Smugglers Trail ~ Circular Walk
After visiting Gunsgreen House and finding out about the smuggling why not take a walk to discover the old paths the smugglers used to get their cargoes
out of sight!
Our Eyemouth circular walk (via Coldingham)An excellent and signposted track leads away from the Linkim Shore. This historic footpath is well worth exploring to take in the flavour of the hinterland with its attractive wooded and farming landscapes – but also because you walk in smugglers’ footsteps. NB Make sure you get the whole Smugglers Trail on a special map you can buy from the Gunsgreen House shop.
The path passes near Fleurs Farm (private) before turning north-west towards Coldingham by way of sheltered country lanes. Sure enough, it is likely that this farm and the family that occupied it in those days were active in the smuggling trade. From the Customs records, we know John Swanston, who rented Floors, as it was then called, in the 1780s, was the brother of Charles Swanston, of Northfield, leader of the raid on the Customs Warehouse in Eyemouth in 1780. John was one of Charles’ executors as was their sister Katharine, who was married to James Newton of Marshall Meadows, (near Berwick-upon-Tweed). This was yet another coastal farm connected with smuggling. You see? Everyone was in this business all those years ago!
This route is part of the Coldingham paths network and leads into the village of Coldingham, from where a return to Eyemouth can be made via either the road to Coldingham Sands or, a little further, the historic Creel Path, either cutting down to the Sands or reaching the coast further on, at St Abbs, for the return to Eyemouth via the main shore path.
Time: starting from Gunsgreen House in Eyemouth, allow up to four hours there and back, if intending to spend time en route or in Coldingham.
Distance: approx 7.5 miles / 12 km (Gunsgreen House and return). Not suitable for wheelchairs. Other circular walks from the Smugglers TrailThe walk from the Linkim Shore via Fleurs to Coldingham can also be enjoyed if you start from St Abbs, of course. In this case, leave the village by the old Creel Path for Coldingham, from where – at the caravan park – the local paths network leads round past Fleurs Farm and down to the shore for the return to St Abbs. The picture below shows part of the route. Other circular options are also listed below.
Disclaimer
All walking information provided here by Gunsgreen House and their agents is purely advisory and offered free of charge. Walkers must assess their own fitness and the route’s suitability for their party. Gunsgreen House can accept no responsibility for any accident or loss while on the Smugglers Trail or Berwickshire Coastal Path.
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