Walking the St Cuthbert’s Way as a solo woman (plus dog!)
The St Cuthbert’s Way marker I came across near Harestanes that inspired my journey.
Beginnings
I am an unlikely pilgrim. I left organised religion 5 years ago and have since fled from all things Christian. However, at the start of 2026, finding myself in unusual and tricky circumstances, something drew me to the little logo I saw marking the St Cuthbert’s Way on a wooden pole while my partner and I were walking the dog near Harestanes. A couple of former, non religious colleagues had walked part of the Camino and I had been intrigued by the space they had carved out in their lives to ‘just’ walk. Aside from photography, and the visual arts more generally, hiking and being out and about in nature are some of my greatest joys in life. Immersing myself in natural beauty is what I revert to when I am seeking creative inspiration, need to clear my head, need to think something over. I started googling ‘St Cuthbert’s Way’ and the more I read, the more I decided I needed to do this. I knew that in March I was going to be embarking on a period of transition in my life, so this could be my chance to give this pilgrimage a shot.
Before I start sharing my experience, I guess I should introduce myself - as well as being a photographer and nature lover, I’m a 40 year old woman, originally from Edinburgh, Scotland, but have lived abroad for more than half of my adult life. In late 2024, I moved back to Scotland to be with my partner full-time and we live in the Scottish Borders. Having pretty much always lived in cities, it was a bit of an adjustment to live so rurally, but adopting my partner’s dog and helped grow my love for being able to walk into the great outdoors. My partner is less into hiking than I am, so it was clear from the outset, that this journey was just going to be for me and the dog!
Meet Woody the dog, my faithful companion on the Way.
Preparations
Having read the St Cuthbert’s Way official website, found various blogs and youtube videos other pilgrims had created about their experiences, I initially decided I would complete the Way across 5 days, following the 5 day route as set out on the official site. My partner and I live about a half hour’s drive from Harestane’s so I thought it might be sensible to spend the first night back at home, just to assess the dog’s capability for the rest of the walk - Woody is a stereotypical sprocker spaniel who, when let off lead, covers 4 times as much distance as any human could in the same time, particularly if he senses the scent of a nearby pheasant (which there are many of in this neck of the woods!) - I was worried he might exhaust himself after day 1 - around 24 kilometres, so potentially 100 kilometres for this spaniel! I easily found dog friendly, inexpensive accommodation in Town Yetholm and Wooler, but Fenwick was proving more challenging for the fourth night. After reading several more accounts, and analysing the tide times for my chosen week in March to complete the Way, I decided that I thought I could do the walk in four days.
When it came to packing and considering what to bring, I knew that a lot of my weight and baggage would be taken up with dog food, so I was going to have to pack as light as possible. As someone who has lived abroad and travelled a lot, I am fairly used to packing light, and wasn’t too daunted by not bringing too many clothes with me - I knew I wasn’t going to be sweating an exhorbitant amount in March. I also worked out where I could pick up food along the way and one of my B&B’s offered to make me a packed lunch, so I could rely on that too. I really appreciated reading through other people’s packing lists and have included mine at the end of this blog.
I’d heard the St Cuthbert’s Way was very well marked and so decided, rather than purchasing an OS mapbook or one of the other St Cuthbert’s Way guides, I’d make use of the AllTrails app to navigate in addition to the signs enroute. I’ve used AllTrails plenty of times before, both in the UK and abroad, and on walks where I didn’t have mobile phone signal, so I knew if I downloaded all the maps before hand I’d be fine. When I’m out hiking, I generally like to put my phone on airplane mode as I don’t want distracted by social media or the internet when I’m in nature. Airplane mode is also great at conserving battery.
Finally, I decided I’d like to read one of the St Cuthbert’s Way accounts, and learn a bit more about the Saint before departing. After downloading lots of different samples of the often referred to titles, I ordered and read Alistair Moffat’s To the Island of Tides. Moffat’s account weaves in stories and legends of St Cuthbert’s, providing historical and geographical context of the area, along with personal anecdotes and his own walking adventures. While historically fascinating and accessible, I did find the personal accounts slightly self-indulgent at times, though the nostalgia was appreciated.
Melrose Abbey, through the fence; the start of day 1.
