With some annual leave from work but gales forecast over the hills pretty much everywhere, I headed down to Annandale for a few days of walking and wild camping. It was a different type of trip for me as I explored part of the Annandale Way, a low level route that meanders through farmland, villages and woods.
The first section north out of Annan was delightful as the quiet path followed the River Annan for several miles inland. I was to see almost nobody on the trail itself over the next few days but I did chat with an older chap here who was shuffling slowly and bent over a walking stick. He told me this was a favourite walk for him and his wife but she had died three years before. They used to walk as far up the river to a spot they named rabbit island where they would watch for kingfishers.
I continued on through riverside woods dotted with snowdrops and alive with spring birdsong. Ducks and dippers populated the waterway. A little way further upstream I sat a while at a bench looking at an island in the middle of the river and realised that this of course must be rabbit island. It was a lovely, peaceful spot with just the gentle sounds of the river and the birds filling the air. But I felt quite sad sitting there, thinking about the old man and wondering how much longer he would be able to manage the walk here.
My route then left the riverside to string together a series of countryside paths, woodland walks and muddy farm tracks that took me north towards Lockerbie. It was lovely walking. Curlews and lapwings called from the fields and I saw two red kites cruise overhead. Just south of Lockerbie, I passed into some woods and found a quiet spot for the tent tucked away in the trees.
I walked into Lockerbie the next morning via a beautiful local nature reserve called Eskrigg. It was wonderful to sit here a while in one of the bird hides listening to the morning birdsong, watching the ducks on the water and spotting frogs that were gathering in the pond.
Just outside of Lockerbie, the Annandale Way passes by Dryfesdale Cemetery which is home to the memorial for the Lockerbie Air Disaster. I'd planned to visit but I was unprepared for what an emotional but also inspirational place it would be. For those unfamiliar with the disaster, on the evening of 21 December 1988 a bomb planted on board brought down Pan Am flight 103 which was travelling from London to New York. The wreckage fell over a huge area around Lockerbie and all those on board as well as eleven people in the village itself were killed. A total of 270 people lost their lives and the disaster remains to this day the deadliest act of terrorism in the UK.
The memorial sits in a small garden at the rear of the cemetery and features a granite triptych inscribed with all the names of those who died. To see 270 names listed on the stones really brought home to me the scale of the loss. I was 19 in 1988 and watched the tragedy play out over the news. But standing there today, it felt like the disaster had just happened such was the depth of sadness that was rekindled. Also in my mind at the time, it marked a change in my awareness as a young person. Scotland was no longer a quiet corner of the world where nothing ever really touched us. All of the world's problems and horrors were now ours too. However, I also drew great inspiration from my visit to the memorial. It was now a cold, wet afternoon in the middle of the week in March but there was a steady stream of people visiting, paying their respects to those who died, even after all these years.
Beyond Dryfesdale, my walk looped round to Lochmaben to pick up a different branch of the Annandale Way. Again paths and farm tracks were pleasantly linked together to take me onwards. Storm Eowyn earlier in the year had taken its toll with lots of windfall in the woods and forests so just beyond the village of Hightae my route was completely blocked. The windfall proved to be a real windfall however because while searching for a detour, I came across a perfect camp spot for the night in woods halfway up the wee hill I would cross the next day.
A beautiful dawn kicked off the final day of my trip as the sun sent fiery rays through the branches of the bare trees to reach my tent. Once packed up, I was soon walking across high, open moorland bathed in soft, morning light. It felt quite different to the rest of the trip to pull up above the woods and the fields. From the high point, I could see the river meandering below and a suggestion of distant hills in the haze.
Dropping back down into farmland, I eventually re-crossed my outward route and walked back into Lockerbie. It gave me an easy direct train home as well as a second chance to sit a while at the lovely wee nature reserve and reflect on the sights and emotions of the last few days.
Start: Annan by train from Edinburgh via Carlisle
Finish: Lockerbie for direct train back to Edinburgh
Route: Followed the Annandale Way north from Annan. It spilts into two options, one via Lockerbie and another via Lochmaben. These two options rejoin further north and I used this to walk a loop from Lockerbie to Lochmaben and back to Lockerbie.