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Southern Upland Way

210 miles (338 km)

Ordnance Survey Map Open Streetmap This splendid route is one of the four official Long Distance Routes in Scotland and is Britain's first official coast to coast long distance foot-path.
The trail starts at Portpatrick, on the south-west coast of Scotland, and runs to Cockburnspath on the eastern seaboard. The path visits Castle Kennedy, New Luce, Bargrennan, St John's Town of Dalry, Sanquhar, Wanlockhead, Beattock, Daer Reservoir, St Mary's Loch, Traquair, Galashiels, Lauder and Longformacus. Highlights includes beautiful coast, a series of delightful lochs and fabulous views of the Lowther Hills and the Lammermuir Hills towards the end of the route.
The trail is waymarked with a black and white thistle logo.

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Southern Upland Way OS Map Ordnance survey map - Mobile GPS OS Map with Location tracking

Southern Upland Way Open Street Map Open Streetmap - Mobile GPS Map with Location tracking

Further Information and Other Local Ideas

At the start of the walk in Portpatrick you will pass the delightful Dunskey Glen where there's an historic estate with woodland, wildlife, beautiful gardens, lakes and a picturesque waterfall. The cliff top ruins of Dunskey Castle can also be visited in this area.
Around Moffat the route links up with the Annandale Way which will take you along the River Annan through the Moffat Hills to the sea at the Solway Firth, south of the town of Annan.

Photos

Southern Upland Way - geograph.org.uk - 1617437

This forest road is also part of the Southern Upland Way. An old quarry is to the right and Craiglee lies ahead.

Southern Upland Way - geograph.org.uk - 82946

Descending from Three Brethren to Yair

Southern Upland Way - geograph.org.uk - 270812

The trail uses this forest track between Craigencallie and Glen Trool. In the glen you will also pass the beautiful Loch Trool. Here you can enjoy a popular circular walk around the loch where you'll pass the site of the Battle of Glen Trool in 1307. This is where Robert the Bruce with a few infantry let 1500 English soldiers with cavalry chase him up this south side of Glen Trool. At this point he had laid an ambush, the rest of his men rolled stones down this hillside to pitch men and horses into the loch, and followed up by attack with archers, so defeating the English.

Footbridge, Southern Upland Way - geograph.org.uk - 195135

Footbridge on the trail. The hills in the background surround St Mary's Loch near Dry hope.

Southern Upland Way - geograph.org.uk - 161451

Here, the Southern Upland Way follows the route of an old drove road. Photo taken looking westwards as the path starts to climb to the top of Brown Knowe.

Craignaw from Southern Upland Way - geograph.org.uk - 1252194

Craignaw from Southern Upland Way

Stile on the Southern Upland Way - geograph.org.uk - 163852

A stile just south of Cruise in the Luce valley

A cairn by the Southern Upland Way - geograph.org.uk - 712953

A cairn by the trail. A recently constructed cairn to the southeast of Mossilee Hill with the town of Galashiels in the background.

GPS Files

GPX File

Southern Upland Way.gpx (On Desktop:Right Click>Save As. On Ipad/Iphone:Click and hold>Download Linked File)

Memory Map Route

Southern Upland Way.mmo (On Desktop:Right Click>Save As. On Ipad/Iphone:Click and hold >Download Linked File)