South Galloway Tour
Places of Interest - Castle Douglas Food Town; Sulwath Brewery, Carlingwark loch; Threave Castle and Garden; Dalbeattie museum; Galloway Conservation Park; Galloway Hydros VC; David Coulthard museum; Kirkcudbright artsist town; Cardoness Castle; Cream o' Galloway ice cream farm; Kilt making centre; Mill on the Fleet.Tea Rooms, Pubs and Restaurants recommended. Places of Interest List.
Price -
Day 1: Palnackie to Almorness – 10 miles – Countryside, Coast and Woodland.
The Almorness peninsula near to Palnackie is not much publicised and mostly used by locals as a walking route. You start the walk from Palnackie and return there at the end. We can advise on opening times of this popular pub with its old fashioned parlour, ‘The Howf’. Firstly follow the narrow country road with the option of a short detour to Historic Scotland’s Orchardton Tower. A parking place part way along allows the walk to be shortened. You soon join a track road then you have to find your way round the rugged part to Almorness Point using what you can find of a path or sheep tracks. The dramatic reward with this walk are two secluded beaches, Horse Isles Bay and White Port which has a particularly stunning setting. Almorness Point itself gives views across the Solway including Heston Island.
Start this locally popular walk from Kirkcudbright and uphill past woodland on a meandering road and then downhill to the half way point at a bridge where the Buckland Burn passes underneath. You then follow the flat road beside the burn for over a mile. With views over Kirkcudbright Bay you continue on another quiet country road towards the mouth of Kirkcudbright Bay. Near Torrs Point you have the option of continuing back to Kirkcudbright by road or taking the coastal path past Lady Bay and the lifeboat station back past Manxman’s Lake into Kirkcudbright.
Day 3: Sandgreen Circuit – 10 or 14 miles – Woodland, Countryside and Coast.
This walk, particularly including the 4 miles extra loop, shows off the best of this National scenic Area. You first enter the Cally Woods and follow the National Cycle Route out the other end to the Cream o’ Galloway ice cream farm and visitor centre – a good place for a refreshment. The extra loop takes you around Carrick shore with the Murray Isles off shore. Pass the holiday huts and continue to follow the coast to Sandgreen beach and holiday park. A footpath to Gatehouse takes you back past the Cally Palace Hotel with a detour past the golf course and back into Gatehouse of Fleet.
Murray’s Monument is a popular walking location with dramatic waterfalls and forest sculptures at the nearby grey Mare’s Tail Burn and the Black Loch. This walk largely follows the Old Edinburgh Road on track and forestry road to Clatteringshaws loch where the Forestry Commission visitor centre tea room is ideal for a refreshment. You can return the same way or take the road past the red deer range with guided tours on specific days. A road takes you past the other side of the Black Loch and the wild goat park back to the car park your start point.