FKT: Ross Beveridge - The Herring Road (United Kingdom) - 2021-04-03

Athletes
Route variation
Out & back
Multi-sport
No
Gender category
Male
Style
Self-supported
Start date
Finish date
Total time
16h 33m 46s
Report

Starting at Cromwell Harbour in Dunbar at 6:24 am, I followed the route out of town alone Queens Road to Broxburn.  Once through Broxburn I began the ascent into the Lammermuirs up around Noon Hill and through Spott. Through the farm track at Halls, I picked up the first way marked sign and ascended to the boundary of Crystal Ring wind farm. The windfarm site has interrupted the path of the Herring Road so i estimated as best as i could the route to the next way marker and followed the wind farm boundary paths until i picked up the signs again. From that point on, the route leads to Whiteadder Reservoir and is signposted well around the Penshiel loop.  Bearing left at Kilapallet the track heads downhill to Dye Cottage where i took the bridge across the river (later realising i should have come further down the track to the second crossing). Once onto the main road, the route links up with the Southern Upland Way and is well signposted up to the Twin Laws, and from there the road heads eventually down into Lauder.

I stopped at the Co-op in Lauder for lunch and to rest for around 15-20 minutes and considered calling it a day there, but after some food and coffee I started on the return journey back along the main road. I realised that the markers are much more visible heading in the opposite direction so heading back up to Twin Laws was easier mentally if not physically.  Once i passed the cairns, there was a nice long downhill stretch to the main road before the climb back up the other side.  Once over the summit, i took the track down to the bridge at Dye Cottage and took the correct crossing this time. Back up the hill (I took the wrong tuning at the summit for about 100 yards before correcting myself) and there was a good bit of downhill running towards the B6355 and then round the Penshiel track to Whiteadder again. I stopped briefly for another bite to eat before heading up the hill again. I found another sign for the Herring Road which i followed through the wind farm but it found me stuck behind several fences and on the wrong side of a few burns so i worked my way back onto the wind farm tracks and eventually picked up the road I had come down previously. Leaving the windfarm, I again followed the rough directional signs and headed towards the farm steading at Halls.  Once through the lakes there and back on the main road, it was a good bit of downhill in the dark back towards Broxburn and the on to Dunbar.