Dumfries & Galloway, Borders
84 km / 52 miles
(click to enlarge)
The Romans and Reivers route follows old Roman roads, forest tracks, drove roads and short sections of quiet lane through the heart of notorious Reivers country, providing enjoyable walking, cycling and riding through the Southern Uplands. It is mainly through sheltered woodland and forestry, with some sections through more open farmland.
One of Scotland's Great Trails, this route has been developed throughout to a high standard specifically with multi-use in mind, including self-closing gates etc. It's a great route if you have family or friends who wish to accompany you - or do their own thing - on mountain bikes.
The South of Scotland has a rich heritage of tracks and trails, drove roads and old Roman roads, many dating back thousands of years. The routes along which Roman armies once marched, used for Reiver?s raids and along which drivers herded their cattle and sheep to market are as essential a part of the area?s heritage as its characteristic rivers, settlements, historic buildings and field systems. Although some of these routes were still discernible on maps or from the air, padlocked gates, barbed wire fences, crumbling dykes, blanket afforestation, deteriorating drainage and lack of maintenance meant that by 2000AD very few were passable on the ground, and usually only on foot.
The Romans and Reivers Route links directly with the Annandale Way at Beattock and Moffat, and coincides for a short way south and east of Moffat with the Southern Upland Way. At its eastern end, the Romans and Reivers Route links directly with the Cross Borders Drove Road, Buccleuch Rides and Hawick Circular Riding Route. Sequential sections of the Romans and Reivers Route were launched in 2005 as part of the South of Scotland Countryside Trails (SOCT) network. The entire linear route from Ae to Hawick is now being waymarked and promoted as the Romans and Reivers Route. For detailed descriptions and mapping of individual sections see the SOCT website link below for Ae Forest, Beattock to Eskdalemuir, and Eskdalemuir to Hawick sections.
SOSCT was an innovative partnership project involving British Horse Society Scotland, local community path groups, Scottish Borders Council and Solway Heritage under the umbrella of Southern Uplands Partnership (SUP). The Romans and Reivers Route was initiated by British Horse Society Scotland, and taken forward as part of the South of Scotland Countryside Trails capital project led by Southern Uplands Partnership. The Dumfries and Galloway side of the route (Ae to Craik Signal Station) was set up by Solway Heritage, and the Borders side of the route by Vyv Wood-Gee, who was contracted to deliver the Tweed Trails arms (and legs!) of SOSCT. It is now managed by the relevant access authorities (Dumfries and Galloway Council and Scottish Borders Council). Capital work to improve the SOSCT routes was funded by Heritage Lottery Fund as part of the Tweed Rivers Heritage Project, European Regional Development Fund, Scottish Natural Heritage and Forestry Commission Scotland.
Details: