St Marys

The silhouetted trees stand on an isthmus at the south end of St Mary's Loch; the building among them is Tibbie Shiels Inn In the upper part of Yarrow Water lie two lochs separated by a narrow isthmus of land on which sits the famous inn named after its first proprietress - Tibbie Shiels. Its reputation was made by the fact that Sir Walter Scott and James Hogg (The Ettrick Shepherd) used to meet here and go fishing on the Loch. St Mary's is much the larger of the two stretches of water, being about 3 miles in length, and is still used for fishing, and also houses a sailing club. It is some 250 metres (800 feet) above sea level, the winters are long, and some 50 inches of rain falls in a year. Birch at the Lochside.

A birch dips its toes into the loch Track by the Loch.

On the side of the Loch that is away from the road, a wide easy track takes the walker from Tibbie Shiels at the south end of the loch back to the road at the northern end Boat on the Loch.

A boat in the evening light Lochside sculpture.

Here the background is supplied by Capper Law. Along the walkers' way a series of labels and sculptures have been placed, which some find slightly tawdry by comparison with the scenery... Two sculptures.

...from which they seem to be trying to distract. They will soon become inconsequential lichen covered shapes Daffodils at Cappercleuch.

The sharp contrast of the bright daffodils in April at Cappercleuch against the greyed-out colours of a pre-spring landscape Upper Yarrow from Herman Law.

The view into the upper Yarrow Valley with the Loch of the Lowes in the foreground, and St Mary's Loch beyond, separated by the isthmus on which sits Tibbie Shiels Inn. The picture was taken from Herman Law the hill that marks the boundary between Dumfriesshire and The Borders Sailing club and dinghies.

The south end of the Loch with the sailing club and Tibbie Shiels Inn Dinghies grounded.

Come the autumn, St Mary's Sailing Club beach their dinghies for the winter period March Wood.

March Wood from the north side March Wood in Autumn.

Autumn in full swing at March Wood with the Japanese Larch leading the way. This small area of older trees, on the west bank of the Loch, is now part of a Community Woodland and more trees are being planted Boats at sunset.

Boats on the Loch in the late evening Megget Water and Kirkstead Burn are the two chief contributors to the Loch, flowing out of it is Yarrow Water taking its name from the valley in which it lies, and made famous in Wordsworth's poem "Yarrow Revisited". Go to another site

Reeds at the end of the Loch Rowan and burn.

A rowan finds shelter by a burn just below the kirkyard Kirkyard and St Marys Loch.

Hiding in a fold of the hills, just above the Loch, is St Mary's Kirkyard. The photo above looks up the Loch to Watch Hill. The first record of a religious establishment on this site was in 1275 when money was collected for the Crusades, and it seems that a kirk had been erected by 1292, this was abandoned in 1640, but the burial ground remained in use until the early 19th century Kirkyard looking north.

The kirkyard looking downstream to the north, and towards the onetime county town of Selkirk

A still autumn morning with Henderland Bank reflected in the waters of the Loch The next page goes to the second of this duo of waters - The Loch of the Lowes - and the joining isthmus on which sits Tibbie Shiels Inn. Also sitting (and overlooking the Inn) is a statue of James Hogg - the Ettrick Shepherd.