Tibbie Shiels Inn and St Mary's Loch

The walk begins from Tibbie Shiels Inn. Nearby is the monument to James Hogg. The poets benign face gazes out looking southwards across Loch of the Lowes. From the memorial the route continues north alongside the quiet A708 with the loch to your right. After a mile or so you reach to junction to Cappercleuch with its church nestling on the hillside beside Megget Water which empties into St Mary's Loch.

A little further on you arrive beside St Marie's Kirkyard. Inside are the tombs of local families and Coventers while outside is a mound marking the unhallowed burial ground of Binram, a former priest and betrayer of the Coventers.

Back along the shore of the loch, the peace is disturbed by the clamourous cries of a resident colony of black headed gulls. A path leads up from the road to Dryhope Tower. Its walls are four feet thick and strategically placed firing holes made it a virtually impregnable fortress. This was the home of the most infamous Border Reiver, Walter Scott of Harden, and his beautiful wife Mary who was known as 'The flower of Yarrow'.

The walk continues by crossing a footbridge over Yarrow Water, the watercourse flowing from St Mary's Loch. Sluices regulate the flow of water from the loch so that a constant water level can be maintained. As the path follows the contours of the loch, the gentle hues of larch and wild cherry on your left fringe a plantation of sitka spruce.

Next point of interest on the walk is Bowerhope Farmhouse. In 1455 Bowerhope was a 'six pound forest steading in the ward of Ettrick' and the entire area from Carlisle to Edinburgh was part of the vast Ettrick Forest (Selkirkshire), favoured hunting ground of the Stuart monarchs. In the early 19th century, Alexander Laidlaw was the tenant of Bowerhope. He is remembered for surviving being buried in a snowdrift for 14 hours, owing his life to his faithful dogs.

From Bowerhope the route follows along the hillside above the loch, a route Bonnie Prince Charlie is alleged to have walked as he marched south to join the ill fated Highland Army on their abortive Jacobite rebellion of 1745. Short eared owls, oystercatchers, kestrels and skylarks are a common sight here, and the rough heathland hosts a surprising diversity of wild flowers.

The March Wood is always a welcome sight, a tiny oasis of Scots Pine on the edge of the loch. The burn running through here is as clear and refreshing as the wildest of mountain streams. This must surely be where James Hogg wrote his magical poem 'Kilmeny' - an ideal place for a tale of fairy enchantment.

Finally we arrive back at the Tibbie Shiels Inn, a pub named after its first landlady, Tibbie Shiel. A woman of considerable character, she added much to local legend when she came to live here in 1823. Of James Hogg, a regular customer, she said "He was a gey sensible man for a' the nonsense he wrat".