Читать книгу The Southern Upland Way. Scotland's Coast to Coast trail онлайн

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Abbotsford and the Tweed (Stage 11)

The SUW traverses most of the major habitat types found in southern Scotland, including coastal cliffs, open moorland, hill and mountain, farmland, parkland, deciduous and coniferous woodland, riverbanks and lochsides. The wildlife associated with these habitats will be seen at any time of the year, but spring, when the birds are in full song and when the wildflowers are at their best, is particularly rewarding for nature lovers.

One false impression of the SUW needs to be dispelled. Some people believe that there are huge tracts of the trail through massive forestry plantations of Sitka spruce. It is true, alas, that there are far too many forestry plantations in southern Scotland and the SUW certainly does pass through several of them. BUT, since the Way was first opened in 1994, many stretches have been re-aligned out of the plantations – culminating in 2018 with the magnificent higher-level line taken over the Ettrick hills. Today, by far the majority of the route is outside these forests and on open hillside or in pleasant rural valleys. For example, the last 90km (56 miles) of the SUW from Minch Moor east of Traquair to Cockburnspath on the coast is devoid of any large plantations, and the first two stages of the SUW in the west from Portpatrick to New Luce, a distance of around 41km (25 miles), are more or less free of forestry.