MAKING TRACKS

BY NICK DRAINEY

WOODHALL DEAN

FACTFILE

Distance: 2½ miles

Time: 1½ to 2 hours

OS Landranger 67

Start / finish point: Turn off the A1 at the Spott Roundabout and follow a sign for the village of Spott, about 1¼ miles down a country road. After a phonebox in the village go left, up a narrow lane, following a sign for Brunt. After about two miles, at the bottom of a steep hill, there is space to park on the right, at the bottom of a red gravel track. (It is easy to miss - basically, if you drive across a marked ford you have gone about ten yards too far.)

Spring is not quite sprung but it’s only a matter of days before hedgerows will be bursting with life, the gannets will be painting Bass Rock white and a light green covering will transform the countryside.

So it is time to get out there, and enjoy watching the world awake from its winter slumber.

Woodhall Dean, a couple of miles along a twisting county lane from the charming village of Spott, is a brilliant place to head.

The Woodhall Burn can be followed on a good path upstream as it winds through a steep gorge and then opens out onto farmland with rolling hills beyond.

It is looked after by the Scottish Wildlife Trust, and there is a wide range of flora and fauna to look out for all through the spring and summer. Once the snowdrops have disappeared they will be replaced with carpets of bluebells, as well as wild garlic.

Later, in June, hawthorns will start to shed their blossom and if you catch this on a calm day it can almost appear like an unseasonable fall of snow.

It is the native sessile oak which makes Woodhall Dean a Site of Special Scientific Interest - these trees once covered virtually all of the south of Scotland and those here are the remnants of that ancient forest.

Birdwatchers also love this place and those who are quiet may well see roe deer along the way.

The route starts about 30 yards up the parking area from the road where a path starts on the left, going through broom and gorse.

Follow this round to the right then up steps which take you above the gorge. When the gradient eases there is a detour on the left, just after a small rocky outcrop - go up a small set of steps to a bench offering great views up and over the gorge.

Otherwise, carry on along the main path which starts to drop down steeply to the side of the burn. Follow the path through hawthorn and round to the right where the gorge starts to narrow and becomes steep sided.

A bridge takes you over the burn and past an old stone bridge on the left (don’t walk over it). You go right and walk up through a large area of oaks, high above the burn.

On reaching a field go right and follow a fence round it. Next to a gate in the fence the path re-enters the woodland and gradually drops down to a newly-built bridge at a place marked on the map as Tinker’s Leap. I have asked a number of people what this refers to but have not been able to gain an answer - if you know, log on to the Toun Cryer website and tell us who the "Tinker" was and why they needed to "Leap".

Whatever the name means it is a lovely spot, nestled at the bottom of the gorge which has now opened out a little to give a view up into the rolling moorland beyond.

You can normally continue over the burn, up the bank on the other side and back along a high path which drops down to the first footbridge. However, a winter landslip took part of the path away and the route is now only possible if you cross a barbed wire fence. Therefore, it is better you return the way you came.

The path is rough in places and can be muddy so boots are a good idea for this walk. Also, take care of big drops down into the gorge, especially if you are with children.