Thistle Viaduct and Netherby Estate Walk

This walk commenced from Kirkandrews on Esk Church and it really shows the difference between walking in England and Scotland. In Scotland we have the right to walk anywhere as long as we walk responsibly and adhere to The Country Code. In England there are loads of No Entry signs and No Right of Way signs and this is now the case on Netherby where they really don't want anybody to walk through this lovely estate. We are very lucky in Scotland with no Law of Trespass and we can go anywhere. This is an old Border Keep and I think there are Graham's living in it.  

Kirkandrews Church and it really is a lovely building although its many years since I was inside it and of course the doors are now always locked. 

The first part of the walk took us along the old Waverley railway line and in places it was tough going with loads of Nettles. We were all stung in places but David got the worst of it with his shorts on. 

This is one of the better bits on the line. 

This is Carwinley Mill and it has now been converted into a lovely house. 

The grounds of the old mill have now been turned into a small holiday complex and it has been done very tastefully and looks a lovely place to stay. 

We passed this field of Barley on our walk and it looks as if it is ripening well and wont be too long before its ready to harvest.

After Trespassing on Netherby Estate we expected to be stopped at any time but never saw anybody so managed to steal through unseen. David was thinking of the Newspaper Headlines as we walked through. Retired Deputy Lord Lieutenant of D & G Arrested for trespassing. Our excuse was we were going to Church as that was the only reason you could walk through the Estate but of course that's is only on a Sunday. We walked over the suspension bridge and my goodness it does swing a lot. Ruger was not a happy dog and glad to be over it. 

Tom bringing up the rear.

On the Thistle Viaduct. Tom explained that it used to be a double bridge to take both railway lines and when the line closed in the late 60s they removed one of the bridges.

 

David, Ruger, and myself. At the end of the walk we met the owners of Netherby Estate at Kirkandrews Church and apologised for our trespass. They were very nice about it. One of them was a Graham and her companion was an Elliot so we were among fellow Border Reivers. A very enjoyable walk but it will be the last time I do it as its getting more overgrown on the railway line and I resent not being able to walk through Netherby Estate

Thistle Viaduct and Netherby Walk

It had to be a short early walk today as Tom had to go to Dumfries for a funeral at 12.30pm so I took Tom to Kirkandrews where I had reconnoitred on Sunday to do a 3.5 mile walk over the Thistle Viaduct and through Netherby Estate. It was an area we had never walked before and it was a most enjoyable 90 minute walk. This is the Thistle Viaduct which was on the old Waverley line from Edinburgh to Carlisle.

Its amazing to think its only a few miles south of Langholm and neither Tom or myself had ever walked over it until this week but of course regularly crossed it when the train to Carlisle operated 60 years ago. 

Once over the Thistle Viaduct we followed the railway line for a few hundred yards and then turned onto this farm lane which was extremely muddy.

We joined a narrow road which then took us to the main road between Penton and Longtown. This signpost is to Moat where my father was born and where to be honest I don't think I have ever been. I must explore it sometime soon just to see where my father was brought up as a boy before he moved to Rowanburn.

This is Carwinley Mill now converted to a lovely house on the Carwinley Burn

Just above the Mill is this pond which must have been used to provide water to the mill. There now looks to be some holiday homes round it and it is a lovely place to visit. 

A bit of the old mill machinery

Only about half a mile of the walk was on the main Penton to Longtown road and we soon headed down in to Netherby estate once we reached the North Lodge. This is Netherby Hall which is fast becoming a very popular place for holidays and they are at present converting old stables into holiday flats. 

The Suspension Bridge at Kirkandrews and it can swing about a bit when 2 large guys walk over it at the same time. 

Kirkandrews Church

Kirkandrews Tower. Long after the Roman withdrawal the parish lay at the heart of the "Debatable Land" between England and Scotland with neither country willing to take control. This legal and political vacuum allowed the notorious and lawless Graham Reiving Clan to terrorise the area. Even the establishment of the border line in 1552 did nothing to bring peace to the region. Eventually after the Union of the English and Scottish Crowns in 1603, King James intervened to rid Kirkandrews of the Graham Clan threat, by exiling some of them to distant areas including Ireland. Obviously he did not get rid of them all. 

This is the route of our short but very enjoyable and interesting walk.