Morebattle to Kirk Yetholm along the St. Cuthbert’s Way

Path up Wideopen Hill

Morebattle to Kirk Yetholm 

7 miles, Ascent: 1,208 ft./359 m

The climb and view from Wideopen Hill are specular, worth every step, and I would love to do it again someday.

After you leave Morebattle you follow a nice country road for 0.6 miles, strolling past quaint cottages and picture-perfect estates.Then you start the steep climb up Wideopen Hill. Yes, this is a chest burner, but just put one foot in front of the other and take lots of breaks. I have never liked the steep climbs, but this one I enjoyed. Maybe it was the company or maybe knowing we had a short walking day.

At the start, the dirt path is about 2 foot-wide and runs along a fence bordering pasture. When you reach the end of the pasture you go through a gate and it opens to “Wideopen” green grass paths. The path looks like someone pushed a lawnmower to the top, but it really was matted down short grass (which was very nice on the feet and joints). When you reach the top, the views over the valley were spectacular. We stopped, sat down, looked back at our accomplishments, and ate a Snickers bar (my favorite trail food).

Grass path climbing over the rolling hills

The climb to the top was 1,108 feet over 1.14 miles with zero switchbacks, 23% grade in many places, and with no benches. Yep, it was tough for me being 25 pounds’ overweight, but I managed well and enjoyed it.  

The path going down was the same as going up. Straight downhill with zero switchbacks making poles a must for this section. I would not want to do this part of the walk in the rain, I would be afraid of slipping and riding the hill down like a rollercoaster.  

The last 3 miles of the walk, take you through sheep pastures of grass and muck, until you reach Kirk Yetholm.

This is another small village, with one pub and a convenience store. We stayed at the Border Hotel, a nice old hotel and pub. I really liked the hotel itself, but we were booked into standard doubles that only had a skylight, no real window, so in the rain the skylight could not be opened. The room was so tiny that my husband had to put his suitcase under the bed and mine in the bathroom. This is the only problem with going through a booking company, you can’t pick your room. I have used the same booking company for walking the Great Glen Way and the rooms they selected were GREAT.

Taking a break at the top of Wideopen Hill