Winter Walks - 6 of the best in the Tweed Valley
There's something special about winter walks and hikes — the short daylight hours, biting cold, and post-Christmas indulgences to shake off. Hill walking is my favourite hobby, and the Tweed Valley offers great opportunities for it. The area is accessible, can be challenging, and is beautiful with its rolling hills, peaceful valleys, and quiet forests.
Today's blog highlights some of my favourite walks in the Tweed Valley, aiming to inspire newcomers to try these routes and offer regular walkers a deeper appreciation of them.
For safety, please note that walking comes with risks, and participants do so at their own risk. Always carry a map and compass, and know how to use them. You can get maps from Out and About in Peebles or The Hub in Innerleithen. For more detailed route information, check out Walk Highlands. Now, on to the walks!
To start, a fairly straightforward loop on the Traquair Estate which was created by Traquair in 2019/20 - it was a blessing to locals during the spring 2020 lockdown. Starting at the Red Bull/Mountain Bike car park on Traquair Road, the best way to do the walk is clockwise (getting the stiff climb out of the way first!) The route is way marked with cute wee Traquair Bears. After the climb the well built path skirts Taniel Hill and eventually reaches a sturdy bench with a brilliant view back towards Lee Pen and Innerleithen. The path was built by local firm Glendinning Groundworks and the bench is a memorial to Alan and Graeme Glendinning, brothers who both tragically died from cancer in 2013. It’s a perfect spot for a seat and a swig of hip flask on a wintery walk. From there the path eventually joins up with the Southern Upland Way and descends to Traquair village. You can then follow it through attractive woodland and back to the starting point. A leisurely hour or so stroll, perfect for short winter days.
The Traquair Loop
Flocking about on Lee Pen
Lee Pen is The iconic New Years Day walk for Innerleithen folk, although it’s a great hike all year round. Lee Pen looms over Innerleithen and has legendary status - its site of our annual hill race, has its own visitors book and for a while even had its own Facebook page! Fit people will complete the ascent and be back in front of the fire in about 90 minutes, but I recommend a more leisurely pace, especially on New Years Day where you are likely to have company. Route finding isn’t much of an issue here, a well worn path takes you to the top (a newish finger post sign on the saddle at Caerlee Hill helps remove any doubt). The biggest challenge is the last, steep section but if time and care is taken this can be negotiated. At the top you are rewarded with lengthy views all the way from Northumberland to Lanarkshire, as well as the visitors book to sign. If you happen to be there at first light on New Years Day you may well bump into me, getting stuck into a breakfast whisky. As we say in Innerleithen “Oor no drinkers” (but exceptions can be made 😉)
Auld Neidpath with its winter coat on
Neidpath and the River Tweed is a classic Borders walk. This is a walk which perhaps is at its best during the autumn months, with the broadleaf trees that line the route beautiful in russets and golden colours. The route does however have lots to offer in winter, and gets you up close and personal with the River Tweed, in perhaps the most dramatic section of its whole 97 mile journey. The steep sided ravine the river winds through here is wonderful and this is a popular route for Peebles folk and visitors. Starting at Haylodge Park you can follow a path on the north side of the river, taking you right underneath Neidpath Castle. After about a kilometre or so you arrive at Neidpath Viaduct. This skewed former railway bridge is now a footpath and will get you over the Tweed with dry feet. From here you have two options - drop down the woodland path to follow the riverbank back towards Haylodge park, or dare the tunnel! The tunnel (known locally, and erroneously, as the half mile tunnel) is guaranteed to be an exciting addition to any walk but be warned - you’ll need a head torch and the ground on exiting is very boggy. Whichever way you go, you’ll soon be at Fotheringham Bridge. This silver footbridge crosses the Tweed just downstream of the Ford used by the mounted cavalcade during Peebles Beltane week. I love this wee walk in Peebles, and have two special guided walks on it this ‘Twixmas’ - 29 December is sold out, but a handful of tickets remain for 30 December. Hit the link for tickets.
Thanks to Mark Sansom for the brilliant drone photo.
Loch Eddy, Glen Estate, on a wintery afternoon
I’ve written extensively about Glen Estate here and here so won’t go into too many details around this great place. Suffice to say there are many great walks, the best of which is the loop to Loch Eddy, up on to the moor and Glenshiel Banks before returning via the top road to Glen Village (or vice versa). The path from Loch Eddy to the Far Sheperds cottage at Glenshiel Banks is rough, so be prepared for a bit of heather louping! A request as well to please park sensitively if driving to Glen. The longer walk in just adds to the magic of the place…
Heading for the moor on the Glen Estate
The commercial forests of the Tweed Valley Forest Park have added a great variety of walking routes over recent years. These are under used and underrated in my view, with Mountain Biking hogging the limelight a bit. Snowy winter days are a great time to explore the forests, because the massive spruce trees look more at home with a dump of snow on them - squint a bit and it could be Canada not Cardrona. Any of the seven forests are worth exploring, but I would recommend the Tower Trail at Glentress or the Pikes Knowe Trail at Cardrona.
If you fancy more of a challenge, then conquer Innerleithen’s Everest and the highpoint of the Moorfoot Hills - Windlestraw Law. The best route for a full winters day walk is to leave from Innerleithen and take the rollercoaster of hills including Pirn Craig, Priesthope and Glede Knowe. A frosty day is best, taking the edge off the Moorfoots notorious bogs. A word of warning, the Moorfoots can become very disorientating in mist and fog so careful navigation can be required. You can learn more about the hill and some of the stories around it in this blog.
There you have it, some of my favourite Tweed Valley winter walks. I hope your own festive period involves a big dollop of outside time. The good news is that come 22 December we start to get daylight back, slowly but surely, and guess what??? These walks are great in the spring too 🙂
Merry Christmas!
This blog was originally published in December 2022, and has been updated for 2024.
