Planning your Southern Upland Way walk

Of all the walks I’ve done, it’s the Southern Upland Way that I’m proudest of completing. It was a true adventure, walking across a part of Britain that few explore but which is well worth a visit. There’s something quite amazing about spending the day knowing that there’s so few people out there; that you’re probably the only person enjoying these views.

Due to several long stretches without accommodation it’s also an ideal walk if you want to try wild camping or staying in bothies, but thanks to the wonders of the motor vehicle it’s not compulsory. You can easily arrange to stay in a nice B&B and pop to the pub every night too. All it requires is a little organisation.

In This Guide

1. What is the walk like?
2. The route
3. Planning an itinerary
4. Finding and booking accommodation
5. Getting to/from the Southern Upland Way
6. Guide books and maps
7. Know how to use a map and compass
8. And finally, and any questions

What is the walk like?

The Southern Upland Way is a varied walk, with a wide range of scenery. The walk includes moorland and some river and loch-side walking. The western section does include a lot of forest walking, whilst the eastern side passes through the towns of Galashiels and Melrose which adds a different slant to proceedings, whilst the former mining village of Wanlockhead provides an interesting set of industrial scenery. As you’d expect from a coast to coast route, it also involves cliffs and the sea at each end.

Although it passes through two towns, much of the walk goes through a quiet and isolated part of the country and it’s not uncommon to spend a day walking without seeing another person.

For the most part the walk is not particularly difficult. There aren’t many steep climbs, and accommodation can usually be found at intervals deemed reasonable for most walkers. There are a couple of sections which are too long for most people to walk in a day, however lifts can be arranged. The quality of the paths can be varied, with several muddy and boggy sections. Whilst well waymarked, the ability to use a map and a compass is essential.

Don’t forget that you can read my own experiences with the trail.

The route

You can see the route of the Southern Upland Way using the map above. Using the controls you can scroll around, zoom in and explore the route. Note that this map is a guide only, and should not be used for navigation.

You can also download the GPX file of the route.

Planning an itinerary

With some long distances, a great way to do the Southern Upland Way is camping. This gives you a wonderful level of flexibility, helped by the fact that wild camping is legal in Scotland. However if you’re not planning on camping, you’ll probably want to work out an itinerary. This is made slightly more complicated because there are several long stretches with no accommodation en-route. There are a couple of ways to break up these long sections, and these are detailed later.

Unless otherwise noted, each town/village has, at very least, a pub and a shop. Locations with a railway station are marked with a 🚂.

1. At the time of last update New Luce’s pub, the Kenmuir Arms, is currently closed. However a local community group has apparently purchased the building and is looking to re-open it as a pub.
2. Limited accommodation and no shop in Bargrennan
3. See “Splitting up Bargennan to Sanquhar” section below to break down these two sections.
4. Very limited accommodation and no shop or pub in Traquair. Facilities and accommodation can be found in Innerliethen, 1½ miles down the road.
5. The only facilities at St Mary’s Loch are a basic campsite at the Tibbie Shiels Inn. The pub itself sadly closed in 2015 and shows no sign of re-opening. Alternative accommodation can be accessed in nearby villages by motorised transport.
6. No shop or pub in Longformacus. But there is a B&B!
7. Limited accommodation in Ellemford Bridge and no shop or pub. Alternative accommodation a couple of miles away at Duns, however there is no public transport so you will need to arrange lifts or a taxi
8. Other than a bakery/cafe, there are no facilities at Abbey St Bathans. You can find accommodation off-route at Ellemford Bridge or Duns, and most providers will pick you up if you ask nicely.
9. No accommodation or pub in Cockburnspath. There is a shop.

As the trail goes through some pretty remote areas and moorland, we’d recommend walking it between the months of May and October.

Breaking the walk up for several trips

To do the Southern Upland Way all in one go requires about three weeks and, let us be honest here, not all of us have that amount of free time to dedicate to one walk. If you can, you’ll get a great sense of achievement by doing it that way, but if you can’t then it’s possible to walk the whole route in a couple of stages.

If you want to break it into two stages the best bet is to break at Moffatt – a short distance off the trail from Beattock. This is roughly the half way point. There are regular buses to Glasgow and Lockerbie from Moffat.

To split in to three stages, break first at Sanquhar, and secondly at Galashiels or Melrose.

Sanquhar has train services to Carlisle and Glasgow, both have excellent rail connections for services across the country. Galashiels has hourly train services to Edinburgh, and regular buses connect both Galashiels and Melrose with Edinburgh and Berwick-upon-Tweed for other rail connections.

Details of all local public transport can be found at Traveline Scotland.

Splitting up Bargennan to Sanquhar

Unless you fancy walking twenty file miles for two days in a row, you’ll want to break up the long Bargrennan to Sanquhar section.

