St Cuthbert's Way

author: Ronald Turnbull
St Cuthbert's Way is one of Scotland's Great Trails, and it crosses the Scotland-England border on high ground east of the Yetholms. Follow the footsteps of St Cuthbert in this easy-going walk of 63 miles (101 km) from Melrose Abbey in the Scottish Borders to the Holy Island of Lindisfarne in the North Sea. The route winds alongside the River Tweed, includes a section of Roman road and it passes castles, hill forts and ruined abbeys.

Its summit is Wideopen Hill (368m/1207ft), and its barefoot finale is the Pilgrims' Path to Lindisfarne with its priory and castle. The route is fully waymarked, the gradients are modest, and it has welcoming B&Bs and pubs at strategic intervals. Most people will complete it comfortably within 5 or 6 days.

This guidebook has all you need to plan and enjoy the St Cuthbert's Way:
Detailed route descriptions updated in 2023
16 pages with mapping showing the route at 1:40,000 scale
background on St Cuthbert's life and times
features on Lindisfarne, history, and wildlife
contact details for accommodation and transport
100 enticing colour photographs
waterproof, rucksack-friendly format.

ISBN 9781913817138 Pages 72 (2023) 130mm x 220mm

by: Ron Shaw
This 100-kilometre (60 mile) walk was opened in 1996 and has rapidly increased in popularity, with thousands of walkers walking all or parts of it every year. Visiting a number of places closely associated with St Cuthbert's life, the journey is full of historical interest and natural beauty. It can be tackled in its entirety, or sections can be walked separately, making an ideal day or weekend outing. Today's pilgrims travel from Melrose in the Scottish Borders to the Holy Island causeway at Beal. In the right conditions, the path across the sand here makes a superb finale to the walk. After a visit to Holy Island, walkers can then take the Islandshire Way along the coast to Berwick-upon-Tweed. This option is also fully covered in this Official Guide.

Illustrated in full colour throughout, the guide is full of information about the historical and natural features of the route as well as detailed navigation instructions. In a comprehensive introduction it also covers appropriate equipment for walkers, way marking, car parking and accommodation. This completely revised edition of the guide adds a separate, entirely new, full-colour folding map of the route. Both the book and map are contained in a transparent plastic cover. After the walk, the guide and map make a wonderful souvenir of one of Britain's most evocative long distance routes.

The route is described in eight day stages as follows:
Melrose to St Boswells - 7.5 miles
St Boswells to Harestanes - 7.5 miles
Harestanes to Morebattle - 10 miles
Morebattle to Yetholm - 6.5 miles
Yetholm to Hethpool - 5 miles
Hethpool to Wooler - 8 miles
Wooler to Fenwick - 11.5 miles
Fenwick to Lindisfarne - 6 miles

Around AD664 St. Cuthbert is reputed to have walked from Melrose to Holy Island, a total of 60 miles through the breathtaking landscape of the Scottish Borders and Northumbria. St Cuthbert's Way is a record of the ancient route, allowing walkers to follow in the saint's footsteps a section at a time, or follow the entire route on a magical week's walking holiday.

Visit magnificent Melrose Abbey, walk the wildly beautiful hills and river valleys of the Scottish borders and the Cheviots, enter St. Cuthbert's cave and be captivated by Holy Island, a site of religious culture and inspiration since the 7th century.

ISBN 9781780275185 Pages 123 (2018 reprinted 2021) 135mm x 220mm plus folded map

Around AD664 St. Cuthbert is reputed to have walked from Melrose to Holy Island, a total of 62 miles through the breathtaking landscape of the Scottish Borders and Northumbria. St. Cuthbert's Way is a record of this ancient route, allowing walkers to follow in the saint's footsteps a section at a time, or follow the entire route on a magical week's walking holiday. The route passes through a wide variety of landscapes, rolling farmland, verdant river valleys, sheltering woods, bleak and exposed hill tops and moorland, coastal flats and sand dunes, and the causeway to Holy Island, only passable at low tide.
This full colour map, at a scale of 1:40,000, provides precise route detail and, together with a compass, will ensure easy and reliable navigation. It also includes and introduction to the route, practical information, and can be used with a GPS receiver.
ISBN 9781851374748 folded (2003)