Barnharrow Holiday Pods

Not far from Newton Stewart, Kirroughtree Visitor Centre offers a range of trails – from a short walk to a very hilly trail of over 4 miles. If you’re lucky you may well see deer, red squirrels and woodland birds along the way. 

There is a café on site so you can fuel up before you walk or re-energise afterwards. If you’re visiting with children there is a great outdoor play park you can even hire bikes! 

Discover the beauty of Galloway Forest Park and plan a day out at Glentrool Visitor Centre. Similar in set up to Kirroughtree, there is ample parking, a café and bathroom facilities. From here you can explore the extensive Galloway Forest. 

There is a choice of four trails, ranging from an undemanding stroll to a more strenuous walk along a hilly 6 mile loop. Allow four hours for the latter and, if that’s still not enough, you can incorporate one of the other trails to create a full-day hike that should satisfy the very keenest of walkers!

Head to Glentrool and just beyond the village you’ll see signs for Loch Trool and Bruce’s Stone. Whilst the walk itself from the loch to Bruce’s Stone isn’t challenging, it’s well worth a visit to enjoy the wonderful view and to imagine how the scene might have looked some 700 years ago. This is where Robert the Bruce and his men ambushed English soldiers during what became known as the Battle of Trool, seven years before the Battle of Bannockburn secured Scotland’s independence. 

If you’re looking for a bigger challenge, plan your visit around a hike up Merrick, the highest mountain in the area. Be aware that the route isn’t waymarked and it’s an 8-mile walk – not one for the inexperienced!

Alternatively, Loch Trool is on the Southern Upland Way  a coast to coast footpath that links Portpatrick in the west to Cockburnspath on Scotland’s east coast, so you could sample a stretch of that particular route.

Image -  Glentrool Visitors Centre

Easily reached once you’ve parked in Creetown, Balloch Community Woodland offers something special whenever you visit, from primroses and bluebells carpeting the ground in spring to glimpses of red squirrels, deer, woodpeckers and other birds throughout the year. 

There are four trails so you can extend your walk and explore different parts of the woodland – discover wildlife ponds, a poetry stone circle, an ancient well and a wonderful wooden roundhouse along the way.

Image - creetown-walk.co.uk