There are two ways to do this.

First option is to use vehicle support. The section is split over three days. You will be picked up and dropped off at two pick up points, and stay in Dalry for two nights. There are two standard pick up points, marked by a wooden sign (attached to a standard Southern Upland Way finger post) which says “Pick Up Point”. Vehicle support is available through SouthernUplandWayHolidays.com, from companies listed on the official trail website, and from some accommodation providers.

The usual itinerary for this option is shown in the table below:

The alternative option involves walking the section over four days. Between Bargrennan and Dalry, the only accommodation is the White Lagan bothy. Between Dalry and Sanquar you can stay at the Chalk Memorial Bothy at Polskeoch, or two miles further on at the B&B at Polgown Farm.

Bothies are basic shelters with minimal facilities (there’s not even a toilet), available for use for free and without booking. You will need a sleeping bag, and cooking implements and stove if you want hot food. More information about the bothies can be found in the accommodation section below.

Polgown Farm is 2 miles/3km beyond Polskeoch. Polskeoch to Sanquhar can be easily achieved by most walkers in half a day. If you would prefer a full day of walking, simply continue on to Wanlockhead which is a further eight miles on.

Rest Days or Half Days

If you’re walking for a week or more then you’re probably going to want to factor in a few rest days here, and use the time to check out some of the local tourist attractions whilst resting your legs. The obvious places to do this are:

• Sanquhar – this small town has an apparently excellent museum (it was closed on the day I was there), as well as train services to the nearby town of Dumfries which has a wide range of museums and attractions, including Robbie Burns’s House.
• Wanlockhead – the next stop from Sanquhar, this is the highest village in Britain and has the absolutely excellent Museum of Lead Mining. There is also a heritage railway nearby, although check opening times first. A good option is to walk the eight miles from Sanquhar in the morning, then spend the afternoon in the museum.
• Moffat – near Beattock, you’ll find various local facilities and attractions listed on the Moffat Tourist website
• Innerliethen – not far from Traquair, there are various things to do including Robert Smail’s Printworks and St Ronan’s Well. There are also shops, and plenty of options for easy day walks in the nearby hills and forest park.
• Melrose – main attraction is Melrose’s historic abbey. The National Trust for Scotland also has two gardens here, the Harmony Garden and the Priorwood Garden and Dried Flower Shop . Galashiels is also nearby with its shopping centre and other facilities and there are frequent buses between the two. The stretch of Southern Upland Way between Galashiels to Melrose can easily be done in two hours so you can polish that off, then take in the sights.

Finding and booking accommodation

Whilst the Southern Upland Way tends to avoid going through villages and towns itself, it does pass near a reasonable amount of accommodation. For the most part, there is usually plenty close to the trail itself, however the far eastern section has a serious shortage of en-route B&Bs so you may need to travel a few miles to get a bed. In this section it is especially advisable to book accommodation in advance.

The trail officers publish a comprehensive accommodation guide, viewable on Southern Upland Way website. Printed versions are also readily available, either from Southern Upland Way leaflet boxes en-route, or from local tourist information centres.

Accommodation Booking Services and Baggage Transfer

A couple of companies will book accommodation for you on the Southern Upland Way. Baggage transfer is usually included in the price. The companies we know about are:

• southernuplandwayholidays.com – based on the route and only offers services for the Southern Upland Way. (n.b. link was not working in November 2020.)
• Make Tracks
• Walking Support

There is – to the best of our knowledge – no one operator who provides a baggage transfer only option for the whole route.

southernuplandwayholidays.com offer a luggage transfer for the western section between Portpatrick and Moffat. Bag transfer is only offered east of Moffat if you also book accommodation through the provider. Providers who cover sections of the trail can be found be found on the official trial website.

Hostels and bunkbarns

Unfortunately, following a series of closures by Hostelling Scotland, there are no longer any hostels along the route of the Southern Upland Way.

Bothies

Bothies are simple, unlocked and unmanned shelters and there are six of them on the Southern Upland Way, concentrated on the western section.

The bothies are either maintained by the Mountain Bothy Association or by the Southern Upland Way ranger services. Staying in one is easy – just turn up and let yourself in. You may have the place to yourself, or you may have to share.

You’ll need a sleeping bag, cooking equipment and food. Each has an excellent water source but you’ll still want some way to purify water (a good, cheap option is the Traveltap by Drinksafe systems – see our video review.) None have toilets nor running water so you will need to be prepared. If you need some advice in that respect, there’s a handy book called How to Shit In The Woods. Bothies are normally marked on maps, either by name or just by “bothy”.

