Scottish Borders Coast-to-Coast

The Scottish Borders are something of a hidden gem when it comes to cycle touring on the British mainland. For our second tour of the year, Sarah and I planned a coast-to-coast that followed the border separating England from Scotland.

From the rolling hills and moorland in the west to the gentle valleys and picturesque Berwickshire coastline in the east, we cycled past stately homes, haunting castles and magnificent abbeys that were a testament to its rich and occasionally turbulent history.

Our 120-mile route started in Carlisle, England. It quickly crossed into Scotland at Gretna and then headed off to Canonbie, where along the way we briefly crossed back into England. From there, we cycled through Hawick, Jedburgh, and Kelso. Finally, we criss-crossed the border before finishing our tour in Berwick-Upon-Tweed in England.

We had cycled sections of the route previously, particularly on our Reivers Route and Coast and Castles South tours, but also small bits on our End-to-End (LEJOG), End-to-End (JOGLE), Scottish C2C, Lochs and Glens South, and Pennine Cycleway tours. However, this was the first time we had cycled the Scottish borders from one coast to another.