Scotland Outdoors

44 Scotland Outdoors Winter 2009

EXPLORE • SCOTTISH BORDERS

She was also particularly pleased with herselffor having the forethought to ride a hybridbike with big wheels and thin tyres, while Ihad foolishly stuck to my trusty mountainbike with its wide, sticky treads.

Many cyclists who tackle the route headclockwise with a start and finish in Melrose,an attractive Borders town nestled below theEildon Hills. That was our plan, too. But whileseasoned road cyclists would no doubt speedround in a day, we planned to break the tripup with an overnight stop in Jedburgh before easing our way back to Melrose thefollowing day.

MELROSE AND BEYONDWe arrived in Melrose on a slightly murky late-October morning and so decided to take alook around the first of our four abbeys to geeus up. Founded in 1136 by Cistercian monks onthe behest of King David I, Melrose Abbey is12th-century construction on a grand scale.

However, in such warring times the lavishbuilding was an obvious target and, in 1322,the abbey was all but destroyed by the Englisharmy under Edward II. In an oft-repeated cycle,the structure was rebuilt, helped in large partby Robert the Bruce – a generosity that led tohis heart being buried at the abbey – beforelater being burnt down again when the Englishpushed David II back to Edinburgh followingthe Scottish king’s invasion of northern England.

Today the pink-hued walls still stand proud,surrounded by a sea of ageing tombs andgravestones. It’s a magnificent place and madefor a grand start to our trip.

Leaving Melrose, we began a steady climb on

Iwould be the first to admit that when itcomes to cycling, fat, knobby tyres andhillside tracks appeal far more than skinny

wheels and roads. It’s not so much theadrenaline rush – though that’s fun, too – as thechance to disappear into the hills, leaving theworld of tarmac and traffic behind. To me, roadcycling has always felt like running on pavement:it’s fine but, dare I say it, a little bit dull.

However, the opportunity to tackle the FourAbbeys Cycle Route, a 55-mile journey through800 years of turbulent Borders history, seemedlike a good moment to right a couple ofwrongs: my bias against road cycling and an

ignorance of the history that has shaped an areathat I call home.

Like its counterpart for walkers, the ridetakes cyclists on a tour of the central Borders,stopping at the ruined abbeys in Melrose,Dryburgh, Kelso and Jedburgh – four mightystructures that tell of centuries of political andreligious power play in the region.

Fortunately, looking over the map, the routeseemed to stick mainly to secondary roads andtracks, straying only occasionally onto mainroads. Although Borders traffic is not exactlyheavy, drivers in these parts don’t hang aroundand the thought of spending large sections ofthe journey bracing as cars sped by was not ahappy one.

My wife, Jayne, who was joining me on thetrip, was ecstatic about the chance to enjoywhat she considers proper cycling, ratherthan being dragged along routes that arepromised as wide forest tracks only to usuallydeteriorate into something barely ride-able.

RICHARD ROWE EMBRACES THE OPEN ROAD AND GETS A TASTE OF

BORDERS HISTORY ON THE FOUR ABBEYS CYCLE ROUTE

Abbey road

44-48_D_ABBEYS_SO_WINT09:Explore 25/11/09 14:46 Page 44

the river, casting this way and that, searchingfor the perfect spot.

On the other side of the bridge, tuckedaway in the trees and easily missed, we couldjust make out the Temple of the Muses, amonument built by the 11th Earl of Buchan inmemory of the poet James Thomson. Anincredibly serene place to linger, we stayed awhile watching the fly-fishing below andenjoying the autumn colours.

We could easily have spent much of the dayin this area alone. Once we tore ourselves awayfrom the Muses, there was a huge sandstonestatue of William Wallace to visit – the greatwarrior staring out towards the Eildons – and,of course, Dryburgh Abbey itself.

Probably the most picturesquely situated ofall the Borders abbeys, Dryburgh sits in woodedgrounds within a bend of the Tweed. Again,the abbey was a frequent target of Englisharmies, although much of the structure looksto be in remarkably good shape. Many

a minor road thattook us past theRhymer’s Stone – the first of manymonuments,sculptures andhistorical artefacts

we would discover on the trip. The Stone isthe site of the Eildon Tree where, legend has it,local laird Thomas the Rhymer met the Queenof the Fairies and gained supernatural powers.

