Author Archives: drow 'n smirr

Mull of Galloway Trail: 3 – oh ffs! off piste again

8.31 miles 4h 15m ascent 87m Clayshant Bridge to Agnew Park This should have been an easy stroll from Luce Bay to Loch Ryan. Not too far, indeed perhaps too short a leg. The weather forecast promised a hot sunny … Continue reading

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Mull of Galloway Trail: 2 – trudging over shingle and wading through bracken

9.42 miles 5h 48m ascent 68m Myroch Point to Clayshant Bridge

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The Mull of Galloway Trail: 1 – overgrown, elusive and unfrequented

10.68 miles 5h 42min ascent 279m Part 1: The Mull of Galloway to Myroch Point It had been quite a while since we had had our walking boots on for anything more than ceremonial purposes, so I had planned a … Continue reading

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Eden Way: 12 – Water Cut, Ure Force and Ruswarp

7.1 miles 3h 42m ascent 291m Thrang-Garsdale Station Well, the Eden Way proved to be quite an epic, interrupted as it was by legal lockdowns, common-sense social distancing, various illnesses, and bad weather (too hot and too cold). We had … Continue reading

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Three Lochs Forest Drive: a lochan and a loch

4.39 miles 1h 47min ascent 168m 4.39 miles 1h 47m ascent 168m Just two lochs for us, Reòidhte Lochan and Loch Drunkie. We had seen Loch Venachar a couple of days earlier. There is a map at the car park. … Continue reading

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Ben A’an – heaving high a forehead bare

2.6 miles 2h 53m ascent 340m The hill’s original name is thought to have been Am Binnean, or small pointed peak: a good descriptive name. But Sir Walter Scott called it Ben-An in his poem The Lady of the Lake and that … Continue reading

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Loch Katrine – the scenery of a fairy dream

13.4 miles 5h 25m ascent 373m Strochanlachar-Trossachs Pier Loch Katrine was gouged by glaciers during the last ice age, named for the ceathairne, highland robbers such as Rob Roy MacGregor who stalked its surroundings, and co-opted by Victorian engineers, who … Continue reading

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Silver Jubilee Road – Happy and Glorious

9.2 miles 3h 37min ascent 344m The Silver Jubilee Road, which from its name must date back to 1977, was to be a multi-use (vehicles, horses, legs) trail in the beautiful Tweedsmuir hills. There were to be seven stops: Covenanter’s … Continue reading

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