The village sleeps as I ascend St Abb’s Head in the freezing morning twilight.
I didn’t expect to find a hidden valley on the headland.
A deserted landscape, the rising sun setting the sky on fire — these are the moments I live for on the trail.
Cresting the valley, the wind is bitterly cold, but the views are stunning.
A garden wall of one of the lighthouse holiday cottages provides a welcome shelter for breakfast.
The road from the lighthouse snakes down into the shallow hills.
Rounding a hill, the most wonderful view north is suddenly revealed. Surely everyone who walks this path for the first time will stop, stare and breathe deeply — welcome to Scotland. It’s impossible to capture in a photograph.
Mire Loch, a man-made freshwater loch, stretches out behind me.
The crazy folded layers of rock in the cliffs remind me of Dorset.
It’s so cold that a tiny waterfall, normally tumbling down the cliff, is frozen.
Now this definitely feels like the Jurassic Coast, with a long descent into Westerside Dean. A woman bounds down the hill about 200 feet away from me, off the path and through the rough bracken, before running up the opposite side of the valley and disappearing over the crest before I’ve even reached the bottom. I feel like a snail.
The path veers inland, forced round the steep ravine of Dowlaw Dean, which cannot be crossed closer to the sea. Passing a small stream, I’m drawn to the fascinating ice shapes.
A cold wind blows hard into my face and I’ve a decision to make. I’d made a note to visit Fast Castle, perched on a rocky promontory, but it’s a long diversion off the coast path, including a steep descent. Well, I’m only passing this way once.
Halfway down the hill, I’m starting to regret my decision, as the only remains are the corner of a wall and a few piles of stones. Why was I so keen to visit?
Nearing the tiny ruins, I see the rusty chains flanking the narrow ridge crossing, with a sheer drop on either side. This is what drew me here — not the castle itself but the location. It’s exhilarating to cross as the wind howls and sit in the shelter of the ruins which run down the slope on the far side, invisible from land. It’s hard to believe that the impregnable castle once comprised a courtyard and keep.
On the climb back to the coast path, I hop over a fence and find a little shelter from the wind to grab some lunch. These are the only trees I’ve seen for miles.
I’ve just finished reading The Lost Rainforests of Britain by the wonderfully named Guy Shrubsole. It’s made me focus on the loss of trees more generally, in addition to opening my eyes to the ferns, mosses, lichens and fungi found in wetter woodland. Overgrazing by sheep, nibbling away at saplings, does not help. I’m reminded of this as I scan the green desert before me, nothing but sheep and rolling grassland eaten down to the nub.
A small group of trees runs down a hillside but it looks like they are being gradually felled or is it storm damage? A small fenced thicket appears to have several saplings planted with protected covers so perhaps there is hope for gradual renewal. Wind turbines take the place of trees.
After taking a wrong turn somewhere and ending up on the A1107, I finally make it back to the coast for views of the Torness Nuclear Power Station and Bass Rock beyond.
The final miles are slow, headfirst into a strong wind, but the bays are beautiful.
It’s dark when I arrive at the bus stop in Cockburnspath. Unfortunately, there’s nowhere to eat or drink in the village, so I’m relieved to see the bus arrive on time to take me back to Berwick-upon-Tweed and a warm pub. The next one is not for another three hours and I’d be as frozen as the waterfall I saw earlier.
I won’t dwell on the ropey meal in the pub or the cute puppy running round. I love dogs but not on my table when I’m eating!
A fantastic walk and St Abb’s Head is certainly worth a visit.
Walk distance: 16 miles.
Total distance: 3,772 miles.
Fantastic photos Tony…especially the early morning photos. All the best, Mike
Thanks Mike. Sometimes I look out of the window in the morning into the cold and dark and think, sunrise or another hour in bed? Sunrise does not always win. 🙂
Apparently Margaret Tudor stayed in Fast Castle on her way to marry James IV. We amused ourselves, when there, by imagining the (anachronistic) letters home from a sophisticated London teenager forced to spend the night on such a windy headland. We also found that about Cockburnspath, arriving with the expectation of finding lunch one day. No deal!
The views from the castle walls must have been amazing, if a little windswept. 😬
It must be great to set out before sunrise and see those stunning views of the sun lighting up the landscape! It looked really impressive.
Great rock formations along there, particularly the famous uncomformity at Siccar Point.
I read Guy Shrubsole’s book too and at the moment I’m reading An Irish Atlantic Rainforest by Eoghhan Daltun. It just makes me even more depressed when I see yet more commercial forestry being planted in Scotland. But I won’t say any more on that subject in case it turns into a rant! Hopefully you’ll get to see some temperate rainforest in the West of Scotland.
Sadly I missed Siccar Point as the path heads inland at that point. Not to mention that I missed a turn and ended up on the A1107!
I feel your pain. I have two rainforests marked for future trips: Glasdrum – north of Oban and Glenan Wood at the end of the Cowal Way.
Another wood to add to your list if you’re walking round all those long peninsulas in Argyll is at Taynish. I haven’t done a post on it myself but you could look at Taynish Ancient Oak Woods in The Hazel Tree blog by Jo Woolf.
Thanks Janet. I’ll make sure I walk through that wood. What a strange coincidence — I looked at Jo Woolf’s blog and found out she was the author of one of the books that my children bought me for Christmas — Britain’s Landmarks and Legends. 🙂
What a sunrise!