Bentpath to Langholm

Todays walk was to be a walk through memory lane for Peter from the time he used to live at Douglen and often walked around the area between Bentpath and Langholm.  This is Tom & Peter outside the lovely Westerkirk Church where Peter and Elizabeth were married over 40 years ago.

The road through Westerhall Estate which at certain times of the year must be one of the nicest walks in Scotland. Looking at this photograph you see a very rare sight that of Snowdrops and Rhododendrons in the same photograph. 

Westerhall House which must be one of the finest Holiday Houses in the country as it is rarely used but is kept beautifully both house and gardens. The views from it are outstanding and it is a real pleasure to walk through the estate. The best time to go through will be in April/May when the Azalea's are in full bloom.

At the Westerhall Farm Peter took us up a trail next to the Glenearls Syke to a spot where he and the family used to go to swim many years ago. This is the dam in the Syke and the group of trees in the centre is actually an Island. Lots of the gravel has been moved so it is not as wide and deep as when Peter used to go there.

This is the Dam which at one time provided Hydro Power to the farm a few hundred yards down the burn.

The Dam from a distance

Nearer Langholm we passed by the Feeding pens for all the Pheasants reared by Buccleuch Estates

Peter outside Douglencleuch the house he used to live in nearly 40 years ago

A string of National Hunt Racehorses from the Ewart Stables at Burnfoot

On the Sorbie Road there is this lovely Pond which started life as a flooded field many years ago and is now nurtured by the farmer as a wildlife habitat. We arrived in Langholm after almost 7.5 miles and within an hour of getting home the rain started so we had been very lucky.