White Coomb Wild Walks

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I'm in Moffat Dale in Dumfries and Galloway,

at the foot of the Grey Mare's Tail.

Now, this isn't the highest waterfall in Scotland,

but it certainly is one of the most impressive.

It's a waterfall that's inspired generations of climbers

to come here in the winter,

when it's all iced up into this great chute of green ice.

But it's also a waterfall

that's inspired generations of writers and poets,

including Sir Walter Scott.

I remember coming up here years and years ago,

and to be perfectly honest, the path was quite dangerous.

But the National Trust for Scotland, who look after this area,

have done a really good job in making the path quite effective.

Mildly unaesthetic, I would say.

But effective.

Sir Walter Scott once said that any poet,

no matter how poor his attainment, can write about waterfalls.

And over the years, lots of poets have written

describing waterfalls and cataracts as the voices of the mountains.

But maybe the most famous waterfall poem of them all

is Gerard Manley Hopkins's poem, Inversnaid.

'His rollrock highroad roaring down,

'In coop and in Coombe the fleece of his foam

'Flutes and low to the lake falls home.'

And that's the poem

that finishes with that emphatic plea for wildness.

'Where would the world be if bereft of wet and wildness?

'Let them be left,

'O let them be left, wildness and wet,

'Long live the weeds and the wilderness yet.'

The Grey Mare's Tail is actually the waters of the Tail Burn,

which fall down from this big, high-level basin

that holds Loch Skeen.

And one of the great features of this walk

is you suddenly come out of the narrow confines of the gulley,

into the sort of wide-open landscape, with hills all round you.

Now, we won't see Loch Skeen for a wee while,

but we can see our objective for the day,

White Coombe, which is that hill away up there.

And that's where I'm heading for right now.

It's a completely different walking experience here,

for a start, there's no Gaelic placenames.

All the names here have a kind of fundamental earthiness

that I quite enjoy.

Not far from here, there's a boggy section,

and it goes by the name of Rotten Bottom.

And behind me, there's quite a steep slope

that goes by the name of Muckle Knees.

And I tell you, when you descend that and get to the bottom,

you're suffering from knackered knees.

And not very far away, by the Meggett Reservoir,

there's a kind of intriguing placename,

that goes by the name of Dead For Cauld.

And I'd love to know the story behind that particular name.

You see Loch Skeen down behind me.

Well-frozen.

Sir Walter Scott described it as,

"Dark Loch Skeen, where eagles scream from shore to shore."

I think there's a wee bit of poetic licence there,

but I'm sure you'll agree with me that it's a wonderful area.

These South Tweedsmuir hills have so much to offer,

and it almost surprises me that so many walkers

head south for the Lake District down the M74.

The other direction, people head north

intent on getting to the Highlands, and miss out this marvellous area.

I can see the summit appearing now.

And thank goodness!

When we started off it was springtime.

Up here, it's back into winter again.

Here we've got the summit of White Coombe.

2,696 feet above sea level.

And it's a bitterly cold summit today,

but with extraordinarily clear views, it's wonderful,

I can see away across to the Cheviot,

away across to the Northumberlands, all covered in snow,

and then you can see the start of the high Pennines,

and away across the Solway Firth there,

the snow-covered tops of the Lake District.

And to the north, it really is quite remarkable.

Just across the border hills, a great big line of white mountains,

almost looks like the distant Himalayas from here,

I kid you not.

It's the Highland Line, the Highlands of Scotland.

It's fantastic, so you can see from the Highlands

right down into England.

But, aye, it's too cold to linger today,

so what I'm going to do is head back down,

find myself a nice little tea shop, and get warm again.

So see you next time.

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