Walking about

Up the Dam valley 5 th August 2017 This week up and down Damhead valley running south from the Border hamlet   of Traquair, set in the heart of the Tweed valley. A day of sunshine and sudden heavy downpours, shot blasts of rain disappear quickly on a strong westerly. The returning sun bright and intense, seeding colour and light back onto forest and hillside. The rapid weather changes engaging us differently in the landscape. Sometimes huddled and protected under a leaden sky, suddenly released to a warm uplifting sun. The valley a thing onto itself, as all valleys are, protected places. McFarlane refers to them as sanctuaries that, ‘possess the allure of lost worlds or secret gardens’ * This particular one gathers a greater sense of isolation the further it pulls us from the village below. First a slow drag up , passing a demolished bothy and a strange sort of memorial garden to local horses. Their names listed on roof slates attached to the stone dykes, some recounting sto

Under a green canopy 29th July 2017 The small village of Walkerburn straddles the A72 as it runs west from Galashiels before disappearing into the wilds of South Lanarkshire. A former mill town, the surrounding hills now provide new wealth from the timbers grown on them and the bike riders that make use of the tracks and pathways that run through them. On this blustery Saturday in late July we make use of these same forest roads to complete an 8 mile circular walk beginning and ending in the small car park that sits adjacent to the River Tweed. This is not a   difficult route, the most strenuous section is the long slow pull up to the height of Middleburn Knowe, a top of 414 metres. After passing through the settlement at Glenbenna we keep to the side of a small stream before a sharp turn left starts us on the upward pull. At this junction sitting proudly by the roadside and entangled by some long grasses, sits an impressive stand of Shaggy Ink mushrooms; columns of white f