Day 4: Abbey St Bathans, East Lothian to Smailholm Tower, Scottish Borders

Virtual Walk: Scotland 2021

8th January 2021: 100.75km walked today taking the total to 381.67/8854km. 4% of 368 people's totals submitting 2518.68km.

Route 1A: Edinburgh to Traquair

Arriving in Abbey St Bathans although it has ‘Abbey’ in its name there has never been an abbey here but there was a small Cistercian priory which was founded in 1184 by Ada, Countess of Dunbar. It was built here as it was near the site of the 6th century chapel dedicated to St Bathan, a follower of St Columba. The priory was largely destroyed by English troops in 1543 and the remaining stones were reused in village buildings. However, the priory church was able to be repaired and became the parish church, called the Kirk of Lammermuir.

From Abbey St Bathans we continue to follow the Southern Upland Way for 10km to reach Longformacus. Just before we reach the bridge over the Dye Water which takes us into Longformacus there are gateposts on our left which is the start of the drive to the Parish Church and then on to Longformacus House (which is difficult to see). The church was built in 1730 but reused the foundations of an earlier church built in the 13th century. In 2013 the Church of Scotland closed the church and in 2015 it was opened as a heritage centre. If we cross the river, we find ourselves in an attractive village which looks like it was built as estate housing for Longformacus House.

The Southern Upland Way takes us along the south side of the Dye Water before crossing the Lammermuir Hills along their southern edge. This takes us past the Watch Water Reservoir on the north side before the path turns to the south. Where we cross the Watch Water, we find nearby a well called John Dippie’s Well. This natural spring is marked by a carved stone erected in 1869 and which is inscribed with the words - "There is no water in the Lammermuirs sweeter than that at John Dippie’s Well’. It was suggested that the sweetness of the water was because John Dippie would go ahead of the shooting party to add whisky to the water.

The path then takes us to the top of the 447 metre Twin Law where there are two large cairns called the ‘Twa Brithers’ set about 100 metres apart. These are set on large mounds of stones and each has a seat cut into it, facing south. The tale surrounding these cairns is that twin brothers, separated in childhood, were members of opposing armies in a battle between the Scots and Saxons. The Scot was the victor but on hearing that he had just killed his twin brother, who had been captured and raised by the Saxons, he tore the bandages from his wounds and died on the body of his long-lost brother. The two armies then worked side by side to raise two large piles of stones to build a lasting memorial to the fallen twins. A plaque has the following words:

‘And they bigit twa cairns on the heather

They bigit them round and high

And they stand on the Twin Law hill

Where they twa brothers lie’

The cairns were used for target practice during World War 2 but were later rebuilt.

From Twin Law we head in a north-westerly direction for a short time before the path turns to head south west towards Lauder. We cross open heather moorland which is dotted with grouse butts where shooters stand with their guns and circular sheepfolds which provide shelter for animals in bad weather.

After crossing the A697 the path takes us alongside the Earnscleugh Water before we follow the edge of trees down to a bridge over the Leader Water. Shortly after crossing the river we turn right to visit Thirlestane Castle. This is owned by the Maitland family who came to Britain from France with William the Conqueror in 1066 and settled in Northumberland. In about 1260, Sir Richard Maitland married Avicia who was the daughter and sole heiress to Thomas du Thirlestane. It was this marriage that brought the Thirlestane lands into the ownership of the Maitland family. The ruined remains of their family home from that time are two miles from the current castle beside the A697.

The central part of the present castle was completed in 1590 on the site of a large Border fort which had been built there to defend the approach to Edinburgh from the South. It was remodelled in the 1670s when John Maitland, the 2nd Earl of Lauderdale became the Duke of Lauderdale after his second marriage to the Countess of Dysart at which time he was the Secretary of State for Scotland. He employed Sir William Bruce to remodel the Castle introducing the two front towers and the grand staircase and transforming the interior including the rich plasterwork in the State Rooms. In 1682, when the Duke died the Dukedom died with him, and his brother, Charles, became the 3rd Earl of Lauderdale. In 1840 the then Earl of Lauderdale employed 2 Edinburgh architects, David Bryce and William Burn to design 2 large wings flanking the central keep and existing towers. Today the castle is still home to the Maitland family who, to this day, are one of Britain’s most distinguished families.

We retrace our steps back to the Southern Upland Way to find ourselves in Lauder which is situated beside the River Leader and was once on the main route from England to Edinburgh. The medieval street plan of Lauder remains with the broad central Market Place divided by a line of buildings called Mid Row contained within two lanes which defined the edges of the settlement. These two lanes are now called Castle Wynd and Crofts Road but were formerly called Upper Backside and Lower Backside. At the north end of Mid Row, we will find the Town Hall, built in 1735, which over the years has been used as a Tollbooth, a jail and a council meeting place.

