Southern Upland Way
The Southern Upland Way is a coast-to-coast walk of 212 miles between Portpatrick on the Atlantic coast in Wigtownshire in the west, and Cockburnspath on the North Sea coast in Berwickshire in the east, running the length of the Southern Uplands and Lammermuir. The trail opened in 1984.
The path visits on its way many fine owns and villages, amongst them Castle Kennedy, New Luce, Bargrennan, St John's Town of Dalry, Sanquhar, Wanlockhead, Beattock, St Mary's Loch, Traquair, Galashiels, Lauder and Longformacus.
Route
| Portpatrick to New Luce | 24 miles | Wigtownshire |
| New Luce to Bargrennan | 17.5 miles | Wigtownshire, Kirkcudbrightshire |
| Bargrennan to St John's Town of Dalry | 25.5 miles | Kirkcudbrightshire |
| St John's Town of Dalry to Sanquhar | 25.5 miles | Kirkcudbrightshire, Dumfriesshire |
| Sanquhar to Wanlockhead | 7.5 miles | Dumfriesshire |
| Wanlockhead to Moffat | 23.5 miles | Dumfriesshire |
| Moffat to St Mary's Loch | 19.5 miles | Dumfriesshire, Selkirkshire |
| St Mary's Loch to Traquair | 12 miles | Selkirkshire, Peebleshire |
| Traquair to Galashiels | 18 miles | Peeblesshire, Selkirkshire |
| Galashiels to Lauder | 10 miles | Roxburghshire, Berwickshire |
| Lauder to Longformacus | 15 miles | Berwickshire |
| Longformacus to Cockburnspath | 17 miles | Berwickshire |
Parallel and connecting paths
The Sir Walter Scott Way runs through the shires along the Tweed and like the Soutyhern Upland Way it visits St Mary's Loch, Traquair, Galashiels, Lauder and Longformacus.
The Annandale Way[1] running through Annandale from the source of the River Annan to the sea meets the Southern Upland Way briefly at Beattock.[2]
John Dippie's Well
In the Lammermuir Hills, near Longformacus close to where the Way crosses the Watch Water, is John Dippie's Well. The well is marked by a carved stone "headstone" which tells that there is no sweeter water in the Lammermuir Hills. John Dippie was a gamekeeper and the reason the water was so sweet was that he added some whisky to it before the thirsty shooting parties slaked their thirsts. The "headstone" marks their appreciation.
Other trails nearby
The Middle Shires have many long distance routes through their rough fells, and amongst them are:
- The Borders Abbeys Way
- The Pennine Way
- The Roman Heritage Way
- St Cuthbert's Way
- Sir Walter Scott Way
References
Books
- Roger Smith. The Southern Upland Way, Official Guide. ISBN 0-11-495170-5.
- Writing the Way - A collection of Journeys along the Southern Upland Way, published to commemorate the 21st anniversary of the route in 2005, available from the Southern Uplands Partnership http://www.sup.org.uk or from http://www.suw21.com
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Southern Upland Way) |