4.2 miles about 1h 45m 110m ascent
Dundrennan-Port Mary-Fagra
A short low level walk to escape the snow showers that had been forecast. As it was, we had rain, hail, biting cold winds and warm sunshine, all in a couple of hours.
The walk starts at the Dundrennan Abbey car park then heads briefly, about 200m, along the A711 before turning down a smaller road heading towards Port Mary. This road follows the Abbey Burn for a mile or so and then crosses it at Port Mary Bridge.
The road has a further junction about a quarter of a mile further along. The smaller track continues on, through a red gate (padlocked open) with various signs warning the unwary not to touch military debris. This reaches the coast at Burnfoot bridge and would have been my chosen route but the track was flooded up ahead so we turned right, towards Port Mary. A hundred metres or so along here there is a signpost pointing north which has the helpful word “footpath” on it.
So the footpath it was, with the initial agreement of, but later chagrin, of Mrs Drow n Smirr. This path rises towards Fagra farm and has good views of the Solway, England, and the Isle of Man. The cliffs at Port Mary can be glimpsed as can the Solway wind farm and Sellafield. There is a large establishment across at Girdstingwood which is, I presume, a barracks.
Dundrennan Abbey
Here, unfortunately, the weather changed. Cold, wind and rain was added to the slightly muddy ground. The rain, at least, was short-lived. Once the rain had passed we could see the shower moving over the solway, while sun bathed distant Bengairn producing a small rainbow.
As we approached Fagra the footpath took a dog-leg adding a little to the distance but now had a more substantial surface and quickly led us back to the road. Fagra Farm was the highest point on the walk but still about 40m short of Fagra Hill’s top, a third of a mile away.
The road then meanders down towards Dundrennan giving excellent views of the Abbey ruins across the Abbey Burn.
Dundrennan Abbey
Dundrennan Abbey, founded in 1142 by Fergus of Galloway, is now ruined, but nicely kept if you know what I mean. It was the first of three Cistercian Abbeys in Galloway, the other two being at Glenluce and New Abbey. The sun was considerate enough to show itself for the photos.
Lord of Galloway?
I was able to find the Knight’s grave which some think could be the resting place of Alan of Galloway, the last “king” of Galloway and one of the 16 signatories of Magna Carta. His daughter Devorguilla is the source of the phrase “Queen of the South”. It was she who endowed Sweetheart Abbey which was called New Abbey differentiating it from the old Abbey at Dundrennan.
On 15th May 1568, Mary Queen of Scots spent her last night in Scotland at Dundrennan Abbey, before escaping to England, where she would subsequently be imprisoned and executed. I presume Mary Port takes its name from that event.
Wickerman
On the way home we passed some standing stones, by the aptly named Standingstones Burn, and a large wicker man which must be a remnant of the Wickerman music festival.
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