Blackburn Falls

About Blackburn Falls

Park at Douglas Square and follow the leaflet to walk to the Falls from Newcastleton. Please wear appropriate footwear.
The waterfalls on the Lang Gill and Black Burn were once a popular Liddesdale excursion but they are now seldom visited. The main fall is at its most spectacular after heavy rain or when the snows melt from the moorland.
“Although there is nothing artificial or refined in the make-up of the Blackburn it is only the more worthy of acquaintance on that account. It is vigorous and impulsive, fighting pugnaciously every obstacle that opposes its free passage; huge boulders are scattered along its rough channel, and trees, overpowered by the weight of years, lie decaying in its hurrying stream. It is fringed with birch, alder, hazel and rowan, with here and there a natural ash.. In its upper reaches miniature cascades add to it beauty and charm and its song has the flavour of the old riding ballads that cheered the hearts of the mosstroopers.”
- from “Liddesdale” by John Byers