Thursday May 19th- St. Cuthbert's Way Day 4

 Ancrum to Morebattle

A big day. We had to walk from Ancrum to pick up the next stage of St. Cuthbert's Way, where we entered the woods near Monteviot House.

The back(!) of Monteviot House
We worked our way around to the Monteviot Suspension Bridge, purely a footbridge; although pretty elegant, its main supports were a stark concrete although the footway itself was wooden.
The Monteviot Bridge
We followed the route on to Jedfoot Bridge and across the countryside towards Oxnam Water. We managed to slip up on the route-finding (the first and only time, it has to be said), finding ourselves heading towards Crailing, on the (slightly more major) A698 road. The mistake was quickly rectified and was "only" an additional 1km. We descended to Oxnam Water and crossed at Coldhough Bank- always a bit distressing to have to lose height and then regain it!
The ascent at Coldhough Bank with the valley of Oxnam Water in the background
On our way to the zig-zag road crossing at Brownrigg we met a grizzled pair of runners who were doing the entire St. Cuthbert's Way in three days! After Brownrigg it was pleasant walking beside some new plantations and then to established woodlands, where we had our lunch.
The pleasant woodlands above Brownrigg, where we lunched
Passing beside extensive wheatfields and occasional plantations, we reached Cessford, barely more than a collection of houses.
Wheatfields, walls and woods on the way to Cessford
Just after the hamlet were the ruins of Cessford Castle, where we stopped for a drink and enjoyed the antics (not silence...) of the lambs.
Cessford and its ruined castle

Cessford Castle and sheep
It was a beautiful day, which compensated somewhat for the final section along the road, which was a bit wearing on the feet.
A lovely day!
Morebattle was quite pretty, with a few quaint street names.
Morebattle street names
We made it to the Morebattle Community Store which was really well stocked, particularly as they had Giant Hula Hoops, which we richly deserved, and a good selection of drinks. The hotel where we were staying was just down the road and we were delighted to be given an upgrade to a self-catering cottage which was originally a dairy.
A total of 14.2 miles and 440m ascent.

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