Southern Upland Way (Ettrick Head to St Mary’s Loch)

About This Route

The Southern Upland Way runs from Portpatrick in Dumfries and Galloway in the west of Scotland to Cockburnspath in Scottish Borders in the east of Scotland. It is a coast to coast route through southern Scotland and one of Scotland’s Great Trails. The Scottish Borders section of the route has had gates installed where none existed before to improve multi-use access. However there are some sections of path which are unsuitable in wet weather or when the ground is soft and there are a small number of locations where access may still be difficult or impossible for horses and these are outlined below

Ettrick Head to St Mary’s Loch (Tibbieshiels Inn)

NB. The section of route for approx. 1m west of Ettrick Head is very narrow and eroded in places, and consequently unsuitable for equines other than those which are sure footed. Although passable with care, is not recommended other than in dry summer months. Riders lacking a head for heights may prefer to find an alternative route!

There are some poor sections of path between Scabcleuch (NT 246144) and Berrybush track (NT 254190) that should be avoided by horses in wet weather and when the ground is soft.