Eildon Hills – North Hill above Melrose and Lunch at Burts
About 4 miles on foot.
The three summits of the Eildon Hills rise straight up behind Melrose, and the waymarked Eildon Hills Path climbs the nearest of them from the edge of town and brings you back down to the Market Square.
It's a steep climb but a short one, with a view from the top that takes in half the Borders. Lunch is at Burts, the old white inn on the Square, by the fire in its Bistro Bar.
- Time
- Two to two and a half hours for the Eildon Hills Path.
- The path
- Steep, narrow paths, muddy after rain, with wooden steps on the way down.
- Where to start
- The Abbey car park on Buccleuch Street, where the path starts: small, and pay and display every day, 8.30am to 5pm. Public toilets are on Abbey Street beside it.
- When to go
- The Eildon Hills Path is open ground for daylight in dry, still weather; Burts serves lunch every day from noon to 2.15pm.
- Dogs
- Livestock graze the hills: keep dogs under close control.
- Children
- A long, steep walk of about 6 km: for children who are used to hills.
- Before you set out
- The path is waymarked from the Abbey car park, starting on the tarmac path to the right of the abbey graveyard. It is very steep in places, and narrow and muddy after rain: wear boots. Mid Hill, the highest of the three at 422 metres, is a steeper climb on loose scree from the saddle and is not part of the path.
The walk
The Eildon Hills Path starts from the Abbey car park on Buccleuch Street, 3 minutes from the Market Square: pay and display from 8.30am to 5pm every day, by card or the RingGo app, with toilets on Abbey Street beside it. The council's waymarked loop is about 6.5 km with about 300 metres of climbing, and takes two to two and a half hours. It heads out on the Borders Abbeys Way towards Newstead, then climbs, very steeply near the top, to the summit of North Hill, 404 metres, ringed by the banks of an Iron Age fort.
The way down is by the saddle and through the fields, back into town at the Square. Mid Hill, the highest, is a steep extra on loose scree. Wear boots, as the paths are muddy after rain, and keep dogs close near sheep.
In low cloud, high wind or ice, leave the hill for another day.
If it rains
The hill is no place in low cloud or a gale. On a wet morning walk the flat riverside path from the Abbey car park to the Chain Bridge and back instead, and come in early to the fire at Burts.
Afterwards
About 3 min on foot
Burts Hotel
Lunch
Lunch is at Burts, the white 18th-century inn on the Market Square, a few steps from where the path comes down. The Bistro Bar serves lunch from noon to 2.15pm every day, from soup with homemade bread to beer-battered haddock, with cask ales, over 50 malts and a real fire on cold days. Start the hill by 11am at the latest to be down in time. Ring to book a table. Dogs are welcome in the beer garden. If it's full, Twelve Triangles across the Square has coffee and bakes from 8am every day.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
The nearest of ours is The Scullery in Yarrow, 13 miles away. Sleeps 2; next free Fri 13 Nov to Sun 15 Nov.
Then The House in the Hill, 15 miles away. Sleeps 4; next free Thu 29 Oct to Sat 31 Oct.
Book lunch in the Bistro Bar at Burts by ringing 01896 822285, for about 12.45pm: lunch is served every day from noon to 2.15pm, so start up the hill by 11am at the latest.
Photograph by Chris Blackwell via Google