Walk the Southern Upland Way with a Cicerone guidebook

• Location
• Description
• Contents
• Introduction
• Sample Route
• Maps
• Reviews
• Further Reading

The best long-distance walking trails have two characteristics that make them great: a succession of dramatic landscapes coupled with a broad selection of interesting places to visit along the way. The Southern Upland Way (SUW), Scotland’s Coast-to-Coast Walk, scores highly on both. As the Way cuts across the grain of the country many different landscapes are unveiled, coastal cliffs, high moorland, rolling hills, remote mountains, forests, lochs, mountain streams, majestic rivers and sylvan valleys abounding in wildlife. The SUW passes through regions that are exceedingly rich in archaeological and historical associations, from prehistoric standing stones to monuments commemorating the Killing Times of the 17th-century Covenanters. There are formal gardens and stately homes to visit en route as well as some of the more elegant towns of Dumfries & Galloway and the Borders, such as Moffat and Melrose, the latter with its famous abbey – so many places of interest to stimulate and delight the visitor. Long-distance walking is all about exploring new territory and at a pace where it can be fully savoured. The Southern Uplands of Scotland are probably the least visited area of Britain, and it is likely that most walkers who venture out from Portpatrick on the west coast will be discovering an area that for them was hitherto unknown: they will be pleasantly surprised. The SUW has it all! If you choose this trail for your annual walking holiday then you will certainly not be disappointed.        

The 212 mile (341km) long SUW starts out from the west coast of Scotland at the picturesque old harbour of Portpatrick and, after a few kilometres following the dramatic cliff tops north of here, swings inland to begin its long journey eastward, firstly across the narrow Rhins peninsula. Kennedy Gardens, ablaze with rhododendrons and azaleas in season, is passed en route for New Luce, where the story of the Covenanters and the Killing Times starts to unfold. A crossing of the remote and beautiful Galloway Hills follows, through Bargrennan and on to dramatic Loch Trool, site of one of Robert the Bruce’s victories over the English in 1307. After Clatteringshaws Loch comes friendly St John’s Town of Dalry, from where walkers set out on the longest section of the Way, across the hills to Sanquhar, where Britain’s oldest post office dating from 1763 will be seen in the High Street.  Wanlochhead, at 425m (1394ft) is Britain’s highest village and home to the Museum of Scottish Lead Mining, where time may be taken off from the route to visit an old lead mine. The SUW now climbs to its highest point at 720m (2362ft) on the Lowther Hills before dropping down to the Evan and Annandale Valleys, where a full day off from the route could be well spent exploring Moffat and its beautiful environs.

A crossing of the Ettrick Hills leads out of Dumfries & Galloway and into the Scottish Borders, first with a visit to Tibbie Shiels, one of the most famous old hostelries in Scotland. A walk along the shores of St Mary’s Loch, southern Scotland’s longest, and haunt of James Hogg, the Ettrick Shepherd, one of Scotland’s celebrated poets, leads on to Traquair with its stately home which has strong associations with the Jacobites. An ancient drove road takes the SUW to the tranquil River Tweed, beloved of anglers, and on to Melrose, which with its ancient abbey ruins, formal gardens and Walter Scott associations is another place where first time visitors may wish to linger a while. The triplet of the Eildon Hills dominates the landscape hereabouts as the walk continues north-eastwards to reach ‘Royal’ Lauder, where Thirlestane Castle and Gardens may be visited. A long crossing of the wild and lonely Lammermuir Hills leads to the pretty village of Longformacus, after which a more gentle landscape, rich arable countryside, leads to a final section along the cliffs of the east coast and into Cockburnspath, the eastern terminus of the SUW.

The SUW traverses most of the major habitat types found in southern Scotland, including coastal cliffs, open moorland, hill and mountain, farmland, parkland, deciduous and coniferous woodland, riverbanks and lochsides. The wildlife associated with these habitats will be seen at any time of the year, but spring when the birds are in full song and when the wild flowers are at their best, is particularly rewarding for nature lovers.

One false impression of the SUW, Scotland’s longest National Trail, needs to be dispelled. Some people seem to believe that there are huge tracts of the trail through massive forestry plantations of sitka spruce. It is true, alas, that there are far too many forestry plantations in southern Scotland and the SUW certainly does pass through several of them. BUT, by far the majority of the route is outside these forests and on open hillside or in pleasant rural valleys. For example, the last 90km (56 miles) of the Way from Minch Moor east of Traquair to Cockburnspath on the coast is devoid of any large plantations, and the first two stages of the SUW in the west from Portpatrick to New Luce, a distance of around 25 miles, is more or less free of forestry. Several other large areas of hillside on the SUW are also in open country. Of particular note is the superb high-level section from Wanlockhead over the Lowthers to Over Fingland.

