Sprouston River and old Railway

The Location

Sprouston village is about 2 miles west of Kelso on the B6350, in the Scottish Borders. The walk takes you from the village to the border with England and back.

What's there

A moderate 4 mile walk or a longer 7 mile walk along the river Tweed, then back along an old Railway line. The paths can be muddy in wet weather, and the river path might be impassible if the Tweed is in flood.
Walking this route in summer 2020, the river path was a bit difficult, and an electric fence extends right down to the river Tweed at Whitmuirhaugh farm. The fence was easy enough to step over, and lift a small dog over, but if this concerns you, then I suggest you just try the railway walk.
If you chose this easier option, then there is no sensible parking at the entrance to the railway line, so take the road that leads off on the left behind Sweet Pea Kirk, and follow it out of the village for quite some distance, and you will see the railway path entrance on the left, just opposite the last house in the village.

How to get there

Postcode for Satnav - TD5 8HN. This is for Dean Road, right by the village green.
From England, head up the A697 to Cornhill on Tweed, then take a left hand turn at the end of the village, signposted 'Wark, Carham'. Follow this road for about 8 miles to Sprouston.
From the centre of Kelso in Scotland, take the A699 past the Abbey and over the Tweed. Just over the river the main road bears right, but carry straight on, on the B6352. Follow this road round, then turn left about 50 yards before the Superstore roundabout, signposted 'Sprouston', then follow this road for about 2 miles to the village.
There is a village green at the east end of the village, near a telephone box. It should be possible to park here by the kirk.

The Walk

You can see a map of the route here.
Cross the road to the phone box and follow the roadway past it, which quickly becomes a grassy path that leads you up to the river Tweed. Cross over a wooden bridge then turn right and follow the river downstream for about half a mile until you come to a wooden fishing hut by a small stream. Take the bridge over the stream, and step over a small electric fence, then follow the path up a rise. Follow the river down and around a bend to the right, for another half mile or so, until you climb above the river behind some trees, above a weir where the Tweed splits into a few islands. Just past the islands, the path meets a roadway beside Banff Mill, now a fishing hut. Turn right up this roadway.

Now about 150 yards up this road you will see a track on the left. This is the route for the longer walk, but we will concentrate on the shorter walk for now. Follow the roadway up to the main Sprouston-Cornhill road and turn left onto this road, taking care with the traffic. After about 300 yards you will see a grassy farm track on the right. Go down this farm track until you come to an old railway bridge and just before the bridge you will see a path on the right that goes down to the old railway. Take this path, then follow the old railway track to the right and head back towards Sprouston. After about a mile and a half, this track brings you back into the village, where you can follow the roadway up to your car.

If you fancy tackling the longer walk, take the left hand track just past Banff mill as described above, and follow this for about 500 yards, where you will see a gateway for a track that leads you back up to the river. Take this track, then turn right at the river and follow it for about 2 miles until the river bends south, then back east again. Here you will see a path that leads you back up to the Cornhill road, which it meets just at the Scotland / England border. Turn right up this road towards Sprouston, and after about 400 yards you will see a road leading to Nottlylees on your left. Follow this road up, and just before the house you will see the old railway line crossing. Turn right down the line, and it will meet up with the shorter walk described above.