I’d been looking for a nice summer walk, something for a warm day that would still get me a good day out and would give nice views. A quick bit of Googling later and I discovered a little hill in Dumfries & Galloway that I’d never heard of: Criffel. Perhaps you haven’t heard of it either. The hill sits overlooking …
Loch Venachar Circular Walk
I recently met up with a friend of mine, who is also a keen walker, in the hills above Callander at Loch Venachar in the beautiful Lomond & Trossachs region of Scotland. We’d decided we didn’t fancy a mountain day but rather favoured a ‘distance-walk’ and had settled on the Loch Venachar Circular. This circuit starts at the Glen Finlgas …
A Guide to the Corbetts of the Southern Uplands
The Southern Uplands of Scotland is the southernmost geographic area of the country, it’s the section that borders England and it contains seven beautiful Corbetts that you really ought to climb. Being Corbetts, these hills all vary between 2,500ft – 2,999ft and differ greatly in the views they offer and difficulty of hike they pose. Whether you are looking to …
Clatteringshaws Loch to the Big Water of Fleet Viaduct
One of the walks I’ve always wanted to do for the blog is visiting the Big Water of Fleet Viaduct that sits in the hills above Creetown and south of Clatteringshaws Loch in Dumfries & Galloway. Part of the now defunct Portpatrick railway that ran through Dumfries & Galloway, the Big Water of Fleet Viaduct was built in 1861 and …
Cairnsmore of Carsphairn
Cairnsmore of Carsphairn is the most northerly of the Dumfries & Galloway Corbett’s, sitting to the north-east of the little village of Carsphairn on the A713 road that links Castle Douglas and Ayr. A lovely hill that I’ve bagged before, it has been absent from the blog for far too long and has been on my to-do list since the …
Fly Fishing Loch Valley & Loch Neldricken Above Glen Trool
Glen Trool is one of my favourite places in Dumfries & Galloway (and the south of Scotland in general), offering easy access to a wild, remote-feeling glen while being just a 20 minute drive from the bustling town of Newton Stewart. With copious free parking, walks of all difficulties and lengths and offerings of sweeping views over Loch Trool and …
Broad Law via Dollar Law & Cramalt Craig
I climbed Broad Law a few years ago with a friend and deemed it unworthy of a story on my blog. It was a short day, an easy enough climb and had a summit scarred by a variety of installations (including one for Air Traffic Control!). Most of the big walking websites seem to concur, with words such as ‘unremarkable’ …
Sunset at Cairnsmore of Fleet
Cairnsmore of Fleet is a relatively small hill, with a tragic history, in Dumfries & Galloway, nestled on the coast between Creetown and Newton Stewart. Standing at 2,333ft it is classified as a ‘Graham’ (a mountain between 2,000 – 2,499ft) and, despite having climbed it before, it has always been on my re-do list for one very specific reason: To …
Loch A’an via Bynack Mor
One of the places I have wanted to visit most in Scotland is Loch A’an (or Loch Avon) in the Cairngorms, a sprawling loch nestled in the crags below Ben Macdui and Cairngorm. These two peaks are the 2nd and 6th highest mountains in Scotland and I’d always known that this spectacular setting would make for a fantastic wild fishing …
My Top 10 Favourite Pictures of 2019!
It’s that time again where I look back through the adventures I’ve had this year and pick my top ten favourite pictures! 2019 has been a weird year for me and I haven’t gotten as much done as I wanted to but I have still had some incredible adventures throughout the year. I really love writing a piece like this …