This lovely route, hopping continually over the Scottish border and back again, allows this underrated area to reveal its full charms.
[1] From the village green in Paxton (NT9355300), a Saxon village, take the road between the bus shelter and the Cross Inn and immediately turn left and right along Merse View – a small residential road. Go through the gap ahead and turn left along the wall, following the footpath as it then bends right. Pick up the lane, signposted to Foulden.
Isolated farmsteads dot the hills, which include Halidon Hill, scene of a crushing 14thcentury English victory.
At the fork above the valley bear left downhill, (Beware of the potholes on this track) dropping down to the metal bridge across the Whiteadder river.
(A) Locally pronounced ‘wit-adder’, the river enjoys a lovely setting, tumbling beneath high cliffs and ridges of sandstone. The Whiteadder is a tributary of the Tweed; in turn the Whiteadder is fed by the Blackadder – to the doubtless delight of fans of Rowan Atkinson’s wily sardonic character.
[2] Turn left over the bridge and walk to the right of the house and follow the track uphill, past Edrington Castle Farm and along a farm track.
To the south and east stands the Cheviot massif itself – a former laval plug that once sat in the middle of a volcano – distinguished by its long flattened summit.
Where the farm lane becomes a minor road, you cross the border back into England. On the right is the bounds road, an innocuous grassy track that marks out the border and runs to a dead end at the river bank.
[3] At Low Cocklaw, turn right to follow the signpost through a farm for Canty’s Brig, also known as County’s or Whiteadder Bridge. The field-edge path drills south before swinging half-left downhill through woodland above the Whiteadder. The path then heads due east along the riverbank – a good place to see Daubenton’s and Pipistrelle bats – to the Whiteadder Bridge.
[4] Turn right across the bridge, cross to the opposite pavement, descend to the river bank and turn left under it, now heading west on the south side of the river.
(B) The weir and its salmon run – a concrete staircase installed to aid salmon on their epic upstream journey; partly a conservation measure, partly a boost for fishermen – are more obvious now.
After a bend in the river the path halts once again at the border at the bounds road. Again, the path is a curious deadend heading north with no hint of any historical bridge to join up with its counterpart on the north bank.
[5] Turn right uphill to Paxton Toll House, then dog-leg across and down the lane to the River Tweed.
Several shiels (old fishing houses and stores) make for isolated pinpoints on the landscape fronting the Tweed, which here demarcates the border with a majestic sweep.
Keep on the river bank, passing below Paxton House.
(C) Paxton House is a neoclassical 18thcentury mansion.
Keep to the bank via a wall to reach the Union Chain Bridge.
(D) This is a miniature suspension bridge across the Tweed. It’s a rusting, beautiful affair, opened in 1820 and spanning 137 metres, making it the world’s oldest suspension bridge carrying road traffic.
[6] Turn left on the southern side of the bridge and pick up the river bank path. The route back to Berwick – around 9km/6 miles – is straightforward enough. There are sections which can be tricky when they are muddy or the river is high. On the downside, you have to nip past the A1.
The pay-off is a staggering view of Robert Stephenson’s Royal Border Rail Bridge, with its 28 sandstone arches.
After walking under the bridge, pass below the Royal Tweed road bridge and turn left across the charming Jacobean stone bridge to reach Berwick town centre.