Ladylands, The ‘Totches Baulk’ and Tudhope

Explore the area west of Jedburgh on this circular route that is part urban part rural; following historic trails.

Friarsgate suggests that there would have been a gate into the abbey grounds in this area. Totches Baulk runs to the west of the abbey; the word baulk means field headlands and/or banks of earth.

1. Leave Canongate car park facing the Abbey and turn right into Abbey Place. Continue along Abbey Place until you reach the Market Place and walk diagonally to the right across the Market Place into Exchange Street.

2. After 50 metres, turn right into the Friarsgate or Friars and continue along this narrow road to St John’s Church. On reaching the church, bear left and walk uphill on Sharplaw Road. Prior to reaching the top of the hill, turn left into Ladylands Drive.

3. Keeping to the right side, turn right between the bankside and the first bungalow after the row of conifers, and continue upwards onto a pathway that swings to the left and climbs for approximately 300 metres before again turning to the left and levelling out. Remnants of a hedgerow with a large number of species on the right of the track suggest that this route could be several centuries old. The higher the average number of woody species in a 30m length of hedgerow, the older it is likely to be. Just before the track turns to the left, snowberry has been planted as a hedgerow. This was a popular shrub in the 19th century.

4. This pathway/track, continues for a further 500-600 metres. The track has the old name of “Totches Baulk”. Other versions of the name include Totchers Baulk and Twitches Baulk. Baulk is a name given to the headland of fields and for a bank of earth. The path gives excellent views of the town below as well as the surrounding countryside, before eventually exiting onto the Jedburgh to Lanton road.

5. Turn right onto this road and walk uphill for a few hundred metres until you reach the cottage on the left where the road bends to the right. Keep to the left of the cottage and pass through the gate into the field.

6. Turn left and walk downhill, keeping to the field edge, with a hawthorn hedge and ditch on your left, until you come to a kissing gate. After passing through this gate, turn left and descend onto the track that leads down to a junction of tracks.

7. Keeping the buildings on the right, continue straight on along the left side of the courtyard, thereafter passing through a gate onto the road. Continue along the road until the Jedburgh to Lanton road is reached.

8. Turn right onto this road and walk down into the town via Exchange Street and Market Place, and back to the start point.