LOCH DOON TO BRUCE'S STONE

Due to overwhelming demand we are now offering additional walk places (12) but doing a reverse of this route - this will be Walk 2-1a [Book Now>>]

Note:
Vertical ascent: 1177 metres
Vertical descent: 1317 metres

This year’s big Walkfest challenge is an absolute cracker of a walk, taking in some of the wildest and most remote parts of Galloway’s mountain landscape. The route passes through a true mountain wilderness that is rarely visited even today. The scenery throughout is unparalleled in this part of Scotland and, weather permitting, will give us excellent views of all of the major Galloway Hills and many of its most beautiful lochs.

The walk takes the line that might well have been followed by Bruce and his band as they escaped after the battle of Glen Trool. This makes for a long and demanding day with many uphill sections. Although much of the route is on wind-clipped grass or rock, there is also some wet and boggy terrain to be negotiated, and there are peat hags and some awkward tufted grass at times. It is also extremely remote. The route follows the line of hills that lie midway between the Range of the Awful Hand and the Rhinns of Kells. There are no easy escape routes. The forest track where we start and the road-head at Bruce’s Stone where we finish – some twenty two kilometres later – are the nearest public roads. It is not a route for the inexperienced. You will need to have a good level of fitness to undertake this challenge and previous experience of this sort of hillwalking is essential. But if you enjoy tough walking in rough, wild, remote countryside amidst spectacular mountain scenery, this is the one for you.

The Walkfest bus will take us to our start point along the winding Forest Drive in the northern reaches of the Galloway Forest Park. The walk starts gently through the trees, following a forest ride to reach a crossing place over the Elgin Lane, then we start to climb the grassy north ridge of Hoodens Hill above the Wolf Slock. It isn’t hard to see why wolves once lived here in this wild and lonely spot. The remote dome of Mullwharchar is our next objective, sitting proudly in the centre of the Galloway Hills. From its summit we drop down to the east of Loch Enoch, crossing rough and boggy terrain to reach another fine hill - the Dungeon. From here we head south to find the extraordinary rock pavement just below Craignaw known as the De’ils Bowling Green. A short steep climb takes us on to the top of Craignaw, one of Galloway’s rockiest hills. We should make good progress over the rock pavements to the south of Craignaw until we drop down to the east of loch Narroch over awkward tufted grass. Another short steep climb through deep grass and heather brings us onto the Rig of the Jarkness and after picking our way through more rocks we reach our final summit of the day, Craiglee. From here we drop steeply over rough ground and make our way to the forestry track that leads back past the beautiful Gairland burn and the waterfalls of the Buchan burn to Bruce’s Stone, where a bus will be waiting to take us back to Newton Stewart.