The Middle Shires may be the prettiest part of the land, but are little known far from their borders other than as an area passed through on the way between the cities, and that may be a good thing, as it means that these counties are left with less pressure than if they were famous.
Be that as it may, it is incumbent upon me to begin to describe some of the walks in the Middle Shires.
The term ‘Middle Shires’ was first used by King James VI when he found himself in possession of both sides of what had hitherto been an unquiet border country. No longer was it to be ‘the borders’ but instead “the navel or umbilic of both kingdoms, planted and peopled with civility and riches”. So it remains.
The pretty shires by the Tweed and the Teviot, and the fell country of Northumberland and Cumberland, together form an obvious unit and are best appreciated together. The quiet, green beauties of the Tweed and the Teviot lie between harsher, astounding fell country in the Cheviots and the Southern Uplands in the north. There is much to be explored.
To list the walks will be a long task, but I will start with: