Unfortunately we had to disrupt a few peaceful sheep to sit and have our lunch, but they didn't seem too bothered. It was quite fun to then play match the lambs to the mothers, whilst enjoyed a cheese piece...

 

 

 

Given its position very near the Scotland/England border, Cessford Castle suffered repeated attack by English forces. However, it was recorded in 1523 as the third strongest fortification in Scotland.
Cessford Castle is still in the ownership of the Ker family with the Duke of Roxburghe the present owner. Although it is very much a ruin, it is incredible to think that the walls were originally 14 feet thick.

After a much needed rest and recovery stop, we made our way towards Morebattle. What I hadn't realised was that the section between Cessford and Morebattle is all road walking, and I never generally find this fun. On a hot day after many miles with hills still to come, it was certainly not fun.

We were also quite concerned about our dwindling water supplies. Although we'd brought a fair bit, we hadn't accounted for the warmth or the toil. We knew we had a tough section to go after Morebattle and were worried that we'd run out of water before we even got there. Thankfully the Templehall Hotel at Morebattle was like an oasis in the desert - we stocked up on bottles of ice cold water, and got our energy levels up with a few cans of coke. Without this, we'd have struggled a lot more.

Former church in Morebattle

It was with nervous anticipation that we inched ever closer to the start of the hilly section. My nerves were jangling at the sight of cows on each hill - I only hoped they'd move on before we reached them.

We took it slowly but surely, stopping and starting as we made progress. My legs were burning, protesting at this sharp uphill shock. It was now around 4pm and I wondered how long the sugar hit would last.

 

Gradually, ever so gradually, we reached the top of the ridge, and started making our way along towards Wideopen Hill.

We came to the top of a rise, and there awaiting us was a reception of the scary four-legged variety.

 

I started to panic a bit, and hated having to walk past them. Sadly, even this wouldn't be the last cow encounter of the day...

Soon we reached the top of Wideopen Hill, at 1207 feet. I admired the dry stone dykes that weaved their way across the open hillside. Lots of skill involved.

 

 

 

 

We were so relieved to have made it to the summit. At many points in the day it seemed like this would be impossible. The views were absolutely tremendous, across the Borders and towards the Cheviots. I'd like to go back to Wideopen Hill again - but not after walking 12 or so miles to get there. And only if I knew that the cows wouldn't be there.

With the elation of reaching the summit came the realisation that the only way to go now was down. And Kirk Yetholm still looked quite far away...

As always the descent was tough on the knees, and so late in the day, tough on moral.

Lovely views though:

 

Eventually we reached the road, and slogged it out on the tarmac for the last part of the day. Not a great way to finish, especially with spirits so low.

We got to the outskirts of Town Yetholm, where the St Cuthbert's Way diverts alongside a farm track, to reach the Bowmont Water. Dave decided he'd carry on along the road, fed up and thinking it would be a shorter route to Kirk Yetholm. Ever the purist, I decided to stay on the Way proper, and see who got there first.

We actually made it to the bridge over the Bowmont (which is apparently the official halfway point of the St Cuthbert's Way, rather than Wideopen Hill) at exactly the same time. But I totally regretted not going by the road when I came face to face with yet another herd of cows. They had young calves, and were completely strewn across the path. For a moment I thought I'd be brave and try to walk through them, but the first one I came to aggressively turned around and stared me down, and my legs turned to jelly.

Scared, I made for the river, telling myself I'd rather wade through it than go near these beasts. Thankfully I had plenty of room to spare, so both I and the cows could carry on happily. Although I didn't feel very happy after a hot 16 miles, and tramping through the thistles and nettles I got a rather nasty nettle sting (or 7) above my left knee. At the time I ignored it but it was very sore even a day later!

I also realised I'd have to wade through the river after all, as it weaved its way towards the bridge. I was at that point of the day where I didn't think twice - I took my boots and socks off and got on with it. The water was lovely and cool, although the loose stones were a wee bit nippy on the sair feet.

Bedraggled, I made it to the bridge and safety. The path continues on the other side of the bridge, through a field (thankfully just sheep in this one) and into Kirk Yetholm at the youth hostel.

We'd planned to have a pint in the Border Hotel, but it was quarter to seven and we just wanted to go home. Sore and tired, it had been a challenging day on the St Cuthbert's Way. But oh so good to get out there again.

Delighted to have made it in one piece! And looking forward to two more days of walking to reach Lindisfarne, hopefully at some point this summer.

This Saturday night it is the Moon Walk! No doubt I'll be blogging about that whenever I recover next week!