Just south of Westnewton Bridge, the College Burn is about 35 feet wide, but very shallow. It is an extraordinarily pleasant day, with quite a cool breeze, but a pellucid blue sky with white wisps and dissipating vapour trails. It is exhilarating and refreshing, and early autumn, but vestiges of summer linger.

Splodging across the ford, water spills into your boots. Then, the path climbs high above the burn, affording wide views of the craggy Newton Tors. Eight rounded hilltops come into view to the north. A heron flies off from the burn below. Then, beyond a small stile, the path snakes its way down a hummocky hillside covered thickly with broom, tree stumps that trip you up concealed in its shadow.

The burn tumbles in its bed almost vertically below the path, which then descends and brings you to a footbridge that leads to Hethpool Linn, a series of waterfalls barely three feet wide incised deeply in the rock and overhung by trees that cling above the precipice. You can clamber down alongside the burn, which undercuts the rock cliffs, creating a dark, ferny grotto.

Another heron takes flight as you resume the path and approach Hethpool. This is a beautiful, sublime walk in perfect weather – an undiluted treat, partly because of the absence of a vehicle track. A peacock butterfly flits directly into your face, providing a fleeting close-up view.