Reston Riverside Circular Walk with Kids – Family-Friendly Trail with Playground in Berwickshire

The Perfect Walk for Children!

The boys were dying to go to the park, and we knew a nice little park in the area that we’d been before, but Grandma knew of a better one, tucked away on a local walking route!

Grandma lives near Reston in Berwickshire, and knows a few walks in the area, including the one we did today: The Reston Riverside Circular. I didn’t want to share our strava route as the area is remote and it would indicate exactly where Grandma lived, so I did a quick Google and found that this walk is actually a recognised circular route with a map to guide you! In fact, there are two versions – one a bit longer than the other. Having spent a good 20 minutes in the park, and with almost a mile each way for us to join the walk, and the weather getting warmer by the minute, we opted for the shorter of the two versions!

Reston Circular (3 miles) Scotland Starts Here

Reston Circular (2.6 miles) Plotaroute

Family Friendly Walks in Reston

We joined the route between the arrow and point 2 on the map, walking on this quiet country road down the hill into Reston. We followed this route in the same direction of the arrow, under the railway bridge, to Main Street. I would highly recomend walking this way round to avoid steep upward hills!

After crossing Main Street, we got onto the footpath and followed the pathway towards the A1 until the bridge over the river (Eye Water). Here, the path suddenly ends and you have to cross the bridge on the road to reach the Riverside walk, signposted with a play park!

We had originally thought we could get down a gravelly lane to avoid getting on the road, but there was a ford at the bottom! Oops!

Reston Riverside Walk

Back off the road again, we found ourselves walking down a beautiful grassy walkway besides the river Eye Water, surrounded by lots of shrubs, such as these Buddleia, which were alive with bees and butterflies!

Eventually, we arrived at the children’s park, which was so much better than I had expected! For the children, there was a fantastic trim trail, a shareable swing, and a brilliant climbing frame with a twisting tube slide! The boys immediately ran off to play. The grown-ups weren’t left to stand around; there were an array of picnic benches around the area and a beautiful band-stand like structure with benches under cover for us to sit in the shade. There was even a brick BBQ! It was a really pretty place to stop.

The Reston Circular

After a good 20 minutes, we rounded up the children and continued on our way. To leave the park we crossed a bridge to go back toward the village – but not before slipping onto the river bank to do some pebble skimming – or just rock throwing as it turned into 😅 Boys eh?!

Opting for the shorter of the two routes, we headed toward Reston station rather than turning left out of Reston, and walked under the railway bridge. It wasn’t long before a train passed and we stopped to watch it rattle through. This is a brilliant walk for children who love trains!

The walk under the bridge follows a lovely hedged walkway for some time, before getting to a farm yard. Here you turn right and continue along another hedged walkway, which lead back to where we started our walk, affording lovely views across Reston and beyond (and the train track!).

Family Feedback on Reston Riverside Circular Walk

This really was the perfect family-friendly walk. It was nice to be able to tie in some fun downtime with our family walk, and it could be a great way to break up the walk or a reward for finishing it! The shop is only a short detour from the walk, so you can even grab high-energy snacks or tefreshing drinks if needed!

As we neared the end of the walk, I asked the boys what they thought about it. My 10 Year Old said he really enjoyed getting to go to the park on this walk, and my 8 Year Old was most impressed with all the trains we could see. I have to agree that breaking the walk up with the time in the park made the walk more relaxed, and it was almost perfectly at the halfway point for us, but with just under a mile still to go to walk home after the circular, the boys were probably the most tired they have ever been – even compared to some of the almost 6-mile walks they’ve done!

It is definitely a walk we will do again when we next visit, and we will tie it in the with park, as the boys are already talking about doing it again. I particularly enjoyed the hedged walkways, and i also loved how welcoming the park was for the adults in the group. The access to the river at this point would be fantastic on a sunny day! It’s a walk which is mostly flat, so would suit even the youngest walkers, and there is just so much to stop and look at or do, breaking up the monotony of a long walk, which can be tedious and tiring for littler legs.

TOTAL MILES: 4.68 | TOTAL TIME: 2h25 (1h50 Moving Time)