Yorkshire Walks

Path from Town Yetholm down to the Bomont Water

We came out at a street corner with a green corrugated iron building to our right. It looked like the village hall. We walked past the front of this building to follow a narrow path down a slope to a gate into the fields at the bottom. Through the gate we turned right, climbed the stile a few metres away and followed the filed boundary for about 350m to the Romany Marsh nature reserve.

This week we are staying in a holiday cottage near Town Yetholm in the Cheviot Hills. This morning, after getting a morning news paper from the village shop in Town Yetholm, we crossed the main road (at map ref. NT819280) to the village butcher's shop opposite and took the path past the shop and the public toilets.

Path from Town Yetholm down to the Bomont Water

Romany Marsh nature reserve

We saw swans, three herons, ducks and oyster catchers at Romany Marsh. We continued past the nature reserve to join the St. Cuthbert's Way track at map ref. NT820273.

There is a long history of Romany people at Yetholm. Apparently Yetholm means "Gate Town" and the place was an important border trading post between Scotland and England in the Dark Ages, when a local Romany Clan were the rulers here.

Romany Marsh nature reserve

The St. Cuthbert's Way track

The buildings have now been converted to holiday cottages. Across the ford we turned right off the lane to walk across the fields beside the Bowmont Water. The fields were strewn with debris from the winter floods.

We followed the track for about 250m to a lane where we turned left to walk down the lane to a ford at map ref. NT819270 at Duncanhaugh.This is a group of buildings that were once a mill and a farm.

Ford at Duncanhaugh

Looking up the valley of Curr Burn from the path by Bowmont Water

Looking back to Staerough Hill from the path by Bowmont Water

Bridge over Bowmont Water at Primsidehill

The track to Yetholm Loch

Leaving the track to follow the field edge to Yetholm Loch

We followed the track for about 450m to map ref. NT806269 where the track turned sharp left. Parts of it were overgrown with blackthorn thicket but there was a clear narrow path through it. At the bend in the track we continued straight on following the path beside the fence.

About 100m before we reached Primsidehill, at map ref. NT814266 we turned right to climb up a short steep bank to a field by the road (B6401). We headed across the field to the gate onto the road and turned left to walk along the road. After about 300m, at map ref. NT810265, we turned right off the road onto a farm track.

Start of the track to Yetholm Loch

The track to Yetholm Loch getting more overgrown

Approaching Yetholm Loch

Approaching Yetholm Loch

Swans at Yetholm Loch

There were several small groups of Swans on the loch.

This path brought us to Yetholm Loch, a nature reserve run by the Scottish Wildlife Trust.

Yetholm Loch nature reserve

Swans at Yetholm Loch

Yetholm Loch nature reserve

Yetholm Loch nature reserve

Lochtower farm at the head of Yetholm Loch

Track from Yetholm Loch to the B6352

Track from Yetholm Loch to the B6352

From here we followed the farm access track out to the road (B6352). At the road we turned right to walk along the road back into Town Yetholm.

The path continued through the Lochtower farm to the northern end of the loch at map ref. NT804282.

Dilapidated sign at Yetholm Loch

Large bracket fungus on willow tree

A lonely bull by the B6352

The B6352 back to Town Yetholm

The whole route had been about 7km and it had taken us a little over two hours to walk. We headed back to our cottage for some lunch after a very pleasant little walk.

We were lucky that the road was closed to traffic to allow some road works to go ahead but I believe the road is normally quite busy.

The village green in Town Yetholm