Leaderfoot – Red Arches over the Tweed and a Giant Wallace
A few hours.
The route
The Leaderfoot Viaduct stands high over the Tweed east of Melrose, and the old stone bridge beside it is the place to stand and look.
A few miles on, over Bemersyde Hill, a giant William Wallace in red sandstone waits at the end of a woodland path, gazing across the valley to the Eildon Hills. Lunch is in St Boswells, in the café of the village bookshop.
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 House in the Hill, 12 miles away. Sleeps 4; next free Thu 29 Oct to Sat 31 Oct.
Book lunch at The Mainstreet Trading Company
Book a table for lunch at the Mainstreet Trading Company café by ringing 01835 824087 in shop hours; it takes no bookings by email or social media.
The day
Leaderfoot
Two landmarks of the Tweed lie a short drive apart: one built to carry a railway across the river, one a statue of Wallace commissioned by an earl. Lunch is among the books in St Boswells.
Leaderfoot Viaduct
An attraction
Park in the small car park just off the A68 at the south end of the Drygrange Old Bridge. Built of stone between 1776 and 1780, it carried the A68 until 1974 and is now crossed only on foot or by bike. Walk out onto it and the viaduct fills the view to the west: nineteen spans over the Tweed, red sandstone with brick in the arches, built for the Berwickshire Railway. It opened in November 1863, but problems with its stability held back its use until October 1865. Flood damage in 1948 nearly had it demolished; it closed in 1965 and was restored in the early 1990s. Look east from the old bridge and the modern A68 bridge makes three crossings of the river side by side. The viaduct is named after the Leader Water, a tributary of the Tweed.
About 5 min by car
Wallace Statue
An attraction
A few miles on, over the Tweed by the A68 and south along the B6356 past Scott's View, there is a small car park beside the road on Bemersyde Hill, less than a mile north of Dryburgh Abbey. A broad path runs west from it, along the edge of a field and into the woods, for about 450 metres to the statue. William Wallace stands 21 feet tall on a 10-foot plinth, all in red sandstone, a sword in his right hand and a shield in his left, looking out over the Tweed valley to the three Eildon Hills. The 11th Earl of Buchan had it carved by John Smith of Darnick, and it was unveiled on 22 September 1814. A little to the west, beside the path, a carved stone urn carries a verse to Wallace said to be the Earl's own.
About 5 min by car
The Mainstreet Trading Company
Lunch
A few miles round by Dryburgh and over the Tweed is St Boswells and the Mainstreet Trading Company, a bookshop with a café on Main Street; park in its courtyard. Lunch is served from noon to 3pm: soups, sandwiches and a dish of the day, with home baking all day. It's step-free through the courtyard arch, and well-behaved dogs are welcome.
If it rains
On a wet day, see the viaduct from the old bridge by the car park and drive on past Scott's View without stopping. Take a waterproof for the woodland path to the Wallace Statue, then finish under the roof at Mainstreet, with the bookshop to browse.
On the way
- Scott’s View
Scott's View is right on the B6356 on the way to the statue, where the road widens for parking: the Tweed winds across the foreground, the three Eildon Hills rise beyond, and it was among Sir Walter Scott's favourite views.
Where to stay
Photograph by Paul Chau via Google