the post bus (remember that many remote areas have only one delivery or collection per day). To supplement these services from July to September (inclusive) the Harrier Bus is routed to call at the tourist parts other buses do not reach. The majority of walks in the guide can be reached by a local bus service of one type or another, though not always at times to suit the walker, nor can the return trip be guaranteed. Bus timetables are available from the Scottish Borders Council, bus stations, the Scottish Borders Tourist Board and its tourist information centres, and contacts for bookings, etc., can be found in Appendix 3, Useful Information.
Accommodation
The walks are arranged in geographical groups with one base covering several walks, thus reducing the need to be continually hunting for overnight accommodation. A wide and varied selection of accommodation is available in the Borders to suit all tastes and pockets. To assist the walker in finding the most convenient place to stay, all walks descriptions list the nearest village or farmhouse providing accommodation.
Accommodation details and booking arrangements can be obtained from tourist information centres and youth hostels, details of which are given in Appendix 3, Useful Information.
Using the Guide
Aims
The overall aim is to produce a guide that is both comprehensive and as easy to understand as it is to carry, that is both graphically explicit and verbally inspiring, thus enabling the walker to traverse the Borderland with confidence, enthusiasm and enjoyment.
The 46 walks in the guide have all been walked several times, and a few special favourites many times. The journeys, a fraction of the walks available in the Borders, have been planned to suit all tastes, whether they are those of the committed mountain walker or the leisurely valley stroller.
Layout
The area is divided into four – Chapters 1 to 4 – each one self contained and geographically different from its fellows. Chapters 1 and 4 cover the mountainous and hilly sections and obviously contain a high proportion of hill walks, while the walks in Chapters 2 and 3 are of a more gentle nature.
Chapter 1 covers 16 walks in the Cheviot range of hills, lonely and isolated and unchanged over centuries. Chapter 2 describes 11 walks in the romantic valleys of the Tweed and its largest tributary, the Teviot, while Chapter 3 follows in the footsteps of the literary giants of the Borders’ past, with nine walks in the Ettrick Forest. Chapter 4 comprises 10 walks in the massifs of the Moffat and the Manor Hills.
In Chapter 5 there are five long-distance walks that pass through, or start or finish within, the region. These are the final and the toughest 29 miles of the Pennine Way; the final section of the Alternative Pennine Way; the eastern section of the Southern Upland Way; the first half of St Cuthbert’s Way from Melrose through the Cheviot Range; and the Borders Abbeys Way linking the ecclesiastical Border towns of Kelso–Jedburgh–Hawick–Selkirk–Melrose–Kelso. Also included in this chapter are details of seven town trails – walks and strolls of pictorial and historical interest through and round the principal towns of the Borders.
To quickly and easily identify a special interest with a specific walk, refer to the Special Interests Table that follows this section.
At the end of the book are four appendixes. Appendix 1 is a glossary of local dialect words and names relating to the area, together with local pronunciations. Appendix 2 is a bibliography, Appendix 3 (Useful Information) lists addresses for accommodation, transport, various relevant organisations and weather forecasts, and Appendix 4 has a summary of the walks.
Structure of Chapters 1 to 4
Each chapter introduces the area with a portrait of the landscape, followed by a thumbnail description of each of the numbered walks. The individual walks descriptions begin with an information box summarising the hard facts under the headings Distance, Height Gain, Start/Finish, Grade, Walking Time, Maps, Accommodation, Parking. This is followed by a short paragraph summarising that walk, and then a description of the route itself with strategically placed boxes describing items of interest along the way. (These boxes describe places or things encountered en route, and are completely distinct from the route description, so that they can easily be skipped over and returned to at your leisure.)
The route descriptions have easy-to-read maps showing the suggested way, accompanied by a blow-by-blow account of the way itself (with six-figure map references and compass bearings if necessary). Instructions to turn left or right are usually accompanied by a further instruction, e.g. east or west.
The walks are timed using the established formula of W W Naismith. For each 3 miles (4.8km) of linear distance allow 1 hour, and should an ascent be made in that distance add 30 minutes to the walking time for each 1000 feet (305m) of ascent. The resultant times calculated using the Naismith formula have been tempered by my own timings, depending on the type of terrain to be traversed, the weather conditions expected, and the frequency and length of stops. It is not the intention of this guide to map out an assault course.
All walks are graded with a degree of difficulty classification from 1 to 4.
1 Good path, moderate ascent, no navigational problems.
2 Distinct path, steeper ascents, longer walk.
3 Paths rough in places, ascent 2000ft (610m), exposed in places.
4 Few paths, ascent 2400ft (732m) plus, exposed, compass needed.
NW to Aithouse Burn (Walk 27)
Special Interests Table
| Interest | Chapter | Walk |
| Antiquity | 1 | 1, 3, 6, 10, 11, 12, 15 |
| 2 | 17, 18, 20, 21 | |
| 3 | 28 | |
| 4 | 40 | |
| Drove Roads | 1 | 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16 |
| 2 | 23, 26 | |
| 3 | 28, 29, 32 | |
| 4 | 45 | |
| Flora and Fauna | 1 | 1, 2, 3, 7, 9, 15 |
| 2 | 17, 18, 20, 21 | |
| 3 | 30, 33, 34 | |
| 4 | 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 46 | |
| Geology | 1 | 1, 3, 7, 9 |
| 2 | 17, 20, 21, 22 | |
| 3 | 33 | |
| 4 | 37, 39, 41, 43, 46 | |
| Historical | 1 | 1, 2, 5, 7, 10, 14,15 |
| 2 | 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 | |
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