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

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The 347km (215 mile) long SUW, Scotland’s longest Great Trail, starts out from the west coast of Scotland at the picturesque old harbour of Portpatrick. After a few kilometres following the dramatic cliff tops north of Portpatrick, the SUW swings inland to begin its long journey eastward, firstly across the narrow Rhins peninsula. Kennedy Gardens, ablaze with rhododendrons and azaleas in season, is passed en route for New Luce, where the story of the Covenanters and the Killing Times starts to unfold. A crossing of the remote and beautiful Galloway Hills follows, through Bargrennan and on to dramatic Loch Trool, site of one of Robert the Bruce’s victories over the English in 1307. After Clatteringshaws Loch comes friendly St John’s Town of Dalry. Here, walkers stock up for the long section of the Way across the hills to Sanquhar, where Britain’s oldest post office dating from 1763 will be seen in the High Street. Wanlockhead at 425m (1394ft) is Britain’s highest village and home to the Museum of Scottish Lead Mining, where time may be taken off from the route to visit an old lead mine. The SUW, in a superb high-level section, now climbs to its highest point at 712m (2335ft) on the Lowther Hills before dropping to the Evan and Annandale Valleys, where a full day off from the route could be well spent exploring Moffat and its beautiful environs.