Day 1: Melrose to Harestanes, Monday 23 March 2026
After weeks of planning, preparing and anticipating, Woody the dog and I got in the car and drove to Harestanes. We live just over half an hour away from there, so for the first day the easiest thing to do seem to be to leave the car at the overflow Harestane’s car park and get the bus from Ancrum up to Melrose. As far as I understand, this car park is free for people to park to make use of the nearby woodland walks, and I thought, well this is definitely a walk we’re doing today! I’m not sure if you can leave the car for the entire week or not though. Getting the harness on the dog was the first challenge as he bounded out the car, immediately smelling and hearing pheasants near by! I was pulled by my very excited spaniel to Ancrum village - I think Google Maps told me it was going to take 18 minutes to get to the bus stop, but I think we got there in less than 10. You do need to cross a busy stretch of the A68, but we were lucky it was very quiet when we got to it. Fifteen minutes early for the bus, we had a little potter around the village. We had originally planned to get the 8:59am from South Myrescroft bus stop, but ended up waiting at the North Myrescroft bus stop after picking up a couple of last-minute snacks from the Ancrum pantry, which is a lovely independent little shop in the village. The Borders Bus App is great and provides live tracking information about local buses, so I could see that our bus was on time. Hopping on the bus at around 8:58am, this was Woody‘s first bus experience and he loved looking at the window. We arrived in Melrose just before 9:30 in the morning and headed to the Apples for Jam café - an excellent place for bagels, but already loaded up on breakfast, and as dogs aren’t allowed inside, I just popped in for an Americano to go and we began our saunter to find Melrose Abbey.
It was a bit of a grey start to the day, but it was dry at least! And to be honest, the cool was welcome as the first part of the day is an ascent through the Eildon hills. As we made our way to the highest point of the walk on the first day, the sun came out to greet us and we had a glorious walk down the hills through the woodlands. Crossing through the picturesque village, we headed along by the river until Woody decided to have a little bit of an adventure on his own. I lost him for about 15 minutes but after a serious amount of screaming his name, he must have finally succeeded in flushing the pheasant he was tailing, he made his way back to me and we made it to Newton Saint Boswells, which was our first pitstop: I have a friend who lives there, pretty much enroute, so we popped in for some slurps of water and a cup of tea for me.
After our quick tea-break, we wound our way along the banks of the Tweed (with a quick detour to see the statue of the Muses) onto St Boswells. Disappointingly the brilliant, dog-friendly, Main Street Trading café and bookshop was closed. I should have known this, as being based in the Borders, so many things are closed on a Monday! Thankfully, I had packed a sandwich with me (I was more longing for one of their super tasty cakes), so we kept following the Tweed, through the golf course until we reached the Crystal Well, where we stopped for lunch. From there, the rest of the walk was fairly uneventful.
The weather turned cooler and more grey, but Woody was better behaved. There were stretches on road, or too near the A68 for him to be let off lead. Finally vearing inland away from the A68, there was the odd pheasant chase, but most of the day he stayed by me. The final stretch of the walk to Harestanes is mostly in a straight line which does feel quite odd, just marching straight line like being on a Roman Road to our destination. By about 21 km in my feet were my feet were feeling it but we got our first site of the Waterloo tower (which was going to pop up in various vistas across the remainder of the Scottish part of the Way). Totally 24.9 kilometres in total on the first day, we made it back to the car before 5pm and drove home to a lovely warm shower and some home-cooked food. I’d only taken a day pack for the first day, so had to finalise my prep for my 35 litre rucksack for the remaining three days.
The Waterloo Monument - keep looking back along the way and you’ll find it behind you keeping guard over you, along with the outline of the Eildon hills.
Day 2: Harestanes to Town Yetholm, Tuesday 24 March 2026
My partner kindly dropped us off back at Harestanes around 8:30am. The dog was completely when we got back the previous evening, and had slept through the night. I wasn’t sure how he was gonna fare on this second day, but my partner reckoned he’d be okay. As soon as we opened the boot of the car, he jumped straight out and raring to go. My partner waved us off and we made a slight detour, first thing around the beautiful grounds of Monteviot house and got a wee bit lost trying to get back on the Way. Despite the initial blip, we had a great morning walking in the sunshine.
Woody waiting at one of the many stiles along the Way.
Having just passed Cessford Castle, around 4 kilometres from Morebattle, the drizzle set in. Donning waterproofs, it was a wet plod along the road to the town, but I was looking forward to exploring the Community Shop at Morebattle I’d read so much about. However, once we got there, I quickly realised that dogs weren’t welcomed inside the shop and it was too wet to sit out back with Woody. Unfortunately Woody has pretty bad separation anxiety and is rarely tied up outside on a lead. I did tie him up briefly so I could pick up a couple of snacks, but he was wimpering and trying to tail people into the shop. We had a fairly miserable rainy lunch, huddled around the picnic bench outside the shop, trying not to get the my food too wet (Woody didn’t care, he was up for soggy snacks!). We didn’t stop for long at all and after 15 minutes break at most, set off for Wide Open Hill. I’d been keeping an eye on the forecast and had been slightly concerned about the forecast of windgusts up to 73 km/h, but I had managed to ask a lovely woman in the shop what she thought about the forecast and she said the wind was calming and someone had just set off up the hill.
