Loch of the Lowes and Riskinhope Hope, Ettrick Forest, Scottish Borders

Tibbie Shiels Inn stands beautifully positioned on the narrow isthmus that separates the Loch of the Lowes from its bigger sister, St Mary’s Loch.
First published in: The Times Click here to view a map for this walk in a new window

Facebook Link:
James Hogg, the Scottish Borders shepherd-poet born in the nearby Ettrick Hills, would call into the inn from time to time around the turn of the 19th century. Hogg, who left school at 7 years old, was often dismissed as a rough-arsed yokel, a ‘boozy buffoon’ and a bit of an oaf. But today a handsome statue of the man looks past the inn towards the Captain’s Road, a stony old track that carried Jane and me up into the hills on a blowy morning.

The rounded hills bulged on all sides, dotted with circular stone sheepfolds, evidence of the sheep farming that once dominated these borderlands. The old pens down by the Crosscleuch Burn lay so neatly walled into compartments they could have been built as an example of good practice. But there’s little shepherding as James Hogg would have recognised it in the back hills today.

In a roadless valley beyond Earl’s Hope we found Riskinhope Hope, once the home of a shepherd and his family, now a hollow square of stone walls under tattered shelter pines. We sat and munched our sandwiches, trying to imagine life in this isolated cleft with only the trickle of the sike and bleating of sheep to break the silence.

Up on the ridge beyond the views were immense, out over sombre brown hills under an enormous sky. We followed an old grassy track down towards the main farm of Riskinhope, still flourishing in the green valley of the two sister lochs, its farmer striding with stick and dog among his flocks.

Along the lochside path grew monkeyflowers, broad yellow trumpets spotted with scarlet. There were early purple orchids and ragged robin, butterworts and milkmaids, mint and thyme – a floral carpet laid alongside the Loch of the Lowes. Here is a scene of absolute stillness, caught by James Hogg in his poem ‘Caledonia’:

‘Sweet land of the bay and wild-winding deeps
Where loveliness slumbers at even,
While far in the depth of the blue water sleeps
A calm little motionless heaven.’

The Ettrick shepherd helped his lifelong friend Sir Walter Scott to collect ballads for the latter’s hugely successful 1802 collection Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border. Hogg, a lifelong fiddle-player and singer, later lamented that setting the old Border ballads down in print had killed them off as a living oral tradition. I hope his shade attends the music sessions that flourish at Tibbie Shiels Inn. It would give the old shepherd pleasure to find out just how premature his judgement was.

Start & finish: Tibbie Shiels Inn, St Mary’s Loch, Selkirkshire TD7 5LH (OS ref NT 240205)
Getting there: Signposted off A708 (Yarrow-Moffat).
Walk (5 miles, moderate, OS Explorer 330): Follow Southern Upland Way/SUW waymarks up Captain’s Road (waymarked ‘Ettrick via Captain’s Road’) for 3 miles via Thirlestane Burn crossing (247200), Earl’s Hill, Riskinhope Hope abandoned farm (250183) and on for ⅔ mile. On ridge, opposite end of forestry down on your left, pass SUW post; in 400m, on Pikestone Rig, come to 2 SUW posts 20m apart (244176). Descend to lower post (yellow arrow/YA pointing left); bear right here on clear grass path, down to Riskinhope Farm. Through gate in fenced field; down through lower gate; ignore YA pointing ahead past farm, and bear right through trees along lochside path for 1 mile to Tibbie Shiels Inn.

Lunch/accommodation: Tibbie Shiels Inn (01750-42231; www.tibbieshiels.com)
Tea: Glen Café, St Mary’s Loch (01750-42241;
https://sites.google.com/site/glencafestmarysloch/home )
More info: Selkirk TIC (01750-20054); www.visitscotland.com/surprise
www.ramblers.org.uk www.satmap.com www.LogMyTrip.co.uk