What were the Border Reivers?

The Reivers were raiding clans — Scottish and English — who operated across the Anglo-Scottish border from around 1300 to 1603. They raided farms for cattle and valuables, conducted blood feuds, and formed complex protection-and-extortion networks. The Armstrong, Elliot, Scott, and Kerr clans were among the most active. The words "bereave", "blackmail", and "gang" all derive from Reiver culture.

Is Hermitage Castle open to visitors?

Yes — Historic Environment Scotland manages it. Open April–September (check HES website for current hours). Admission charged. There is no car park immediately at the castle — the approach is on foot from the road.

Does the route cross into England?

Briefly, for about 8km between Carter Bar and the Deadwater area, the route runs along the English side of the border. No documentation needed — the border is imaginary at this point. The single-track roads in Redesdale are excellent gravel in any case.

Is there a Reiver heritage trail to follow?

The Reivers Cycle Route is an official National Cycle Network route (NCN10 variant) covering much of this territory. The gravel alternative described here uses the same corridor but takes the drove roads and estate tracks rather than the tarmac NCN alignment.

Gravel Cycling

Border Reivers Gravel Route

Peel towers, drove roads, and the lawless memory of the Border Marches

Quick facts

Distance: 50 km (31 mi)
Ascent: 980 m
Difficulty: Moderate
Route type: Loop
Archetype: Heritage Trail
Region: Scottish Borders
Start point: Jedburgh
Grid ref: NT 650 204
Parking: TD8 6EN
Midges: Low
Dogs: On lead only

Best months

Surface breakdown

Tarmac single-track50%
Double-track30%
Estate road20%

Recommended bikes: Gravel bike (ideal), Hardtail MTB· Tyres: 40–48mm gravel

About this route

The Anglo-Scottish Border was never properly pacified until the union of the crowns in 1603 — for 300 years before that, the Border Reivers (raiding clans from both sides) operated across it at will, burning farmsteads, stealing cattle, and conducting feuds of breathtaking brutality. The landscape they rode is still visible: peel towers (defensible fortified houses) every 10km, the Carter Bar pass where the border is still a psychological boundary, and the blank moorland of Liddesdale where Hermitage Castle stands as the most oppressively atmospheric ruin in Scotland.

This gravel circuit from Jedburgh crosses Carter Bar into England briefly, descends through Redesdale to the border region near Deadwater, and returns via Liddesdale and Hermitage Castle to Hawick. The double-track sections are old drove roads — the routes used by the reivers themselves — and several maintain a sunken character with grassed-over walls on either side, completely unchanged in 500 years.

Highlights

Carter Bar — the border pass at 418m where the road sign's 'Welcome to Scotland' marks the ridge
Hermitage Castle — the most foreboding ruin in Scotland; roofless, half-ruined, entirely without tourism
Old drove road sections — sunken double-track with 500-year-old wall remnants; the authentic Border landscape
Ferniehirst Castle — Kerr clan stronghold 3km south of Jedburgh, still occupied, with left-handed spiral staircase (built for left-handed Kerr swordsmen)
Liddesdale winter light — bare moorland, sheep, and corbelled hawthorn with snow on Wisp Hill

Key waypoints

1. Jedburgh
2. Ferniehirst Castle
3. Carter Bar
4. Deadwater
5. Kershopefoot
6. Newcastleton
7. Hermitage Castle
8. Hawick

Cafés & pubs on route

· Jedforest Hotel
· Copshaw Kitchen, Newcastleton
· Buccleuch Arms, St Boswells (return)

Named climbs

Capon Tree Hill (380m)
Carter Bar approach (420m)
Kershopefoot hill (280m)

Notable descents

Redesdale descent from Carter Bar
Liddesdale drop to Newcastleton

Heritage context

Key site on this route: Carter Bar. Historic Environment Scotland and local councils manage many listed structures along it — respect conservation fencing and interpretation areas. Entry to managed sites is charged; check historicenvironment.scot for current opening hours before you ride.

Route notes

The Carter Bar section crosses briefly into Northumberland (England) — technically this is not a Scotland-only circuit. The double-track drove road sections north of Deadwater are rideable in dry conditions but can be deeply rutted after rain. The B6357 through Liddesdale is one of Scotland's quietest classified roads.

Best season & site opening times

The Borders are drier than the Highlands. Autumn is exceptional — the sheep-grazed hills turn buff and ochre in October and the Hermitage Castle ruins in November light are genuinely eerie. The Carter Bar pass road can be icy November–March. Midges are minimal — the moorland exposure keeps them away.

Key hazards

Carter Bar to Deadwater section has no phone signal (10km)
The drove road sections require route-finding — download OS 1:25k
Hermitage Castle area has waterlogged ground on the approach track after rain

Water sources on route

River Jed throughout
Liddel Water at Newcastleton
River Teviot near Hawick

Always filter or treat water from natural sources. Carry at least 1L reserve on remote sections.

OS map sheets

OS 331OS 337

Nearest hill

White Coomb

821m · borders

View hill

Nearest bothy

Over Phawhope

Walk-in: 5 km · borders

View bothy

Daylight Today

17h 22mwalking daylight

Sunrise: 05:12
Sunset: 21:01
Civil dawn: 04:26
Civil dusk: 21:48

NOAA Solar Calculator · 9 May 2026

Common questions

What were the Border Reivers?: The Reivers were raiding clans — Scottish and English — who operated across the Anglo-Scottish border from around 1300 to 1603. They raided farms for cattle and valuables, conducted blood feuds, and formed complex protection-and-extortion networks. The Armstrong, Elliot, Scott, and Kerr clans were among the most active. The words "bereave", "blackmail", and "gang" all derive from Reiver culture.
Is Hermitage Castle open to visitors?: Yes — Historic Environment Scotland manages it. Open April–September (check HES website for current hours). Admission charged. There is no car park immediately at the castle — the approach is on foot from the road.
Does the route cross into England?: Briefly, for about 8km between Carter Bar and the Deadwater area, the route runs along the English side of the border. No documentation needed — the border is imaginary at this point. The single-track roads in Redesdale are excellent gravel in any case.
Is there a Reiver heritage trail to follow?: The Reivers Cycle Route is an official National Cycle Network route (NCN10 variant) covering much of this territory. The gravel alternative described here uses the same corridor but takes the drove roads and estate tracks rather than the tarmac NCN alignment.