Despite several kilometres of road walking (aka on lead for Woody), Woody was happy to keep moving, and even happier when we reached the fields. There were no livestock in any of the fields heading up to the top Wide Open Hill so Woody had a lovely time running free and flushing some pheasants. It’s certainly a steep incline, but not too arduous as I could see that it ascent wasn’t actuall that far. The St Cuthbert’s Way halfway marker at the top of the hill was a welcome sight!
A very soggy summit and halfway point!
On the descenst to Yetholm there were several fields with quite a lot of sheep so we had to do a lot of lead walking which by this point, over 20km in (for me, who knows how many for him!) Woody was finding the walk quite frustrating. We arrived very damp and soggy to our wonderful hosts at Rubislaw BnB in Town Yetholm. We found out that the man who had set off before us across Wide Open Hill was also staying at the same B&B. Margaret welcome us in with a beautiful cup of tea, some delicious shortbread biscuits and some dog treats for Woody who had a lovely time rolling around on the floor and sniffing the scent of her Cavapoos. We rested and warmed up for a couple of hours before heading out for a meal at the Plough Inn. Just a three minute walk down the road, we were greeted by a lovely American woman who was all over Woody, who was allowed to roam around the pub a little bit, which he loved. I ordered a steak and ale pie and tried a local pale ale; both were delicious. I spoke to a few locals and I understand the pub is getting a new chef from the end of March - everyone seemed very excited about his new menu. Tired and full, we climbed into bed before 9 o’clock and slept very well.
Looking across Yetholm valley at the start of day 3.
Day 3: Town Yetholm to Wooler, Wednesday 25 March 2026
We woke up in Town Yetholm to sunshine, beautiful blue skies and a perfect crisp March day. Margaret fed us incredibly well for breakfast and even allowed me to take the leftovers for my lunch, rather than paying extra for a packed lunch, which was super kind of her. I had a chat with the man, whose name I didn’t catch, who had been walking ahead of me the previous day, at breakfast - he was also planning to walk to Wooler that day. He set off 15 minutes or so ahead of us and we said we’d look out for each other along the rest of The Way.
Woody and I set off shortly before 9am. Our first stop was to check out the pile of hiking boots at the end of the Penine Way, outside the Border Hotel a kilometre or so up the road in Kirk Yetholm. After that, the next few kilometres of the day was on tarmac, up to the start of the ascent through the Chiviots. There were quite a lot of sheep up to the border crossing between Scotland and England so Woody had to be kept on the lead. For any other dog walkers hiking at a similar time of year in the future, after we crossed into England there were some cows in the expansive field; we kept at the right edge of the field and they were very much on the far left so, thankfully, no scary cow encounters for us. Make sure that after you walk across into England, after a a few hundred metres up the hill, you turn around you will get a magnificent view back over to Scotland; the Eildons and the Waterloo monument will be there marking the journey that you’ve walked - it’s one of those moments where you feel a sense of achievement!
Unfortunately, just ahead of the border crossing my camera malfunctioned, so today’s photo log is scattered with both phone and camera photos. But due to the blustery wind, I didn’t really want to stop on the exposed hill to do camera surgery. We powerered on - the majority of the rest of the days was gradual ascents and descents, with one slighter steeper ascent up to a large plain full of grouse, where we got our first glimpse of the sea! Up on the plain, we came across our fellow walker from the BnB having his lunch. We exchanged pleasantries and Woody and I moved on as I was slightly wary of a big grey cloud forming in the sky. After half an hour or so, the walker caught up with us, his strides far longer and superior to mine! Again we chatted briefly and then he moved briskly on to Wooler. Woody and I broke for lunch just before the descent down towards Wooler, sheltering from the wind in front of, what I presume was a grouse butt. Energised from our break, the final stretch of the walk into Wooler went quickly and we arrived before 3pm. Too early to check into our accommodation, I found a dog friendly pub where I could get some water for Woody and a pint and some pork scratchings for me.
After a good sit down, it was time to find our resting place for the night - this time the Noble Arms, dog friendly and quaint but with thoughtful amenities; a fridge and crockery alonside the standard kettle and hot drink selection. Woody gobbled down some food while I had a wonderful long hot shower and rest before heading out for dinner. Unfortunately the highly rated Italian restaurant, Milan, only allows dogs in their outdoor courtyard and it wasn’t warm enough to sit outside. But we had a lovely evening at the No.1 hotel across the road - a fancy macaroni cheese and salad, with a glass of red for me and some dog treats and water for Woody. Before heading to bed, I quickly popped into the Co-op to get a bit more food for Woody, while a kind local offered to mind him.
Arriving at St. Cuthbert’s Cave mid day 4.
