This is a one day exhilarating walk in the beautiful Tweeddale area of the Scottish Borders. Running between Peebles and Broughton the length is 14 miles and this can be easily split into two 7 mile walking days by stopping in the rural community of Stobo, on the banks of the River Tweed.

The walk is in open countryside crossing over some of the most attractive hills in Southern Scotland and dropping into the delightful rural valleys of the Manor and various points on the Tweed.

The vast majority of walking is on grass paths and hillside tracks with very short sections of road in each of the three communities and one section on a country road running to the south of Cademuir Hill.

The section from Peebles to Stobo has two relatively short ascents about 1000 feet in total and the second section from Stobo to Broughton an ascent of slightly over 900 feet.

The views are breathtaking and from the elevated points you can see north over the Moorfoot Hills, south to the head of the Manor Valley and the higher hills of Dollar Law (2686 feet) and Cramalt Crag (2726 feet) as well as west to the South Lanarkshire hills such as Culter Fell (2460 feet). Although never many miles from a rural community the walker can feel alone in the open hills around Hopehead Rig and the Hammer Knowe, perhaps one of the remotest parts of the Scottish Borders.

	< Starting onto the Cademuir Hills View back to Peebles >
	< Looking towards Glentress Moorfoot Hill on horizon >
	< Manor Valley looking south Path descending to Stobo >
	< Crossing the Tweed at Stobo Clover Law & Cowiemuir Hass >
	< Descent into Broughton Hope Broughton Place >

Along the way there are interesting places to visit. The Border town of Peebles set on the banks of the Tweed is full of interest and plenty of overnight accommodation and activity. There is historical interest for the walker in the form of ancient hill forts on Cademuir and then in Stobo an ancient part Norman church that is only 25 yards from the Way. In Broughton there is the Broughton Gallery and the John Buchan Centre that has the life history of this famous author and diplomat well documented and adding some additional interest to this fascinating walk.

John Buchan (1875 –1940) although not brought up in the area has many family connections with the Broughton and Peebles area and use to spend many holidays in Broughton returning to his maternal home and visiting relatives. When he was elevated to the Peerage in 1935 he took the title of Lord Tweedsmuir, firmly establishing his identity with this area.

There is also interesting wild life to be seen. Around the heather clad hills of Broughton Heights and Hopehead there is red grouse as well as birds of prey like Buzzards and Kestrels. Around the Cademuir Hill there are additionally smaller birds such as the linnet, stone and whin chats, lapwings and curlew to see.
To see examples of all these birds click on this link and select from the alphabetic listing.

This can be classed as a relatively strenuous one day walk or can be easily covered in two days. The walk is as enjoyable in either direction and an abundance of accommodation is available in Peebles with a connecting bus from Peebles to Stobo and Broughton this service also going past the nearby Dawyck Royal Botanical Gardens.

For those who would want to extend the walk from Broughton into Biggar there is an additional 5 miles of mainly level walking making use of the now disused railway line linking the two communities. Again in Biggar there is ample accommodation for the walker stopping for the night.

The John Buchan Way is well waymarked and is shown on the current O/S Explorer maps, Nos. 336 & 337. Additionally Walking Support has plotted the entire route and can provide directional data based on grid references for all the key points along the route. There is a nominal charge for this directional data, this being £2.90 and to aquire this on-line simply click on the "Buy Now" button.

Finally, if you are interested in walking this route you can take out all the hassle associated with the planning of the walk, the transport and any required accommodation by contacting Walking Support. We can arrange two day walking packages with accommodation and transport included. Simply click here for our on-line enquiry service.