To the south of the Market Place is Lauder Old Church. This is an unusual design as it is in the shape of a Greek Cross with four equal arms and a central octagonal bell tower. It was built in 1673 by Sir William Bruce.

From Lauder the Southern Upland Way takes us south through the hilly Scottish Borders countryside to where Sir Walter Scott’s home and Robert the Bruce’s heart await us!

We continue along the Southern Upland Way through the hilly countryside, enjoying a beautiful view of Melrose and the River Tweed as we descend into the town. We cross into Melrose via the Gattonside Suspension Bridge which has spanned the river here since 1826. We continue to follow the path, following the river west past Melrose and Tweedbank, leading us across the river at The Black Path. Once across we stay on the river path, leaving its banks at Netherbarns Farm to head up Gala Hill (277m). At its peak, we can see the town of Galashiels which sits on Gala Water.

‘Gala’ was certainly an inhabited area since at least the Iron Age. It received its Burgh Charter in 1599. Since the 1930s Gala has celebrated aspects of its history every summer with the ‘Braw Lads’ Gathering’ when riders on horseback parade through the town with the Burgh flag to the Raid Stane, which marks victory over the English when they were ambushed eating local plums in 1337. ‘Soor plums’ are given by the lasses to their lads during a ceremony at the Gathering. Gala saw huge growth with the building of several textile mills in the 19th century & has an extensive textile history, which as we wander through the town, we still see remnants of. The railway arrived here in 1849 but was closed in 1969. After campaigning, the Borders Railway was built and opened in 2015, linking the town once more to Edinburgh. The textile industry is no longer here, though evidence of its past remains; the town now relies on a variety of companies for local employment.

We descend Gala Hill to pass the Old Parish & St Peter’s Church (1881) as we walk through Scott Park. We pass Old Gala House, an old tower house dating from 1583, which was converted into a museum in 1985. The museum tells of the buildings’ history and that of Gala, as well as operating as a conference venue. We continue along our route crossing Mill Lade into Bank Street Gardens. The Mill Lade was established in 1777 by the Galashiels Manufacturers’ Corporation, to divert water from the river to supply water for the water wheels used to power the mill machinery. The Lade ran almost the length of the town and the textile mills sat along its banks. We’ll see it again as we walk.

We pass through streets to come to Market Square, where sculptures commemorate the world-famous Coulter's Candy lullaby, written by Robert Coltart, a Galashiels weaver in c1840s. Sculpted by Angela Hunter and unveiled in 2019, it features the statues of Robert and the 2 children, Little Jock and Wee Jeannie, mentioned in the lullaby, which starts:

Ally bally, ally bally bee,

Sittin' on yer mammy's knee,

Greetin' for a wee bawbee,

Tae buy some COULTER'S CANDY…

From the sculptures, we walk along Market Street to reach Cornmill Square where Gala Burgh Chambers, the town’s most striking building is located. Built in 1867, the clock tower was added in the 1920s and incorporates the war memorial to victims of both World Wars with a statue of a Borders Reiver to its front. The War Memorial sculpture was sculpted by native Galalean, Thomas Clapperton, in 1924. Who were the Borders Reivers? They were raiders along the Scottish/English borderlands between the late 13th - early 17th century. Reiver means raider/plunderer, coming from words of that meaning in Middle English, ‘reifen’ and ‘reven’. They raided anyone without protection or who wasn’t from their family on both sides of the Border, having English and Scottish in their ranks. ‘Reiving’ came about because of the frequent wars between Scotland and England. It devastated people’s livelihoods, in the Borders area and northern England, so groups turned to this activity to make ends meet. Border Law also added to the situation as those who were raided could counter-raid to retrieve their stolen goods. Reiver operations extended as far north as Edinburgh and as far south as Yorkshire. Due to their recognised cavalry skills, they were also sometimes hired as mercenary soldiers. ‘Reiving’ came to an end after the succession of James VI/James I of England who moved harshly against the reivers by abolishing the Border Law, passing an Act in 1606 and changing other legislation. Reiver family names are still common in the Borders population and the word ‘reiver’ is used in a few festivals of the area. Across the road from the Burgh Chambers and War Memorial is the Cornmill Fountain which makes a feature of the old lade from a demolished corn mill. From here we walk to pick up The Black Path back over the River Tweed, leaving Galashiels behind and following the river path west to Abbotsford House, home of Sir Walter Scott.

