Enjoyable Walks: The Cove, Cockburnspath

Today in our blog we thought we would cover a beautiful short walk that we are sure many of our more outdoorsy customers will love. If you are ever in the Borders, you should definitely check out the short walk around Cove Harbour, Cockburnspath. The walk around the Cove is a firm favourite of the staff at the Stick and Cane Shop, and both Christine and I (Alan) visited for a walk on Monday.

Following the track down around 500 metres you reach a junction in the path. The left hand side path will take you down to the harbour wall and the quaint fishing cottages that reside there, while the right hand side path will take you into a tunnel cut into the rock that you can pass through in order to reach the beach. We followed the left-hand-side path first to see the harbour wall.

Once you reach the harbour, you can follow the wall all the way round, passing the fishing cottages and the lobster pots/creels. If you reach the end of the harbour wall and look back you get a wonderful view of the bay of the cove, with stunning views of the red sandstone cliffs and water-cut caves. This is definitely an ideal photo opportunity!

Retracing your steps back along the harbour wall you can follow the path back up to the junction and if you go left you can reach the tunnel, which runs for around 50 metres or so through the rock (it is quite dark, but you can still see light at the end, although if your eyesight isn't ideal it may be worthwhile taking a torch as the path can be quite uneven). Follow this tunnel down and you will reach the Cove bay. This secluded beach is an ideal place to relax giving you views over to the harbour walls and beyond to the sea. To both sides you can see some spectacular rock formations and geology that make this small walk very much worthwhile. This is also an ideal spot to stop off with friends or family for a picnic in the summer, although the bay is unlikely to receive a great deal of sun, generally being obscured by the steep hill to the south. There are a couple of cottages to your right, but apart from those you are pretty much alone - a wonderful place to sit down and let yourself unwind.

If you have bought some country canes, or hiking poles previously from the Stick and Cane Shop, this walk would be an ideal opportunity to give them an outing!