Day 4 Wooler to Holy Island, Thursday 26 March 2026
I’d set my alarm for around 6:30am, determined to get on the road before 7:30am - I’d triple checked the tide times, and knew that the ideal time to cross the Pilgrim’s Way to Lindisfarne would be between noon and 3pm, and wanted to give us enough time to explore St Cuthbert’s cave and have a break for lunch ahead of the crossing. Up, packed and breakfasted, we set off at 7:20am into the crisp, clear Spring morning. The ground was still frosty as we ascended up and over the hills ahead of us. I’d been warned that the St Cuthbert’s Way was less well marked in England than in Scotland, but though the markings had changed slightly, they were still easy to spot. Perhaps it’s more difficult once there’s more tree growth in summer? After descending through the first valley, we wound our way along country roads passed many farms and cheery farmers greeting up on our way. After passing through one sheep farm, we came across our first field of calves, but they and their mothers were safely fenced off from us on the road - they were certainly nervous of us, particularly of Woody, but I kept him close by me on the lead and tried to cause as little anxiety as possible.
After passing thorugh this series of farms, we came across our a thoughtful honesty box outside one house, offering water and sweet snacks to pilgrims for suggested donations. Still loaded up on water and snacks, we didn’t take anything, but the offering made me smile. A gentle ascent from this find took us into the woods towards St Cuthbert’s cave, found beautifully still and peaceful in a meadow the woods open into. We were the only pilgrims there and had a lovely break in the sun sitting contemplating the history of past and present pilgrims and ramblers who would have used this cave for shelter and a well-earned break.
Pressing on up through the woods, we encountered a lost trail runner who I helped navigate home. The fields above the cave suddenly felt wide and expansive after the shelter of the woods. The sun was warming up and as we came over the brow of the hill we got our first glimpse of Lindesfarne. While not a holy moment for me, it was a warms and welcome sight - our destination ahead - though midly daunting in it’s perspective, knowing we still had almost half our day’s walk still ahead of us. I think what stunned me was just how exposed Holy Island was and, considering it’s history, how frightening the fleet of Viking vessles must have been all those years ago.
The approach to St Cuthbert’s Cave on our final morning.
Our next goal on the day’s walk was down in the settlement of Fenwick, I’d heard there was a great dog-friendly cafe there. After finally making our way through this stretch’s second set of woods, we ambled down to the brilliant Bean Geanie Coffee House in Fenwick, where I treated myself to a large black Americano and a delicious slice of pistachio cake and Woody was spoiled with dog treats. I met a lovely couple in there who had completed the St Cuthbert’s Way the previous year and we spent some time sharing experiences.
I was slightly nervous about the next section of the walk - I knew we needed to traverse both the busy A1 and the east coast trainline! Thankfully the A1 wasn’t too crazy when we approached, making the crossing within a couple of minutes of arriving at the intersection. Reaching the otherside, we found our way through the country lanes to the specialised pedestrian railway crossing. Reading the instructions, we lifted the phone received and, asked by the signaller how long I thought it would take us to cross, we were given permission to do so, ensuring I phoned again notifying him of our safe passage on the other side of the line. It was a slightly hair-raising experience, having already witnessed one train zooming past at high speed, but trusting the signaller we made it across fine.
Several fields down from the crossing, we took one final break ahead of the Pilgrim’s Way. I knew Woody didn’t quite understand sea water - always trying to drink it whenever we visit the beach and never learning it’s not for consumption. I was trying to get him to have some slurps of normal water ahead of the crossing, but he was more interested in what I was nibbling on. Ploughing on we made it to the coast. I was fascinated by the large concrete blocks left over from defense in the second world war; Woody more interested in chasing small shorebirds.
Finally onto the sands, we started the crossing. Woody wasn’t sure of all this walking on sand, and amusingly ran to a grassy outcrop at various points along the way, waiting for me there, before hesitantly running again on the wet sand. It must have taken us around an hour to cross and very wearily we arrived at our destination. We had a quick explore of the island, but both very tired by this point, we settled into the Ship Inn on Holy Island, where we rehydrated and waited for my partner to come and pick us up.
The exhaustion probably clouded the overall sense of achievement that I felt, but after a hearty meal of fish and chips, and sharing the experience with my partner, the drive back home certainly showed me quite how far we’d walked and all we’d achieved!
Crossing the Pilgrims’ Way - the final leg of the final day.
phone
headphones
watch
USB- C charger
battery pack
kindle
camera
blister plasters
first aid kit
wallet
sunglasses
anti bac wetwipes
snacks (nuts, protein bars)
emergency snacks (sardines, cereal bars)
toothbrush and toothpaste
suncream
facewipes
tissues
Packing list:
water bladder
waterproof jacket
waterproof trousers
backpack rain protector
merino wool socks x3
knickers x3
sports bra x1
long-sleeve sports tops x2
fleece x1
leggings x1
hat
buff
gloves
sports towel
dog harness
dog food
dog treats
Plus what I was wearing the first day, including hiking boots!
