Harestanes - Monteith circular
There are some potential issues with this walk :  (the following assumes walking the route anti-clockwise)
This
route avoids the ‘Coffin Road’ which goes between the road and Ancrum
old church around Broad Law, and also avoids Down Law (where Baron’s
Folly is) both due to the presence of cattle.  As of last week there
were no cattle in either of these areas. If you want to go over Down Law
past the folly, instead of taking the road to the left at the T
junction, take the right turn then take the field track on the right
just beyond the lochen.  Through the second field gate you then head up
and pass behind the trees where you find Baron’s Folly. Then continue to
the corner of the small woodland.  Don’t go through the gate but climb
over a wooden slated section in the wall and keeping the field wall on
your left, head straight along to a walker’s gate which comes out
directly on Dere Street. If you go through the gate, then you will have
to go all the way down the field to a gate in the corner and back up the
other side of the wood to the top of the next field and another
walker’s gate in the wall directly on to Dere Street.  We used to be
able to go through the woodland but this has been barb wired as they
raise poults in the woodland.
route also avoids the path marked on the map along the top of Ancrum
Moor between Lilliard’s Edge and the A68. The reason for this is
two-fold as there are lots of big holes in the path – rabbits or badgers
– and it comes out at a blind spot on the A68 for crossing the road,
traffic is usually doing 60 along this stretch.
A
recent recce of the route identified problems with field gates between
Monteith Mausoleum and the back road.  They are both double steel gates
with the lift up and over locking mechanism.  The hinge on one of the
mechanisms is bent and rusty making it very difficult to open and
close.  The second is extremely tight due to the two gates not aligning
properly.  I did manage to open and close both but not without some
considerable difficulty.  The farmer actively discourages walkers, so I
don’t expect either gate to be fixed any time soon.  He also likes to
tie the gates together, which I had to cut and tie with tine that I
carry for just such a situation. As an alternative route, so long as
there are no cattle in the field, it is possible to go through the field
next to the SSSI area and take the track that comes out next to the
cottages.  This must be avoided if there are any cattle as it is a
nursery field.
walking
schapman64 on outdoorsgps.com