The Manor Valley is, I think, one of the most scenic places in the Scottish Borders and can be found a little way past Neidpath Castle just west of Peebles. This is a circuit from Hallmanor, which is about halfway up the valley, up to Dead Wife’s Grave, Hunt Law, Posso Rig and back to Hallmanor with the option of taking in The Scrape and Pykestone Hill.
Drive a couple of miles west of Peebles then take a left down the unclassified road signed to Kirkton Manor and over the Tweed. Continue on up the valley road for about 3.5 miles and as you pass Castlehill steading and stables the road swings right and a superb view to the head of Manor opens up. The parking space is about 100m beyond this corner beside the gate to the forest track at grid reference NT212353 (yes folks, this is old school navigation). Interesting fact is that Scott Brash MBE, the World Ranked Number One and Olympic gold medal winning show jumper trained at Castlehill stables before he moved to a base down south just a few years ago.
Parking and gate to forest track
From the parking space you simply follow your nose up the forest track which gently rises above a small man-made loch behind Hallmanor House and from there its on up the track for just short of 1 mile when the track swings left over the Dead Wife’s Burn and about 100 yards after that you make a 90 degree right turn (west) up the side track at 199348. You are now on an old Drove Road that connected Manor to Stobo and beyond.
The forest track rises ahead of you and no doubt you will be pleased to know that this is the steepest part of the whole walk. The track then levels out and gently rises through the forest to exit into the sunshine at Dead Wife’s Grave, which marks the junction of the parishes of Manor, Stobo and Drumelzier and is supposed to be the site where a fugitive from the battle of Philiphaugh (1645) was done to death. Pass through the gate and stop to admire the fine views over hills beyond Stobo and up and down the Tweed valley.
View from Dead Wife’s Grave to Stobo
Immediately turn left (southish) staying roughly parallel to forest fence/dyke following whatever paths you can find through the heather as the ground rises steadily towards Hunt Law and then to Lour Burn Head at 183341. At this point the path contours across the hill cutting off the corner that is Breach Law. You are now on the course of the old Thief’s Road which linked Stobo, an important ecclesiastical centre, down to Megget and beyond. So called because it was used by the Border thieves who came and went between the upper reaches of Ettrick and Tweeddale. James V and Mary Queen of Scots are recorded as having travelled this way so you are walking in the footsteps of monarchs.
The path once again approaches the woods and your route is through the gap between the trees directly ahead that is accessed via the wooden gate (or just step over the remains of the fence). The clear route zig-zags through the trees following the line of the old road and again emerges into the open below The Scrape. For those who wish to take in a Donald or two follow the fence line upwards about 50m then pick up the footpath that contours across the hill SbySSW and take in The Scrape (which was a Donald when I first done them but is not on the WH current list) and Pykestone Hill but if you want an easy life turn left, east(ish), downhill at the fence line and follow the edge of the forest. Its all downhill from here!
There’s a quad bike track about 30m beyond the forest boundary fence which makes things a bit easier for a while. Continue following the fence line downhill on to Posso Rig with fine views up and down the Manor Valley and over to Glenrath Heights.
Manor from Posso Rig
Continue all the way down until you meet the Dead Wife’s Grave drove road path as it comes in diagonally from the left and head steeply down between two dry stone dykes to the public road, passing three old Larch trees which in spring produce amazing bright purple pine cones. At the road turn left and its a short mile back to Hallmanor along the single track road and your car. Have a nice day…………
