Walk: Dun Rig & a Glensax quartet

📌 Peebles, Scottish Borders
★★★

This lengthy but lovely horseshoe walk takes in the four Donalds arranged around the head of Glensax: the slender valley stretching south from Peebles. Dun Rig is the highest summit, topping out at 744m, but the most scenic sections are lower down the glen, with colourful heather displays in late summer. A few of the cols between the hills contain bog and peat hags, so this route should perhaps be avoided after prolonged rainy weather.

📷 Chronological photo guide

🌍 Location

📌 Start / finish on Glen Road, 1 mi south of Peebles town centre

🧭 O.S. Grid Reference: NT 259392

🛰️ GPS coordinates: 55.641079,-3.178140

🚌 Bus to Peebles (1 mi), or a local bus stops closer to the start at Whitehaugh Park

🚗 Layby

📝 Key info

▶ 24 km / 15 mi | ▲ 1040 m | ⌛ 7-8 hr

Features: △ Kirkhope Law (537 m); △ Birkscairn Hill (661 m, Donald); △ Dun Rig (744 m, “Torbett” / Donald); △ Middle Hill (732 m, Donald); △ Stob Law (676 m, Donald); △ Scawd Law (685 m)

⬤ Tough | Paths & tracks for most of route, but they fade out for sections & there are some boggy stretches.

➡️ Clockwise circuit: start – Craig Head – Kirkhope Law – Birkscairn Hill – Middle Hill – Broom Hill – Stob Law – return to Broom Hill – Scawd Law – Dead Side – Upper Newby – start

Download file for GPS

🥾 On our last visit

Wildlife: Horses, sheep, a vole, pair of crossbills on Kirkhope Law, red grouse including young. Grey heron, mute swans, mallard ducks & moorhens in ponds / burn on the walk out. Fairly abundant, ripe cloudberries.

Weather: Sunshine with cloudy banks & an unrelenting wind, eventually reaching 20°C in glens.

August 2024