Peebles - Kirkhope Law - Glen - Cardrona - Peebles
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This walk follows an old drove road high into the Southern Uplands and then drops by moorland tracks down into sheep pasture before climbing again to enter Cardrona Forest. It then descends on forest roads and paths to cross the Tweed and returns along the riverbank to Peebles.
After crossing the Tweed and passing through a public park, a track soon crosses the Haystoun Burn by a footbridge in Gypsy Glen. There is a long ascent to Kirkhope Law. This part of the route follows the old drove road from Peebles to the Yarrow Valley, running most of the way between dry-stone dykes (walls) built a rather variable distance apart. It climbs up through farming land and woods and then out onto open moorland.
The view behind over the Tweed Valley gets wider and wider, with Peebles to the left and the white and red Peebles Hydro prominent on the hillside. Glentress Forest covers the hilltops across the valley in the centre and to the right, with Black Knowe further over to the east. Eventually a view also appears to the right, across the valley of the Crookston Burn, with Cademuir Hill on the right and the Manor Valley in the distance on the left.
A little further on, Glen Sax comes into view on the right and the view behind extends to include the valley of Eddlestone Water and the Pentland Hills in the far distance. Passing through the edge of the Kailzie Estate, the route follows the broad ridge between Glen Sax to the west and the valleys of the feeder burns for the Kirkhope Burn to the east. The drove road skirts round to the north-east of Craig Head and to the west of the summit of Kailzie Hill. Both can be climbed if desired.
Having reached the cairn at the top of Kirkhope Law (537m), the route then drops down about 40m to Yellow Mire. Soon after this, the drove road starts to climb again, up towards Birkscairn Hill, before the walk leaves it to take a clearly defined and waymarked track across the moor to the east below Birks Hill.
Dropping down the south side of the valley of the Glass Burn, the route passes an isolated cottage called Birks and then drops further through farmland along the north-west edge of the Glen Estate. From here, the path climbs round to the east of Orchard Rig with, for some time, a view to the right across the Tweed Valley and over Innerleithen. Entering Cardona Forest, the route drops down through the trees by a series of paths and forest roads to a roadway, which runs down the valley of the Kirk Burn to emerge at Cardona Forest car park. The route skirts round the edge of the Cardrona Golf Course and crosses the Tweed by a golfers' footbridge. Turning left over the bridge, the walk then follows the path along the riverbank back to Peebles, apart from a stretch of about 300 yards, where it has to use the footpath along the busy A72.
Scotland - South Scotland - Scottish Borders - Tweed Valley
Features
Birds, Butterflies, Cafe, Flowers, Great Views, Hills or Fells, Moor, Public Transport, River, Toilets, Wildlife, Woodland
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