Tour O' The Borders

The Scottish Borders will test your legs and thrill your senses

Legs burning, heart thumping, we barely notice the surroundings when tackling the 20 percent slopes of the Talla Wall. But when you reach the top you cannot fail to realise why someone recently called it the “gateway to the back country wilderness”.

A vast expanse of empty upland countryside spreads in front of us, with only the road skirting the Megget reservoir and an isolated farmhouse to suggest civilisation.

It is beautiful, but as you pick up speed on the narrow, winding descent there’s little time to take it in as you watch out for baleful-looking sheep and the occasional pothole. There are also plenty of cattle grids to negotiate.

The Tour o’ the Borders is a closed-road sportive, so provided you keep ahead of the 10mph cut-off pace, you won’t encounter any traffic.