Читать книгу The Southern Upland Way. Scotland's Coast to Coast trail онлайн

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Within the UK, train and long-distance coach services operate several times a day to Stranraer to link with the ferry to Belfast. An alternative is to take a train or long-distance coach to Dumfries, the county town of Dumfries & Galloway, and from there travel westwards by the local bus services, which are generally good. Catch bus number 500 from the bus shelter on the Whitesands, alongside the River Nith in the centre of Dumfries. The journey time to Stranraer is about 2hr 30min. Opposite the point where this bus stops in Stranraer at Port Rodie (Harbour Street), you will find the bus shelter for the bus to Portpatrick (a 20-minute journey). If you make this bus journey from Dumfries to Portpatrick in a single day, be sure to purchase a Dumfries & Galloway ‘Discovery’ ticket from the bus driver in Dumfries. This ticket is cheaper than the two separate fares.

There is plenty of accommodation in Dumfries (contact the Dumfries Tourist Information Centre, which is situated on the Whitesands – open all year). One possibility is to travel from your home to Dumfries, spend a night there (take time to visit the Robert Burns Centre, his house and his mausoleum) in a hotel or B&B, and take a bus the next morning to Stranraer. At the time of writing, the number 500 bus leaves Whitesands in Dumfries at 9.20am (Monday to Saturday), before arriving in Stranraer at 11.36am, with a connection to Portpatrick at 12.40pm, arriving at 1pm. This is most convenient for those wishing to start the SUW immediately on arrival at Portpatrick (or after lunch) as the first section to Castle Kennedy is only a half-day walk. However, to leave without spending some time in the delightful little coastal town of Portpatrick would be sacrilege.