Hopefully by now your appetite for the SUW has been well and truly whetted. So you now want to walk the SUW, but how do you realise your dream? The Introductory sections that follow will help you in planning and arriving at the start of the walk, Portpatrick, and from there the Trail Guide should safely guide you day-by-day on the SUW ‘Over the hill to Away!’

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Which way to go: West to East or East to West?

The 212 mile long Southern Upland Way, which runs on an approximate south-west/north-east axis from coast to coast across southern Scotland, can of course be walked in either direction. Those who decide to tackle all or a major part of the Trail, rather than ramblers using the SUW as part of day walks, need to make a decision as to which direction to head, either north-east from Portpatrick or south-west from Cockburnspath. All things being equal (and they often aren’t because of personal circumstances, where you live, convenience of travel, arrangements with friends, etc) a west to east traverse is the direction of choice, as the route is described in this guide. The reason for this is quite simple and should be well appreciated by all those living in these temperate isles: the predominant winds across the country are south-westerlies. The depressions that come all too frequently across the Atlantic bring moisture-laden air from the south-west and dump much of it across our mountains, hills and moors. So the chances are that if you walk from Portpatrick to Cockburnspath you will have the wind, and hence any unpleasant weather, at your back all the way. However, if you happen to be unlucky enough to choose a period when a bitterly cold north-easterly is blowing, not uncommon particularly in the winter months, then you may have reason to curse both my advice and your decision. But may the sun always be shining! From a scenic point of view the views are equally fine if the Trail is walked in either direction, so the only real consideration is the most likely direction of the wind and weather.

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What time of Year to walk the Trail?

Day walkers can use the SUW at any time of the year, although during the winter months on the upland sections of the Trail, walkers will need the usual winter hillwalking gear, together with the appropriate experience. When the hills are plastered in snow and ice then crampons and ice axes must be carried. The Southern Uplands may not be the Highlands of the North, but the landscape here is often nevertheless rough and unforgiving, and once off the route of the SUW then few paths and fewer signposts are the norm.

Long-distance walkers tackling all or major sections of the route would be wise to confine their activities to the spring, summer or autumn months, from April to October, when the days are longer and the weather conditions (usually!) less severe. Only the hardiest, suitably experienced backpackers should consider walking the SUW in winter. An appreciable amount of the accommodation and other facilities that serve the way will be closed from November to March, so winter hikers have little alternative than to backpack and camp wild for several nights. For a winter crossing it is essential to be fully equipped and experienced enough to cope with short daylength, long, cold and dark winter nights, snow and ice on the route, and winter storms. Several of the long cross-country stages between towns and villages cannot be completed in the daylight available in a winter’s day. Nevertheless a winter SUW completion would make for a very special and magical experience for well-equipped and experienced backpackers, but would be way beyond the ‘comfort level’ of most ramblers.

Summer has the advantage of generally warmer days, but as this is the period when the majority of people take their holidays there will be more competition for the available bed space in the area. Those who prefer solitude in the hills, moors and forests should not dismiss the main summer holiday time period as neither Dumfries & Galloway nor the Borders receive the number of walking visitors that often overcrowd the Lake District, Yorkshire Dales and other areas south of the border. The Southern Uplands offer one of the few areas in these densely populated islands to get far away from the madding crowd at any time of the year.

Spring and autumn are the seasons of choice. High pressure is perhaps more common during the Spring in Scotland, and days during May and June often (but not always!) present ideal walking conditions, bright, sunny and not overly warm. The general freshness and rebirth of life is stimulating during springtime and flower displays are a particular joy. A visit to the Kennedy Gardens (See Stage 2) passed at the western end of the SUW can be highly recommended at this time of year.

Autumn is a charming time of the year in southern Scotland, with its mellow colours and general feeling of seasonal contentment. The heather moorland is a blaze of purple, and the landscape is at its driest of the year after the warmth of the summer sun before the winter rains arrive. The romantic roar of stags can sometimes be heard during the annual rutting season in October. Accommodation tends to be less fully booked than in July and August, and days in early autumn are still of an adequate length for walking relatively long distances.

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Ways of tackling the SUW

For a few the challenge will be to walk the Southern Upland Way from coast to coast across Scotland as a continuous walk. It forms the basis of a superb walking holiday of about two weeks’ duration. There is the choice of staying each night in a hotel, B&B establishment or hostel, carrying the minimum of equipment (but always taking sufficient warm and waterproof gear) or backpacking the route, carrying tent, food and cooking equipment. Obviously the advantage of the latter method is that idyllic camps can be made on several nights, and it removes the need to complete a full stage each day in order to reach accommodation, but of course the down side is carrying all the extra weight.