There were no fairies when we passed, justa lady walking her dog along a closed-off sectionof road that, judging by the team names daubedon the tarmac, saw some action during therecent Tour of Britain.

We continued on through Newtown StBoswells, stopping to scratch the ears of theinhabitants of a nearby donkey sanctuary,before arriving at a suspension bridge spanningthe Tweed at Dryburgh. It was a classic Bordersscene with an angler standing waist-deep in

Scotland Outdoors Winter 2009 45

Built to last (clockwisefrom top): MelroseAbbey; Dryburgh Abbey;Temple of the Muses; ascenic stretch near Nisbet

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visitors come not just for the abbey itself,but also to visit the grave of Sir Walter Scott,the author of Rob Roy and Ivanhoe, whosefavourite viewpoint of the Eildons (Scott’s View)is just a few miles away.

HEADS DOWNAfter all the exploring during a stop-start firstfew hours, we needed to get some milesunder our belts and so pedalled on withoutdistraction to Kelso. The route took us throughrolling Borders farmland and we were able tosettle into a steady rhythm, albeit with mehaving to work a little harder as my chunkytyres stuck resolutely to the road.

Approaching Kelso we skirted along the giantperimeter wall that guards the grounds of FloorsCastle. A staggeringly grand building withtwo heavily-turreted wings on either side of anequally ornate central building, the castle sitson a terrace overlooking some of the mostsought after beats on the Tweed. The castledates back to 1721 when it was built for the1st Duke of Roxburghe and is now home tothe current (and 10th) Duke.

On another day we would have had a nosyround, but time – and daylight – were againstus. Instead, we stopped for a bite to eat inKelso’s pretty main square, before paying avisit to the nearby abbey. Once the grandestof all the Borders abbeys, Kelso’s proximity toEngland meant it was rarely left in peace.Having suffered badly during the wars ofindependence at the start of the 1300s, thetown and its abbey were later attackedrepeatedly by the Duke of Hertford duringthe ‘Rough Wooing’ of the 1540s when theEnglish did their level best to destroy theabbey altogether.

Our heads full from another slightly bloodyhistory lesson, we pedalled over the Tweedfor the final time before heading south to followthe River Teviot towards Jedburgh. Now it feltlike the character of the ride had begun to

change. The countryside was still rolling, butthe land felt more open, allowing the wind togather strength.

I then remembered one of my maingrumbles about road cycling: veteran roadwarriors might like to explain just why this is,but there seems to come a point on longerrides when it doesn’t matter in whichdirection you travel, the wind is always inyour face. How can that be? And with longstretches of road with nothing much else tooccupy the mind, all you can think about isthe blasted wind and how unreasonable it isthat even on the downhill sections you needto pedal to make any progress.

It was with this sense of mounting injusticeand mental fragility that we pressed on in thegathering gloom towards Morebattle beforestarting a steady ascent to Cessford Castle.Set on a wind-swept hill with panoramic viewsacross the surrounding landscape, the thicksetruins of the castle are as uncompromising as

its location. Withwalls that are morethan 12 feet thick inplaces, it is clear thatthis was a structure

built to withstand the brutality of the times. The bleakness of the location made us think

about the hot meal and comfy bed that awaitedus in Jedburgh just a few miles away. Wedescended to a crossroads at Crailinghall beforepausing ahead of tackling what looked like anunforgiving hill. By this time the light hadfaded badly so we rigged up our ‘just in case’lighting system, which involved Jayne ridingahead wearing a head torch and me tuckingin close behind with a second head torchstrapped to my rucksack.

Although the map had warned of one ofthe longest hills on the whole route, the stretchwas steady rather than brutal. Even so, the effortwas such that we missed the point at which theroute crossed Dere Street, a Roman road that

Straight as a die: en routeto Kelso (top); KelsoAbbey (below)

once linked York with a fort at Trimontiumnear Melrose.

At the summit, we were rewarded with adescent along a narrow lane bordered by analmost continuous beech hedgerow that evenin the low light radiated glorious autumncolours. As we rode along, startled rustlingshinted at life within, while every few minutesa pheasant would explode from cover.

Descending steeply into Jedburgh, the lightsof the town were a welcome sight. We had onlyridden 36 miles, but it felt like much more. Itwas also a slightly alarming last few miles forJayne, whose disc brakes had becomeprogressively more spongy during the ride andwhich by now were on the verge of giving upaltogether. With dodgy brakes and makeshiftlights, it was definitely time to call it a day.

