WALK DESCRIPTION: Join us for a guided loop walk through Talla and Gameshope in the Southern Uplands. We will meet at Gameshope car park at 10am, and be back at the car park for 4pm. The walk will follow tracks and then small paths across rougher ground so please wear appropriate footwear. We will walk up the Gameshope Burn to the Gameshope bothy, then follow the burn up to Donald’s Cleuch where we will head uphill before dropping back down to the Talla Water and heading back to the car park.
This is a fairly strenuous walk on rough terrain, in a remote location, with very little mobile phone coverage, so good levels of fitness are required. It is a fantastic opportunity to glimpse the landscape scale ecological restoration that’s underway at Talla and Gameshope, from newly planted upland woodland, to montane scrub and natural regeneration these valleys are coming back to life. We will hopefully spot some of the wonderful wildlife that live in these valleys including kestrels, buzzards and perhaps even a golden eagle!
LOCATION: We will meet at the Gameshope car park, which is located near the south-east end of Talla Reservoir. Please see location here
FACILITIES: This is a rural location, and the nearest public toilets are located in Broughton and Moffat
EQUIPMENT: Please bring enough food and water with you for the day, as well as suitable clothing, waterproofs, sun protection and midge repellent.
PARKING: The road from Tweedsmuir to the Gameshope entrance is single track. Parking at Gameshope is limited, so please car share where possible.
TICKETS: This series of guided walks is part of Reviving the Wild Heart of Southern Scotland, a Borders Forest Trust programme of habitat creation and enhancement, community engagement and educational opportunities focusing on the Wild Heart sites. It is part of Destination Tweed, a multi-partner source-to-sea river revitalisation project lead by Tweed Forum and part-funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Due to this generous funding we can offer tickets for this walk free of charge, if you would like to support Borders Forest Trust's ecological restoration work please do consider making a donation.
Numbers are limited, so please do let us know if you are no longer able to attend, so we can offer the place to someone else. Any questions please contact our Wild Heart Project Officer catriona@bordersforesttrust.org