If you do not have the time available or the energy to walk the entire SUW as one expedition, then break it down into two or more sections. The best point to split the route in two is at  Beattock/Moffat at the end of Stage 7, where there is good motorway (M74) access. The western half of the SUW could be walked from the west coast at Portpatrick to the Moffat area from where bus transport is readily available north towards Glasgow and Edinburgh or south to Lockerbie and Carlisle, from where transport connections home are plentiful. The western half of the SUW will take approximately a week to accomplish, but longer if time is spent at the various places of interest along the route, always the recommended way to walk a long-distance trail. At a later date return to Moffat/Beattock to walk the eastern half of the Way, soon leaving Dumfries & Galloway and crossing the entire Borders region to the North Sea on the east coast.

Splitting the SUW into smaller sections is generally not so convenient, because of public transport limitations, but it is certainly feasible in several areas with a little research and planning (see Appendix 3). More flexibility is obviously possible if relatives or friends can be persuaded to drive you to the start and/or pick you up at the end of your selected stage.

Those walking the entire route, whether in one go or in several major sections, are urged not to rush through this marvellous country. There is much to see and delight the visitor here. Remember that you are on holiday, not on a gruelling assault course. Relax and enjoy the area, particularly if it is your first visit. There are several possibilities along the route to take off a half-day, a full day or even several days to visit a place of interest, public garden, museum or the like, or for the compulsive walker to enjoy some of the first-rate hill walking on offer in the area. This guidebook provides several ideas for breaks from the route of this sort, and the tourist offices on or near the SUW will doubtless provide other information and inspiration.

Those people living in southern and central Scotland and in northern England could walk the SUW in its entirety, but as separate day walks over as long or as concentrated a time period as desired. There are basically three ways of achieving this: use just one of these options throughout your ‘campaign’ or a mixture of all three.

1. Walk one section at a time in a ‘there and back’ manner. Drive or take public transport to the start of the Trail. Walk along the SUW to a village, town or point on a road where a car can be parked or public transport taken at a later date. Walk back along the SUW to your starting point. On your second visit drive or take public transport to the point you reached at the end of the first day of the Trail. Repeat this technique for as long as it takes to walk the whole of the SUW.

There are problems using this technique to walk the SUW, as in several areas the stages between roads where a car can be parked or transport obtained are often too long to allow for this ‘there and back’ approach, except for the fittest and faster walkers or runners. Sometimes roads will be crossed where it is unsuitable to park a car safely and responsibly without obstructing the road for other users, and considerable detours on foot would have to be made to find a suitable place to park a vehicle.

2. Plan to walk sections of the route with friends taking two cars. Park one car at the end of the section you intend to walk and drive together to the start of your day walk leaving the second car here. On reaching the end of your walk and arriving at the first car, drive back in this to pick up the car waiting for you at your day’s starting point. A variation of this is to split the group into two, one parking a car at one end of the section and the other at the other end and each group walking in opposite directions. Swap car keys on meeting halfway through your day. This can only go wrong if one or both groups stray from the line of the SUW! Bear in mind that reception for mobile phones is often poor in many of the areas through which the SUW passes. A safer option is for each driver to carry keys for the other car.

3.  Use the SUW as just part of a large number of circular walks back to a parked car or place where public transport can be obtained. Continue these ‘filling in the blanks’ in the Trail until eventually the entire route has been covered.

It is not necessary, obviously, to use any of these techniques to walk the Way sequentially, from east to west or from west to east. Simply walk stages in any order as takes your fancy or is the most convenient.

Of course if you have no desire to walk the entire length of the SUW you can still enjoy sections of the Way on day walks using any or a combination of these techniques. The SUW is certainly not the sole preserve of the long-distance walker. Not everyone will have the ambition to walk every foot of the Way, but still the SUW offers a good, well waymarked walking route through some wonderful countryside and can be used in part by all types of walkers, from those content with a leisurely stroll of a mile or two to committed long-distance and hill walkers. For many the SUW will be used for just part of a day walk or longer expedition across the Southern Uplands. Hillwalkers will often find that the Way forms convenient and easy access routes into remote hill country and after a hard day on the pathless tops often provides an undemanding and relatively fast route of return back to the car and civilisation.

Finally, give a thought to the idea of combining the SUW with one of the other long-distance paths in southern Scotland. A week long holiday in south-west Scotland could be had by walking the SUW from Portpatrick to New Luce, then south into the Machars to Whithorn along the Whithorn Pilgrim Way. A companion trip to this could be a week or ten days in the Borders and Northumbria along the SUW from Moffat to Melrose, from where St Cuthbert’s Way will lead you to Lindisfarne, Holy Island. The SUW also connects with the excellent Borders Abbeys Way at Melrose and the two trails combined would also make a worthwhile walking holiday.