Abbotsford House, a Category A listed building, sits by the River Tweed in beautiful gardens and parkland (listed in the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland). Our approach is through the modern visitor centre which opened in 2012. A 19th-century novelist, Sir Walter was probably the first to become an international literary celebrity and remains so to this day with many of his classics still being read. Sir Walter was born in Edinburgh (1771), but after contracting polio as a child, he spent much time convalescing in the Borders at his grandparents’ home, near Smailholm Tower. This time in his life introduced him to the folklore and legends of Scotland. He went on to practice law and whilst doing so began to write; he started a publishing business, Ballantyne’s, in 1806. He purchased and moved his family into the farmhouse that would become Abbotsford House in 1811; by 1823, the farmhouse had been cleared away and the main section of the house you see today stood in its place. On completion, the house set a trend across Scotland for the unique ‘Scots Baronial’ style architecture. An avid collector, the house was large enough to hold Sir Walter Scott’s collection of Scottish memorabilia, as you will see when you walk the tour. He was also renowned for saving the Scottish banknote, making tartan popular and rediscovering Scotland’s Crown Jewels (as mentioned at Edinburgh Castle). Sir Walter died in the house in 1832, by that time in debt, due to the collapse of his printing business, and trying to write his way out of the situation. He left the house in trust to creditors and his posthumous earnings saw the debts repaid in full. Sir Walter was buried at Dryburgh Abbey, which we will visit shortly, and the house became a place of pilgrimage for his readers; even Queen Victoria visited in 1867. His descendants continued to live at the house until the last descendant died in 2004 at which point The Abbotsford Trust was founded to take care of the estate.

We leave Abbotsford behind and return to Melrose, the birthplace of rugby sevens in the 1880s. We are here to visit Melrose Abbey, which is the final resting place of the heart of Robert the Bruce. A monastery was founded in the area in the 6th century; the ruins we see today are from the 12th century when David I founded a monastery here. The town grew up around the Abbey which fell into ruin after the 1560 Reformation. Alexander II and other Scottish Kings are buried here and, as it was discovered, was Robert the Bruce’s heart. It was found in 1921 under the Chapter House, was reburied and found again in 1998. Its location is now marked with a small metal plaque. It is documented in his death records that this took place although there is no way to prove it. The rest of his body is buried in Dunfermline Abbey. We enjoy wandering the impressive ruins before heading south out of Melrose to climb over the Eildon Hills, where legend has it that King Arthur is buried, to make our way to another Border’s abbey, Dryburgh.

Once over the Eildon Hills, we follow the Bowden Burn past the old village of Newton St Boswell, where the headquarters of the Scottish Borders Council is based. The Burn leads us to the River Tweed where we cross a footbridge, spying the Temple of the Muses through the trees directly in front of us on Bass Hill. The Temple is dedicated to the poet James Thomson of Ednam, author of the poem ‘The Seasons’ and lyrics of ‘Rule Britannia’. The statue originally housed in the structure was replaced in 2002 by bronze figures of the ‘Four Seasons’ by Siobhan O'Hehir. We continue through the small village of Dryburgh to reach the Abbey.

Dryburgh Abbey, situated on the banks of the River Tweed, is where Sir Walter Scott is buried. A diversion from Dryburgh Abbey north along the B6536 takes you to Scott’s View, one of Sir Walter Scott’s favourite vistas; the hearse paused at this view en route to his burial. Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig, a senior officer in the British Army during World War 1 is also buried here. The Abbey was founded in the 12th century on Hugh de Moreville’s land and sits on the banks of the Tweed. It was destroyed several times during its life and after the Reformation James VI gave it to the Earl of Mar. In 1786 the 11th Earl of Buchan bought the land and he worked to preserve what remained of the Abbey, setting them within gardens. The Abbey and gardens are now in the care of Historic Environment Scotland.

We continue on the Border’s Abbey Way along the River Tweed until Clintmains, where we head away from the ‘Way’ and the river. We detour for a short time to visit Smailholm Tower. The Tower, a peel tower sitting on the crag of Lady Hill, has great views of its surrounding countryside. It was built by the Pringle family c1450 to protect the family from raids’ and has walls 2.5 metres thick! Being where it is, attacks did happen, the tower sometimes successful at protection, other times not. In the mid-1600s Sir Walter Scott’s ancestors obtained the tower and restored it, then in the 18th century moved into a farmhouse at Sandyhowe. It was here that Sir Walter spent some time as a boy, which inspired him to use it in ‘Marmion’ and the ballad ‘The Eve of St John’. His grandfather restored the tower as a result. The artist, JWM Turner, sketched Smailholm on a visit in 1834 with Sir Walter, which was then included in his ‘Poetical Works’.