Author Topic: Drove roads  (Read 2684 times)

Mairi

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Drove roads
« on: 02:34:47, 31/01/08 »
Anyone else have a fondness for walking the drove roads and got some stories to tell? I found a fold-out map in an old  book, and now want to walk the lot!!
Staggered to find out they used to swim the cattle over from Skye & the other isles.

 :D

mike knipe

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Re: Drove roads
« Reply #1 on: 10:25:26, 31/01/08 »
There's a book called "Scottish Hill tracks"  published by the Scottish Rights of Way Society which has a pull-out map with it. I think its updated from time to time.
Its a brill book for planning long distance walks across Scotland, though - basically you join up the dots!
But maybe you're talking about "The Drove Roads of Scotland" which is probably 60 years old...
We've used these routes for TGO challenges and for practise walks - eg Me and my son walked Clennel Street and Dere Street from Alwinton in Northumberland to Melrose over three days. I think Clennel Street might be a drove road, but Dere Street is a roman road.
We had quite a good night in Jedburgh - the campsite owner said that the campsite was closed when we arrived, but let us camp in a discrete corner, then opened the shower block and apologised for not being able to charge us! This was followed by a boozy night playing pool with the locals who's accent is completely impenetrable, though the beer seemed to help with the translations. They were remarkably friendly considering that the history of Jedburgh is detailed across the wall of the local coffee shop.....1301 Burned by the English, 1302 Burned by the English, 1305 Burned by the English (twice) ...and so on. (dates aren't correct, but you get the gist)
Some kind of happiness is measured out in miles

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