The bothies (and their Ordnance Survey grid references as published on the official Southern Upland Way website) are:

• Beehive Bothy (grid reference NX220715) – sited 8miles/12km from New Luce and 12miles/19½km from Bargrennan, this small, single room wooden bothy is named after its distinctive shape. It’s on the route itself, with the path going right past the door. No fireplace.
• White Laggan (grid reference NX466775) – old stone building near Loch Trool, White Laggan is almost exactly half way between Bargennan and Dalry (11miles/17½km from each.) It’s a short way off the trail, however has the Scottish flag painted on the side so just head up hill towards it. Has two rooms, a kitchen and a fireplace.
• Poleskeoch (grid reference NS685019) – a single roomed, pebble-dashed building with a green roof, between Dalry and Sanquhar (it’s 9½miles/15km before Sanquhar). It is directly on the route. No fireplace.
• Brattleburn (grid reference NT016069) – between Wanlockhead and just 6miles/10km before Beattock, this is a lovely bothy. It’s half a mile off route, but is signposted from the trail. Has three sleeping rooms and a fireplace.
• Over Phawhope (grid reference NT182082) – between Beattock (ten miles/16km further on) and St Mary’s Loch, this is another lovely bothy. It’s on the trail itself and has two buildings. The main building has two sleeping rooms and a lounge/kitchen which contains a fireplace.

You may find references to Manquill bothy on some web pages, however this is now a private property, so keep on going to Poleskeoch. Minch Moor bothy, near Traquair is also no longer in operation as it has been demolished due to structural issues.

If you’d like to know more about the Southern Upland Way’s bothies, along with a glimpse of what’s inside, have a look at our Bothies of the Southern Upland Way video.

When using bothies, do so responsibly. Leave the place clean and tidy and always take your rubbish away with you – these are unmanned buildings, usually maintained by volunteers and they don’t get a bin collection. Something that not all bothy users seem to realise…

Camping

If you fancy being more flexible in your itinerary then the Southern Upland Way is ideal for camping. There are regular camp sites along the route, listed in the Southern Upland Way accommodation guide.

Unlike in England and Wales, wild camping is completely legal as long as you follow the Scottish Outdoor Access Code, and because the Southern Upland Way goes through plenty of wild and remote areas, it is an ideal route to try it.

From personal experience however, finding a wild camping spot can be difficult due to livestock grazing, nearby buildings (you should always camp out of sight of buildings) and lack of water supplies. If you’re prepared to wild camp away from a fresh water source or a short way off the trail then you’ll have more options, however if (like me) you like to camp near water and on the route, here are some ideas of good places I spotted whilst walking:

• Portpatrick to Stranraer – near the start both Port Moria and Port Kale has some potential, although as both Port Moria and Port Kale had signs of litter and campfires on my visit, it’s likely that both are used regularly. A little further on, Knockquhassen reservoir has some potential sites.
• Stranraer to New Luce – buildings and livestock make this a difficult stretch to find a good camping spot however you may find a place to pitch up near Craig Fell, between the railway line and the Water of Luce. Alternatively head to New Luce itself and pitch up in the pub’s garden where you can enjoy a pint and some fantastic food!
• New Luce to Bargrennan – on the map this section may look ideal for wild camping, but on the ground it’s far from it thanks to boggy conditions and too many trees. The best spots are at Laggangarn, near the Beehive Bothy or at Loch Derry. Despite my best efforts, I found no decent campsites beyond Loch Derry, resulting in a long days walk to the campsite near Bargrennan.
• Bargrennan to St John’s Town of Dalry – in contrast, this section is filled with wild camping possibilities. You’ll find several along the Water of Trool, however if you can, push on to the car park at Caldons. This is the site of a now closed Forestry Commission campsite and has lovely flat land and lots of water supply options. Also ideal is the land around Loch Dee, either at the loch head before the forest, or near White Laggan bothy. There are also a few possible spots at Clatteringshaws Loch, but you won’t find much beyond there.
• St John’s Town of Dalry to Sanquhar – farms, livestock grazing and boggy ground make this another difficult section. You’ll find a little land to pitch up at near the Chalk Memorial Bothy at Poleskeoch, but not much else until you’re almost at Sanquhar.
• Sanquhar to Wanlockhead – best spots are near the ruined farmhouse at Cogshead, or when the Southern Upland Way comes alongside Wanlock Water. Expect lots of sheep. Alternatively you can camp in the grounds of the village pub.
• Wanlockhead to Beattock – another tricky section. You’ll find a reasonable spot just at the bridge over Potrail Water (just near the A702 at Nether Fingland. You may also have some success near Brattleburn Bothy, however what cleared land there is, can be boggy. Another option is near the picnic site and car park near Easter Earshaig.
• Beattock to St Mary’s Loch – farming and forestry again make this difficult. The area around Over Phawhope bothy and the abandoned farmhouse at Potburn offer some options, depending on where the sheep are. Alternatively, just use the bothy.
• St Mary’s Loch to Innerleithen – if you don’t fancy staying at the Tibbie Shiels Inn campsite, you’ll find some wild camping spots just beyond the yacht club. You’ll also find some possible spots in the area around Dryhope Tower.
• Innerliethen to Lauder – this is the start of a long stretch which, for a wide variety of reasons, does not offer the wild camper much at all.
• Lauder to Longformacus – another section which looks like it’s full of spots on the map but isn’t. However it does include the best wild camping spot on the Southern Upland Way, just before the path crosses Blythe Water near Harefaulds. If you go beyond that you’ll be lucky to find anywhere with a good water supply until you get to Watch Water stream.
• Longformacus to Cockburnspath – again, this is a section which, for various reasons, offers next to no wild camping options until Abbey St Bathans. Abbey St Bathans has the last wild camping option of the trail. Just north of the village you will see a stream marked Edgar’s Clough with some excellent spots. Don’t go much further beyond Edgar’s Clough as you’ll find nowhere to stop.

