Opted to do the route from North East to South West, mostly because of the predicted wind direction on my chosen day. Had my hubby as a support crew and he met me every 8-10 miles to restock food and fluids (there are plenty of streams that could be used for water on the route so an unsupported attempt would be fairly easy to manage), though there are no shops on the route. The route is on mostly good paths with a few exceptions, in particular across the top of Craik Signal Beacon, where there a lot of downed trees across the path, though these are easily climbed over/under/around and the path is in danger of being reclaimed by the forest for a section of around a mile just south of the Beacon. The section down into/up out of Dry Water valley (depending on direction of travel) is steep and in places washed away and is the only "technical" section. Its a stunning route containing everything that is good about the Scottish Borders, feeling at times very remote. I suspect it is quicker in the South to North direction where the climbs would be shorter and steeper, but the descents long and gentle allowing you to capitalise pace wise. I loved this one so much I may well go back and repeat it in the other direction in the spring.
Link for longer write up:
https://sharnie100.wordpress.com/2024/09/22/romans-and-reivers-route-52-miles-of-pure-joy/