KIRRIEREOCH TO BRUCE'S STONE (via the Merrick)

This is a demanding walk requiring a high level of fitness and previous experience of traversing wild country. There are no technical difficulties but the final approach to the summit of the Merrick is steep.

The party will be transported to the start of this challenging walk at Kirriereoch picnic site, map ref NX359866, and follow the forest roads for approximately 4K. Due to recent harvesting the approach walk is much more open affording views in all directions. At the Cross Burn the route heads towards Kirriereoch ridge and for a few hundred metres boggy conditions may be encountered before the 3K climb to the top of Kirrireoch. This is an opportune point to have a break before the exertions that lie ahead although the ascent is almost 500 metres the underfoot conditions are good. This approach follows one of the fingers of the Awful hand Range, the most westerly of the three parallel north- south ranges in the Galloway Hills.

As height is gained the threatening Black Gairy on the Merrick looms menacingly to the south, and ahead is the Little Spear which is the final steep climb to the summit of the Merrick. In winter conditions graded snow and ice climbs are possible on the Black Gairy but it is a place best left to the experts.

Once the top of Kirriereoch (Gaelic Coire Riochd; English great corrie) is reached the views in all directions are stunning, but it is the sheer desolate wilderness that is the most striking feature. This is a magnificent spot to have a cup of coffee and savour the magnificence of your surroundings.

The next stage of the route from Kirriereoch to the Merrick is 1.5K involving a descent of 150 metres and an ascent of 200 metres up the Little Spear, a steep but well trodden route. Another of nature's artworks is revealed to our left, the aptly named Howe of the Cauldron another spot best viewed from a distance. The summit of the Merrick (Gaelic Tiu Meur-ach; English the finger or point) is 843 metres, well short of a Munro but it is the highest point in the south of Scotland and arguably more challenging than many of the classified Munros. However, it is a Corbett and as such attracts many Corbett baggers.

If timing is accurate lunch will be eaten in the company of the group on the other Merrick walk. The tourist path starts the descent for a few hundred metres but the route follows the Rig of the Gloon, a steep ridge that loses 400 metres in 1 kilometre, to the valley that encloses the Buchan burn. There is no obvious path in this section and walking poles may provide extra reassurance, but the sparkling lochs below and the ranges of the Kells, Dungeon and Minigaff hills in the background make the effort very rewarding. The route leads towards a forest road above Culsharg, a disused herd's summer shelter and rejoins the tourist path back to Bruce’s Stone overlooking Loch Trool where transport will return the party to Newton Stewart.