If you’ve any additions or suggestions, let me know in the comments box at the bottom of the page.

Getting to/from the Southern Upland Way

Frankly getting to and from the start and end of Southern Upland Way is a bit of a faff.

On the west coast, Portpatrick has no railway station. The nearest station is 10 miles away at Stranraer. Buses run between the two every couple of hours. Trains run regularly to Stranraer from Kilmarnock, with some running direct from Glasgow. Ferries operate to nearby Cairnryan from Belfast.

On the east coast, Cockburnspath has no railway station. Buses run hourly, connecting the village with Edinburgh and Berwick-upon-Tweed. In each case the journey takes roughly an hour. Both Berwick and Edinburgh are on the East Coast Mainline and have excellent rail connections with the rest of the UK.

Besides Stranraer, there are only two other railway stations on or near the route, at Sanquahar and Galashiels. Both have services to Edinburgh, whilst trains from Sanquahar also serve Carlisle.

All information on railways can be found on the National Rail website, and bus information on the Traveline Scotland website.

Guide books and maps

For many years, the guide book situation for the Southern Upland Way was – to be blunt – dire. Especially given the trail is an official, government sponsored walking route. So hurray and hurrah that in 2018, Cicerone revised and updated its Walking the Southern Upland Way guide book for the first time in 11 years. The update coincided with some route changes meaning that older guide books (including the 2005 official guidebook published by Mercat Press) are best avoided.

As well as a new guide book, 2018 also saw a new Harvey’s Southern Upland Way map, at their 1:40,000 scale mapping; a scale which is more than adequate for the trail. It also includes the recent route changes.

If you’d just prefer to use maps, well I’d suggest buying Harvey’s map if you can as you’ll need 8 Ordnance Survey Landranger maps to cover the whole walk, and 13 at the higher Explorer scale (although to be honest, the extra detail of the Explorer isn’t really needed.) Not deterred? Well these are the ones you’ll want:

• Landranger (1:50,000): 67, 73, 74, 76, 77, 78, 79, 82
• Explorer (1:25,000): 309, 310, 318, 319, 320, 322, 328, 329, 330, 337, 338, 345, 346

Note that the OS maps have not (yet) been updated to take into account the 2018 route changes.

The Ranger Service publish a wide range of leaflets (some of it based on the contents of the official guidebook) and these are available in tourist information centres and in leaflet boxes on the route. Along with information panels, they tell the walker about history, geography, wildlife and geology. You’ll find much of the information on the official Southern Upland Way website.

And if you fancy some lighter reading, you can catch up with my own exploits on the walk in The Secret Coast to Coast, available for all good e-readers, mobiles and tablets.

Know how to use a map and compass

Because the official guidebook doesn’t really have any text based instructions, you’re going to be reliant on signposts and maps to get around. The waymarking on the Southern Upland Way is generally excellent, and the route usually very obvious, however maps still are a must, especially when traversing moorland or trying to find your way to accommodation.

There are several online guides like How To Use A Compass, and you may also find training courses in your area – many YHA hostels host them for example. Check local press for details.

Knowing how to use a map and compass together will really help you and will (hopefully!) stop you getting lost.

And finally, and any questions

When I was out on the Southern Upland Way I barely saw anyone, and those that I did were mostly day walkers. This was a real shame because the Southern Upland Way is an excellent walk that deserves to be better known.

It goes through some stunning scenery, through one of the least populated regions of the UK – seriously, there’s not many people in the Scottish Borders.

To top it all, it has to the walk that has the most impressive examples of public art on a long distance footpath. When you stand beneath Andy Goldsworthy’s Striding Arches and realise how few people ever see them, you feel very special indeed.

So go on. The Southern Upland Way is something special adventure. Get your plans made and your boots on. You won’t regret it.

And if you’ve any questions about the route, just use the comments box below.