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In the route description, a distinction is made between vertical and horizontal distance – ‘600m’, for instance, indicates an altitude or height gain, and ‘600 metres’ indicates distance along the ground. ‘Track’ (rather than ‘path’) refers to a way wide enough for a tractor or Landrover. Points of interest along the route are highlighted, and key navigational features that appear on the accompanying map are shown in bold.

Appendix B gives local information arranged by area, including tourist information, useful guidebooks and available facilities, including accommodation. Finally, a glossary of Scots terms in Appendix C should help you unravel some of the area’s mysterious and poetic place names.

1 GALLOWAY

INTRODUCTION

Loch Enoch and Mullwarchar (Walk 6)

Galloway is Scotland’s southwest corner, bounded by the River Nith. It’s a quiet, green country, whose bendy and bumpy country roads are good for cycling holidays. But for walkers, the heart of it is the hills around the Merrick, the summit of southern Scotland. And it feels like it – with its windy top, the longest view in the UK (you really can see Snowdon when the weather’s just right), the ridgeline called Nieve of the Spit (Walk 5), and the super spur called Little Spear. But if 843m Merrick was tough, you’re in for a shock when you get into the granite lands below – bog and bare granite underfoot, an eagle overhead, and ground that’s 50 per cent water.