Anglo-Scottish Border

It is an annual summer tradition which we have been enjoying since 2010, whereby a group of friends from Stockport Community Cycling Club undertake a week-long summer cycle tour. The Anglo-Scottish Border tour in 2023 was our twelfth tour. The team this year comprised Andy P, Sarah, Andy S, Andy S, Neil, Dave and Tracey.

Our previous summer tours included Wainwright Coast-to-Coast, Wales Coast-to-Coast – Lon Las Cymru, Coast and Castles South, Pennine Cycleway, End-to-End (JOGLE), Celtic Trail, Lochs and Glens South, Ravens Route, Lochs and Glens North and Welsh Borders. This tour route followed a couple of similar routes we had cycled previously in this region – namely Scottish Borders Coast-to-Coast and St Cuthbert’s Way Coast-to-Coast.

The English-Scottish border region is often considered to be a hidden gem when it comes to cycle touring on the British mainland. From the rolling hills and moorland in the west to the gentle valleys and picturesque coastline in the east. There are stately homes, haunting castles and magnificent abbeys that are a testament to the rich and occasionally turbulent history of the region.

Beginning at Gretna, we followed the Scottish border through the small market town of Newcastleton, then on through the textile town of Hawick to the historic royal burgh of Selkirk. We passed three of the four border abbeys – Melrose, Dryburgh and Kelso. This cross-border route, which spans the national border between Scotland and England, also enabled us to visit Holy Island off the Northumberland Coast. Finally, we finished our cycle tour in the English border town of Berwick-upon-Tweed.

As mentioned, for those interested in religious history, our cycling tour visited three of the four Scottish abbeys at Melrose, Kelso, Jedburgh (the one we missed out on) Dryburgh, and additionally the English Lindisfarne Abbey. While, for the more general historian there was a Roman signalling station to visit, a Roman road to cycle along, and the castles that have been fought for. Not to mention the border itself, a violent battleground in the Middle Ages.