We asked our lovely neighbour Marianne for a few words about where to go around the Borders. Marianne & her husband Steve adore the Scottish borders and often explore in their motorhome.. First rate adventurers who celebrate their journeys end with a nice glass of wine, well it would be rude not to, cheers!. Thank you Marianne for writing this for us.
Wild swimming, paddleboarding and Kayaking have grown in popularity recently and the Scottish Borders area is great for this; infact we have numerous places we can go and I will share a few below. You can of course use the river by the campsite for a quick dip. Below the Cauld if you enter the water just above the pipe from the water Treatment works and head towards the tree at the left there is a deepish pool area where you can have a lovely cool dip.
Nearby are a couple of lovely lochs and reservoirs too. Alemoor Loch is great for swimming, paddleboarding and Kayaking and is normally not busy at all. If you are luck you may have Osprey flying overhead whilst you are out on the water.
A bit further afield is Lindean Loch, another great place for a swim but not recommended for Paddleboards or Kayaks as it is a Nature reserve and the land owners ask that you only swim from the old boathouse. It can get quite busy here on nice days.
Another lovely loch is at Cauldshields but this is a 15 to 20 minute walk from where you park the car but you can paddleboard as well as swim if you can be bothered to carry everything there. The map below shows the walk from the parking area. It is slightly up hill. Again normally a quiet place to go.
Further away again is St Marys Loch & Loch of the Lowes. This can get very busy as the parking area is opposite a café with toilets.
For anyone who likes a waterfall there is a gorgeous one at Stichill Linn, again it is quite a walk to get there along path that is often muddy in parts all year round and with a couple of steep bits too. The water is freezing! To find out more visit: Scotland’s secret waterfall
