In May 2023, I accidentally started walking the Southern Upland Way. My plan then had been to simply use the Way to access the Galloway hills but a couple of days of claggy weather made me abandon the hills and instead keep walking along the Way. I absolutely loved it and ended up walking from Glentrool village to Sanquhar. So in May 2024, I walked the next section from Sanquhar to Galashiels and loved it even more. So the obvious thing to do with one of my May holiday weeks this year was to walk another section. So off I headed on the train to Stranraer to walk from the start of the Way at Portpatrick to Glentrool village to connect with my first section. It's all topsy turvy of course. I did the middle section at the beginning then the beginning in the middle. At least I will be able to complete the end section at the actual end.
I spend a lot of my spare time looking at maps. It's a passion of mine. I have often looked at the map and wondered what Portpatrick is like. It seemed such a far away place tucked away in the southwest part of Scotland. Stepping off the morning bus from Stanraer, I eventually found out. It's a picturesque little spot with quaint waterfront buildings wrapped around a rocky harbour. Today the harbour walls enclosed a calm, glassy sea.
At the far side of the harbour, is a beautiful sculpture that marks the start of the Southern Upland Way. I felt oddly emotional standing there that morning, like I was meeting a dear, old friend after time apart.
Portpatrick's charm was quickly left behind as the path headed north, undulating along the rugged Galloway coast. There were vertigo-inducing sections and a rough detour to avoid an incoming tide that rewarded with a beautiful bluebell wood.
Eventually the trail reached Killantringan Lighthouse and turned east, starting its long journey to the opposite coast at Cockburnspath. My next section onwards to Castle Kennedy mostly used tiny, little farm roads which were pleasing on the eye but rather tough on the feet. It was a relief to eventually pick up woodland tracks near Castle Kennedy then a lovely grassy path across moorland that left the world behind and provided the first night's camp spot. Next morning, a weak sun penetrated mist that hung over the nearby trees and coated the spiders' webs in the grasses with droplets of dew.
After packing up, the route ahead was really lovely walking as the trail passed into bluebell woods alive with birdsong. Soon I came upon the Glenwhan Clootie Tree, tucked away in the forest. Clootie Trees are of Celtic origin and were often located close to streams or springs where it was believed spirits lived. Clootie is an old word for a cloth and the custom was to use a cloth to wash a wound in the sacred water. The cloth was then tied to the tree and as it disintegrated over time, the wound or ailment would vanish.
After Glenwhan, the route crossed the open expanse of Cruise Back Fell with the distant Galloway hills just starting to rise to the north. It was a wonderful walk across the moor here, meandering over wild pasture under big skies. Large piles of stones signified the remains of Iron Age forts which contrasted with the modern structures of wind farms that had appeared on the horizon.
Soon the path passed into dense forestry just as I was starting to look for a camp spot for the night. All of a sudden, a wooden teepee-like structure appeared through the trees. It turned out to be Beehive Bothy. It was surrounded by open meadow, had a little stream close by and even a picnic bench so it was a perfect spot to pitch the tent. The peace and quiet were intense, the only sound the birds which included a grasshopper warbler somewhere in the longer grasses. It was a beautiful place to chill out in warm evening sunshine and to enjoy a slower start to the day the next morning.
As with the other sections of the Southern Upland Way, I had seen almost nobody on the trail. However, as I was packing up in the morning, another walker ambled in. He was walking the Southern Upland Way from Castle Kennedy to Cockburnspath then heading down the coast path to Berwick-upon-Tweed. I was envious of his long journey ahead, all that time wandering on foot and being out in nature. We would end up dovetailing with each other along the route for the rest of that day.
After the bothy, the trail soon passed by the Laggangarn Standing Stones, thought to have marked the route over the moor for 4000 years. There was then a stiff climb over Craig Airie Fell. I sat a while on top looking over the extensive view. A wind farm was under construction down below. This section of the walk must have felt really remote before the construction. It's a shame that feeling is now lost as we all need to lose ourselves from the modern world on occasion.
Beyond Craig Airie Fell, the Way zig-zagged onwards across the countryside, through the woods and over the fields before eventually making the gentle climb up Glenvernoch Fell. I joined the walker I met earlier on the bench at the top and we sat for ages having a good blether and putting the world to rights. Eventually he carried on and I took some time to absorb the surroundings. The Galloway hills were close in now but few signs of modern man were visible. Skylarks sang in the blue skies above and the grasses swayed gently in the wind. This was not a remote spot but it had an incredibly isolated, wild feel about it. I found it hard to tear myself away and could have sat there forever. But there was no water so I needed to keep going. A gentle descent took me down to Bargrennan where it was a bit of a shock to cross the first busy road since Castle Kennedy. A little way further on, I was soon wrapped up in trees again and found a pitch for the tent with water close by.
The final day of this section was a few hours of walking to Glen Trool village to arrive back where I'd started two years before. It was a stunning walk through moss-covered, knarly old woods that echoed with the maniacal call of a green woodpecker.
I picked up some treasure here. All along the Southern Upland Way are secret kists that contain commemorative coins. Where there is a kist, a marker post will have the word "Ultreia" on it and you have to hunt nearby to find the kist. This one was an elaborate affair. The coins were contained within a jar which you had to pull up by a string from within a wooden sculpture, the inside of which was only revealed when you turned aside the top block of the sculpture!
It was fun to find my coin but I don't think it was enough to cover the bus fare back from Glentrool at the end of the walk.
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