LIFETIME of WALKS by DEREK HARWOOD

I drove to North Middleton and parked, changed my footwear and walked the short distance to the bus stop. I was pleased to see a man at the bus stop, so I was confident I hadn't missed the X95 hourly bus service. I didn't know the exact bus time as scheduled but I had an idea it would be before the hour. Suddenly the man said “It's here”; I had caught the bus by the skin of my teeth. I soon arrived at the A7 road bus stop for Fountainhall, with the help of the bus driver who had to advise me. I crossed over the recently re-instated railway bridge towards Fountainhall, then turned very sharply right at the first turning towards Herriot, along a small lane. There were good views of the Gala Valley and the surrounding hills, especially the quarry. It soon started to rain so I walked smartly along the lane, crossing the cattle grids. It was a very quiet lane, just the odd car and the occasional cyclist. I passed the buildings of Summervale, and the Halltree to Kilcounter Bridge, where Heriot Water merges with Gala Water, near the top of the valley. The lane then ran close to the newly laid railway track before the newly re-located B709 road, to form a new bridge over the railway and a new junction with the A7 main road. I crossed the A709 and passed Heriot House to the small hamlet of Heriot. As I continued up the lane through Heriot, a lady was driving off in her car. I asked her if I could continue ahead to Middleton across the fields. She said she thought so, but wasn't sure. The theory of 'right to roam' in Scotland is great. That is, anyone can wander anywhere provided other people's property and privacy is respected. This means that Scottish maps have very little need to show footpaths. 'Trails' or 'Ways' are usually shown but that's all. The problem for a walker with no footpaths shown on maps is, how can the walker find his or her way between fields? The locations of farm gates are not shown. The Borders of Scotland is cattle and sheep country, with hedges and fences around every field. It's not easy. I decided to take on the challenge to continue ahead to Middleton, keeping away from the A7 main road. I proceeded up the tarmac lane, but as I passed the last house of Heriot the lane became a hedged track. After a couple of fields and farm gates the track ended and I was in a field. There was one clue of re-assurance, a finger post, pointing to Heriot in one direction and Middleton in the opposite direction. Great, I forged ahead in the drizzle and rain. However, I was soon stopped in my tracks as bullocks were charging up and down the field, luckily in the adjacent field just over the wall. Boy, did I give them a good reason to become excited. I had to survey the situation carefully, what was I heading into and could I back track? I proceeded into the field gingerly, with my eyes and ears on full alert. I knew the commotion of the bullocks in the adjacent field would alert any other bullocks. I soon spotted cattle on the far side of my field, what should I do? I kept one eye on the cattle and one on the gate I had come from, the gate I was going to was too far away to see. I continued with extreme caution, while the adjacent bullocks continued with their charging. After a while I noticed the cattle in my field included calves, a good sign, so I started walking faster. When I reached the point of no return my pace quickened even more, straight for the gate ahead. I had made it. The cattle in my field hadn't moved significantly while the adjacent cattle had stopped. They were exhausted and breathing heavily. My next field was empty, but what about the subsequent fields, and could I back track if necessary? At Cow Bridge, near Falahill Farm, there was a pond in the dip, very picturesque with the reeds around the edge. As I rounded Fala Hill the track became more pronounced again with some fields of crops. I could cope with them easily. Another adjacent field had very lively bullocks, but I passed a spinney and lost them. They obviously thought they would find me on the other side. I went down Ruther Law Hill to the B7007 road to meet Cycleway Route 1, another road with minimal traffic. Super. I continued ahead at the junction towards Middleton. I was impressed with the road surface repairs until I spotted a patch with a puddle at the end. The patch wasn't large enough; the road had been repaired up to the pothole, but not including the pothole. Typical. I continued up the hill to Middleton Village where Cycleway Route 1 turned left (23 cycle miles to Edinburgh) while I kept straight on to the lime works. I took the next right towards North Middleton Village. That section of road was used by heavy lorries visiting the lime works, but strangely both sides of the lane were protected by motorway type barriers with a road diversion at the junction of the A7 road and no pedestrian footpath. That was very strange, considering the road wasn't long enough for a lorry to gain any speed beyond or even up to the speed limit. I walked to the car parked in the dead end of the old road, close to the A7 road. The weather was not good, but what an eventful day. Never a dull moment. I hope other walkers enjoy good days like this one, out and about in their local countryside. Don't miss tomorrow's exciting episode. Will the hero complete the mission, or will he be thwarted yet again?

Location Map: - www.streetmap.co.uk, - Start: at to be confirmed