Jedburgh bridge to Morebattle along the St. Cuthbert’s Way

Walking Holidays

Nov 17

Climbing over one of many fences on the path

Jedburgh bridge to Morebattle

9.7 miles, Ascent: 1,125 ft./343 m

After leaving Jedburgh via the Canongate Bridge, you have a nice steady climb on a dirt road for a mile. The path then turns into long grasses, matted down as it climbs along the border of pastures. In a few areas, the path cuts across cow and sheep pastures, which can be a bit tricky when a cow is in the middle of the path. We just stopped and waited.

St. Cuthbert’s Way through a cow pasture

Between Jedburgh and Morebattle, most of the 1,125 ft. in elevation is in the first 4 miles with some short steep climbs. This is followed by 5 miles on country roads weaving between fields of rapeseed, the bright-yellow flowers are a pleasure to walk alongside. You also walk past the ruins of Cessford Castle. This is a nice spot to take a break, sadly there are no benches but you can sit on a rock or pull out your pack liner and sit on the ground.

The path along fields of rapeseed with Cessford castle in the back ground

Soon you will be arriving in Morebattle, a small and charming village with one pub and a small market which is perfect for restocking on water, snacks, and maybe some whisky (you might need a small nip after the upcoming climb).

We stayed at Templehall Hotel which is the only lodging in Morebattle, so if you want to stay there I would book early. This was a great hotel with kind and thoughtful owners. Our rooms were not ready when we arrived, so we sat in the pub and the owner asked us to pre-order our evening meals. We have been asked to pre-order our breakfast many times, but never dinner. She explained they have a lot of bookings and only a few portions of a few items. I loved this approach. She gave us menus and said she would be back later to take our order. I could pour over the menu, drooling of course, and settled on the fried wedge of brie as a starter and the salmon for the main. It was hands down the best meal of the trip. This may be starting to sound like a restaurant review, but if you are walking the whole section from Jedburgh to Kirk Yetholm, take the time to stop at the TempleHall Hotel.