Walking the John Buchan Way

The John Buchan Way runs 13 mile [22km] across the Scottish Borders, from Broughton to Peebles, via Stobo.

The route is named after the British politician and auther. Buchan wrote The Thirty-Nine Steps, most of which is set in the area. There is a John Buchan Centre in Broughton.

I walked the Way in two stages; Stobo to Peebles, and then Stobo to Broughton. Each stage took about three hours. The route offers some very pleasant walking over remote countryside.

The route is very conveniently served by bus 91 [Brougton – Peebles – Bigger], operated by MacEwans Coaches. A timetable can be downloaded from the SPT website. The bus route passes through Stobo.

The path is easy enough, though the total ascent is about 800 metres. Most of the walking is on well surfaced hill tracks. The signposting is very good.

There is a brochure which you can download from here.

 

  

  

  

When I look at the photo below what I see is a devastated industrial landscape. The industries that did the devastating are sheep and shooting. Commercial forestry hasn't improved things.  The land would once have been forested and full of life. It can still support trees as can be seen in the photo above. It is just that they would not survive the sheep, deer and heather burnings.

Most of Scotland isn't picturesque. It is a wasteland.