Outdoor Discoveries

What originally was a news section for the rest of the website soon became a place for me to write about human-powered wanderings in the countryside. Photography inspires me to get out there, mostly on foot these days, though cycling got me started. Musings on the wider context of outdoor activity complete the picture, so I hope that there is something of interest in all that you find here. Thank you for coming!

Southern Scotland Revisited

18th June 2006

The last two weekends have seen me revisit southern Scotland. This weekend saw me among the Southern uplands. My base was Lockerbie (of Pan Am 103 fame) but my walking took me in and around Moffat. One of my rambles was a circular route involving the Southern Upland Way. I was returning to Moffat by road when a friendly motorist offered a lift to Moffat and I took him up on the offer (not something that I’d normally do for obvious reasons…). That gave me more time for exploring and I got a glimpse of the Devil’s Beef Tub to boot. I also got to Lochmaben, four miles from Lockerbie. All this got done yesterday but, though pleasant, the day was largely cloudy, and the sun came out just as I had to leave Moffat for Lockerbie (sod’s law, really): a later bus would have been perfect. The threat of rain today brought me home on the first southbound train of the day. Nevertheless, the scenery was wonderful, and a return is very tempting.

Last weekend, I planned to savour the hills of Northumberland, but accommodation availability in Berwick-upon-Tweed changed my plans: it was still useful for a Friday night arrival. Next day, I took myself off to Galashiels and dropped off part of my load at the Abbotsford Arms Hotel (Abbotsford was the name of Sir Walter Scott’s home in the area) before heading for a ramble from Peebles to Innerleithen by way of an old drovers’ road and the Southern Upland Way. Unlike yesterday, the sun was very much out and it would have been quite hot if a useful, if strong, breeze hadn’t blown up. Sunday saw me take a short stroll around Galashiels before heading home.