Wilderness camping

The wilderness drifts its way through many towns without the inhabitants ever knowing. A dog walker catches a glimpse of three canoeists quietly slipping down the river Tweed as it flows to Berwick on its way to the sea. A few months ago Joanna and her son Tom asked me if I would guide them on a trip by open canoe. We set off late one afternoon from Innerleithen, leaving her car and trailer in a small clearing by the river bridge, just before the traffic lights. The river was so low that we poled the canoes for many miles between bouts of paddling. Curious horses watched us; snipe rose to their erratic flight; common merganser ducks fussed and shooed away their broods. Late that evening looking for level ground for a camp site we found a park near Galashiels.  A car turned up and I wondered if a warden had arrived to tell us what to do. Instead a man got out with his children and put up a tent in the park. In the morning he gave me the rest of their milk for our own journey. In this part of the Scottish borders everyone is happy to talk, their curiosity aroused by our journey.

The next day a fresh headwind rose to cool the sunshine. We paddled, poled, and waded, pulling the boats down the rocky shallows. We inspected and shot rapids and weirs. This one at Melrose was rocky.

Merkatoun proved an interesting rapid. We shot it in turns, covering for each other.

The tricky part was a hard paddle to the right. Tom went for it.

and Joanna thought about it.

By supper time we had spent 12 hours with the boats. A Canadian canoe is about the same area as a yoga mat. You live in that space for several days, carrying everything that you need, gazing out at the world from your small territory.
The grounds of Floors Castle looked inviting for a level campsite.

Cooking supper across the river on the beach below an old battlement of Roxburgh Castle we tried to avoid any disturbance or trace of our being there.

  Roxburgh was built by King David and taken by the English in 1174 A.D. We rose early and slipped away before anyone was about.

Tom and I had bought one day tickets for trout fishing. Salmon fishing is expensive but the trout beats are let to local clubs at a low rent.

I took an ice axe for digging a toilet so we lashed it to a milk bottle full of stones and water. It make a great anchor for the canoes. I taught Tom how to cast a fly line and of course he caught a fish.

Kelso is a lovely town. The old market square is a great place to sit and eat take aways from the bakery. You would think that you were in France. Sir Walter Scott, who went to the grammar school said,  "it is the most beautiful if not the most romantic village in Scotland". A Lidl store provided a top up for our water. The Town hall has a tourist information desk. We took half a day around the town before setting off again into the headwind. Kelso was the only weir that we decided was unsafe to shoot. You can exit just above the weir on the left, or on the left below the first road bridge called Rennie's Bridge. The original had been washed away in the floods of 1797.


The river widened as it dropped through a series of weirs, all shootable. Sand martins flew in and out of their nests feeding their young on the wing. Swallows and swifts dived over the water. Black headed gulls and cormorants took their fill. Oyster catchers, sand pipers and curlews conducted their noisy orchestras.
Dog walkers and fisherman alike all stopped what they were doing to chat and ask how far we had come.

The pools under these bridges would be a fisherman's dream. Large salmon or sea trout slid beneath our canoes.
Slowly Coldstream campsite came into view just before the town on the right. The river had been our companion now so we chose to paddle past the town and found a perfect site on the left bank. With a saw we cut the driftwood that we carried into short lengths. It quickly made a fire, the glowing embers perfect for cooking. Tom and I had taken bivvy bags. Jo took a tent that afforded her privacy. Midges can be a nuisance but eating at least a clove of garlic a day puts them (and everyone else) off. Eating fresh grapefruit and rubbing the inner pith on the skin also puts them off. The pith contains hyalauronic acid which is used in high quality skin cleansers. Taking vitamins also helps your sweat to smell repellent. B vitamins change your sweat and vitamin C and MSM act as anti histamines without making you sleepy.

I had no stove so sawing driftwood into short lengths made a quick cooking fire.

It was midsummer's day, this view looked back to Coldstream at nearly 10 pm.

On the Sunday we set off for the final haul to Berwick on Tweed. The river widened. The fish leapt straight out of the water as if in mockery. No fishing is allowed on a Sunday. A pair of eagles circled above their eyre high in the trees. The fresh river turned to the salt marshes of the estuary. The numbers of Bewick Swans increased. I counted 14 at one time. The wind freshened again as if to give us a final challenge. Reluctantly we completed our journey as the tide was falling. Between the two road bridges in Berwick there is a sea wall on the right. You can haul canoes up the stone steps and leave them on the grass. We left my car on the trading estate with permission, by a manager of a business.

The Tweed is a wonderful river. In Scotland you have a right to navigate and wild camp. Politeness, respect and leaving no trace of litter or campfires goes a long way. Remember that Salmon fishermen have paid a lot of money for the privilege of their beat. Wait for them to see you. Ask them which way to go and paddle silently past them.

For me the pleasures lay in great companions, sharing a son for a few days, (I have two lovely daughters). There was no obligation to train or coach anyone, yet the skills and confidence of my companions came on leaps and bounds. There was no element of competition or prize winning and no deadline except to reach Berwick on Sunday. We were humans being in the wilderness not human beings competing in the wilderness. A group of young women once asked Hamish Brown to advise them on what they needed for a trip into the wilderness. He was tempted to offer his services as a guide but he wrote back to say that all they needed was a bus ticket.

Useful Kit
In this target driven society saving weight costs an arm and a leg. I buy the best I can and make do with the rest.
Some kit can save your life: a quick drying Buffalo or Montane fleece, an air breathable Goretex bivvy bag, a down sleeping bag, (provided you keep it dry).
For canoe camping a tent can be a nuisance. You wake up either hot and sweaty or cold and damp. The breeze under a tarp or over your bivvy bag dries your kit out.
5 coloured dry bags help you find your stuff, one for day time, for night time, one for valuables, one for day food, and a barrel for the rest.
A saw helps to cut driftwood short for a quick fire. It also helps to clear branches that obstruct fishing, cut poles for a tarp or cut someone out of a boat in emergency.
An ice axe digs a toilet in stony ground, acts as an anchor (with a milk bottle and stones attached), and acts as a belay point for rescues and abseiling.

For cold, wet feet I might invest in some socks from:
http://www.chillcheater.com
For camping equipment and good advice try:
http://www.theoutdoorshop.com/
If you want a reflective book on walking in the hills look out for:
Hamish's Mountain Walk by Hamish Brown. I heard him speak when we lived in the Orkneys. He has also put poetry together into collected works.