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Scotland's longest walk and only coast-to-coast footpath is the Southern Upland Way, spanning 212 miles from Portpatrick in the west to Cockburnspath in the east
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The Lowther Hills
If you're travelling to Dumfries
& Galloway from the north you can experience the
dramatic grace of the Lowthers on you drive down, by following
the Dalveen Pass, from the M74 to Thornhill and get yourself
in the mood for some surprisingly testing walking.
The Lowther Hills' apparently gentle inclines disguise
their difficulty, make no mistake that this is serious walking
country with spectacular views to reward you at the summit.
Lowther Hill itself marks the highest point of the Southern
Upland Way, while the villages which nestle in the heights of
this range are among the highest you'll find in Britain,
with Wanlockhead at 1,531 feet above sea level making it the
highest village in Scotland.
It's not just for walking that people come to explore here.
The hills were once home to extensive lead mines, and people
travel from all over the country to learn about life working
in the black depths of the mines. While prospectors come with
high hopes each year of finding that elusive nugget of gold
in the Mennock Pass, which hides flakes of remarkably pure Scottish
gold amidst the grainy bed of Mennock water.
The Lowthers are primarily sheep farming country now and landowners
will welcome responsible walkers along established rights of
ways. Please respect the work of the country however and avoid
areas with livestock, particularly during lambing season, by
observing the Country Code.
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