HOMEWARD BOUNDWe should have bounced out of bed thefollowing morning refreshed and raring to go.Instead, the decision to join our welcominghosts for a few nightcaps at our B&B suddenlydidn’t seem too smart. Fortunately, we had lessthan 20 miles to go so, with a solid breakfastand plenty of coffee inside us, we jumped backonto our saddles with renewed vigour.

“ONCE THE GRANDEST OF ALL THE BORDERSABBEYS, KELSO'S PROXIMITY TO ENGLAND

MEANT IT WAS RARELY LEFT IN PEACE”


Caddon ViewInnerleithen – in the beautiful

Scottish Borders

Winner ‘Guest House of the Year 2009’

t. 01896 830208e. [email protected] w. www.caddonview.co.uk

S c o t l a nd

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For more information on your forests, or to request an‘Events guide’ visit our website or call 0845 367 3787

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Essentials

A free map of the Four Abbeys Cycle Routecan be picked up at most Visitor InformationCentres in the Borders, although it isrecommended that you also carry detailedroad maps (OS Landranger Maps 73 and 74).

FURTHER INFORMATION Melrose, Dryburgh, Kelso and Jedburghabbeys are under the care of HistoricScotland. www.historic-scotland.gov.uk

Floors CastleOpen Easter weekend, then 1 May to 31 October.www.roxburghe.net

Harestanes Countryside Visitor CentreOpen 1 April to 31 October, although thenearby craft shops are open through thewinter.

OTHER CYCLE ROUTES The Four Abbeys is one of many cycle routesin the Borders. Most towns have a varietyof local cycle trails that are suitable forfamilies, while there are also plenty ofmulti-day options, including the 250-mileBorder Loop.www.cyclescottishborders.com

Our route would take us north throughthe village of Ancrum, fording the Ale waternear Bewliehill before a final strenuous pull upto the summit at Bowdenmoor Reservoir onthe west side of the Eildons. From there, itwould just be a case of free-wheeling downinto Melrose.

First, having dropped into a cycle shop forsome essential brake maintenance, we tooktime to explore our final abbey. Jedburgh isprobably the most impressive of all theabbeys thanks to its commanding positionand the many intricate archways still standingalong its ribbed length. Another abbey to befounded by David I, this time in 1138 forAugustinian canons from France, it is thefocal point of a historic town that has been aRoyal Burgh for more than 800 years.

The abbey was every bit as impressive as weimagined, but moments later we were treatedto an altogether unexpected encounter. Ridingout of Jedburgh, the route takes cyclists alonga riverside walk that follows the Jed Waterthrough a steep-sided sandstone gorge. At thestart of this wild little stretch of water is a fishladder and gently-sloping cauld (weir). Just aswe were wondering whether the salmon wouldbe running, a huge specimen launched itselfat the cauld, skimming halfway up beforerunning out of energy and sliding back down.We watched transfixed as a succession of fishtried their luck on both the cauld and the ladder

– all under thewatchful gaze ofseveral heronsstationed on thebanks.

Exhilarated by our wildlife encounter, ourroute back to Melrose felt much shorter thanthe previous day’s ride, but there were stillplenty of distractions as the miles clipped by.We watched as squadrons of swans took off instately flight from the Teviot at Nisbet and laterstopped for a wander around the craft shopsat Harestanes near Ancrum. There was alsosome adventure on an unexpectedly sharpdescent to the ford over the Ale water atBewliehill.

Of course, like all good journeys, the ride hada sting in its tail: in this case, the steep stretch upto the Bowdenmoor Reservoir outside Melrose.It was as tough a climb as there had been onthe whole route, but we eventually groundour way to the summit, stopping to enjoyfabulous views of the Eildons against a nearcloudless sky. From there, we swooped downinto Melrose with a warm sense of satisfactionat having completed a fantastic ride.

Later, munching a celebratory pie whilewatching a game at Melrose’s famousGreenyards rugby ground, it occurred to methat I’d been a little unfair about road cycling.It had been a lot of fun – only next time I’llleave the mountain bike at home. �

Home straight (clockwisefrom above left): JedburghAbbey; the Eildon Hills;Melrose rugby ground


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