Southern Upland Way

Southern Upland Way
Length	212 mi (341 km)
Location	Southern Scotland, United Kingdom
Designation	Long Distance Route
Trailheads	Portpatrick Cockburnspath
Use	Hiking, horse riding, cycling
Hiking details
Season	All year

The start of the Southern Upland Way in Portpatrick

Typical marker

The Southern Upland Way is a 212-mile (341 km) coast-to-coast walk in Scotland between Portpatrick in the west, and Cockburnspath in the east. It opened in 1984.

The path visits Castle Kennedy, New Luce, Bargrennan, St John's Town of Dalry, Sanquhar, Wanlockhead, Beattock, St Mary's Loch, Traquair, Galashiels, Lauder and Longformacus en route. The Sir Walter Scott Way shares the last five places with the Southern Upland Way. The Annandale Way running through Annandale from the source of the River Annan to the sea joins the Southern Upland Way briefly at Beattock.

John Dippie's Well

In the Lammermuir Hills, near Longformacus close to where the Way crosses the Watch Water, is John Dippie's Well. The well is marked by a carved stone "headstone" which tells that there is no sweeter water in the Lammermuir Hills. John Dippie was a gamekeeper and the reason the water was so sweet was that he added some whisky to it before the thirsty shooting parties slaked their thirsts. The "headstone" marks their appreciation.

See also

• Borders Abbeys Way
• Pennine Way National Trail
• Roman Heritage Way
• St Cuthbert's Way
• Sir Walter Scott Way
• Long-distance footpaths in the United Kingdom
• List of places in the Scottish Borders

Publications

• Smith, Roger. The Southern Upland Way, Official Guide. Edinburgh: Mercat Press. ISBN 0-11-495170-5. 
• Writing the Way - A collection of Journeys along the Southern Upland Way, published to commemorate the 21st anniversary of the route in 2005, available from the Southern Uplands Partnership http://www.sup.org.uk or from http://www.suw21.com

External links

• Official Southern Upland Way website
• "Southern Upland Way" by Chris Townsend