Mrs PB and I are visiting friends nr St Abbs over Christmas and will want a bit of fresh air, nearest hills seem to be the Lammermuirs. Looking to start from Whiteadder Res and do a 30ml loop over to the Lauder road via the Southern Upland Way and the bizarrely named Bermuda farm and back over the Herring Road. Is this practical given the current weather(much snow atm?) and has anyone got a route they would recommend other than the electicity board tracks that I have seen on Google Earth?
Thanks in advance. Coastkid seems the local expert but we’re not planning to ride fatbikes unfortunately.

anyone, please?

Sorry PB. I’m actually monitoring this thread to see what responses you get 🙂

Have you tried asking at TrailScotland?

Coastkid might be along later ( I’ll give him a prod) or there is an east lothian mountainbike group on face book. ( email me if you want details)

I know a few bits out that way but mainly a bit further west or north from where you are. Anything marked as double track will be ridable, single trcak might be might not.

I don’t think there is much snow that way at the moment but not sure and it could easily change. tehre are coastal / low lying routes available as well

that’s a fair trek from St Abbs (for what the riding has to offer IMO)
I’d be heading south to Wooler (or further into Northuberland) or just to the Borders instead.
or East to the Borders for decent riding.
the Lammys (and SUW) can be accessed from closer (Co path?) (I’ve ridden bits of it starting from Oldhamstocks).

Ridden this a few times from Longformacus / Watch Water Reservoir along the SUW and back via Bermuda, Wedder Lair (toward the Pylon Rd), onto Dye Water and back. Its a good ride, nothing too taxing but take your lights. If you stop for food / beer in Lauder it can take a good 5 hours (the sun rises at 0840 and sets by 1540 so you’ll only have 7 hours of light available).

There is snow on the ground on Lammer Law today, but it could be gone tomorrow…

chugg08 – decent track for CX?

Thanks all, Chugg, does the track running NNE from Bermuda carry through to the pylon track beyond Titling Cairn as the OS map shows it stopping about 1 mile south? I wouldn’t be popular having to turn round at this time of year.

Pistonbroke, the trail does end but you can head directly N to hit the Pylon Rd or NE to hit Dye Water (I’d go NE as the embankment is quite steep at the Pylon rd). Much of the heather has been cut back so you can navigate through the cut heather for around 1Km to Dye Water (it’ll take 10 mins). If the weather turns bad, head N until you hit the pylon rd. It’s a pretty good quality Landrover track and is an easy ride E / NE to the main road.

Druidh – I’d assume it should be okay for CX (I don’t have CX bike). Most of the tracks are Landrover trails (or partially prepared trails).

Hello :-), sorry i`m late…
SUW to Lauder is all ok and mostly rideable with a cross bike, there is cliff top trails from St Abbs west to Dowlaw (signed coastal trail) but a wee bit pushing and above cliffs so is a bit vertigo ish 🙂

Some nice green lane type trails around Coldingham marked as white roads mostly on OS maps and roadside wooden finger signs,
Berwickshire has a lot of these trails, esp around Chirnside, Ayton, and Duns, Around Duns Castle estate is some interesting trails, rooty in places but it is a very muddy clay soil there, there always rideable but you will get minging in winter unless its frozen,

The Herring road south from Dunbar at Halls Farm has mostly been decimated because of the windfarm up on Lothian Edge 😥 but it can be ridden on the re routed new paths, not great for a mile or so but will get you across to the Whiteadder Resovoir, shooting tracks and the pylon maintenance track running west of Mayshiel are all good, the bleak rolling hills of patchwork heather grouse moor are usually deserted and is what makes up there great,

chugg08s route would be ideal too,

CX bikes, 29er ridged or a good old hardtail xc bike is perfect for around all these places, 🙂

While I have your attention….where’s the nearest parking for a walk up Lammer Law? Somewhere along the Longyester/Stobshiel road would be ideal.

nearest or nicest (most interesting) route up?

druidh – the road up from longyester you can drive up quite a way as I remeber above the farm and walk up the track from there – I have only cycled it tho. Looks ok on google earth – looks like parking is possible on the verge at the end of the tarmac

you can park by Stobsheil farm and just walk up the access road (dull fire road) or park round at Leaston Farm and walk through a tree covered farm track and up a steep (to ride) meadow through brown dodd wood and down through the other side. won’t be on a map but pretty difficult to get lost (I never carry a map).
I used to “kinda” live at Stobsheil and often rode both ways as an XC loop, there’s even a few nice fun DH sections (and a couple of techy ones – overgrown/mushy now) if you look around the wood, more decent riding in the woods further up the access road (pity it’s the arse end of nowhere).

Yes you can park where TJ suggests, but it’s a pretty dull walk/ride

Head south from the crossroads west of Gifford at the 9 hole golf course, signed Castle park golf course and longyester, Hopes, drive about 2 miles to a left bend (ignore the turn off for Castle Park) to a 90 degree bend with a fork for Longyester Farm,
oh before you turn south up the road check the old cast sign in the wee wood on your right 🙂

follow the road up from the farm passing Blinkbonny wood to its end where there is parking, a ROW sign at gate for Lauder leads the way 🙂
climb up is rocky and quite steep, crackin view from Lammer Law 🙂

I was planning to do a loop – probably counter-clockwise – Stobshiel, Widows Knowe, Lammer Law, Longyester. Parking anywhere along the road would therefore be fine, but I’m aware it’s awfy narrow and I don’t want to be blocking anyones access. The Leaston Farm/Brown Dod Wood bit is actually shown on the map, so I might just add that on 🙂 The other option I’m looking at is to skip Widows Knowe and just take the track all the way to the next valley and ascend Lammer Law from there.

Thanks for the local “heads-up”.

Oh – Pishwanton Woods

*sniggers*

Aye Pishwanton woods, its ful of er.. druid y type woodsie hippy folk 😀 Stobshiel up to Widows Knowe and onto the track past Lammerlaw is a nice route, descent off lammerlaw is good, also a quad track east from top of track east of Lammerlaw near the old wooden gate on the track (before the steep descent) beside a fence down to Hopes resovoir 😉

Well, Mrs Druidh and I did our wee walk round Lammer Law as planned. 22km on mostly excellent tracks. Visibility on the summit was less than 100 metres, but it (of course) cleared 10 minutes after we’d left.

Lots of tracks not marked on the 1:50,000, so I’ll be doing some more research before we return.
http://www.endomondo.com/workouts/knbXL4XYD3E

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For the OP – loads of ice on the tracks. You’d definitely be wanting ice tyres.