Galloway Hills
The Galloway Hills are part of the Southern Uplands of Scotland, and form the northern boundary of western Galloway. They lie within the bounds of the Galloway Forest Park, an area of some of largely uninhabited wild land, managed by Forestry and Land Scotland. The unusual place names reflect a mixture of the Old Norse and Scottish Gaelic languages and hint at the range of influences which have acted on society within the area over the centuries.
File:RoKandRotAH.jpg|360px|thumb|right|Portions of the Rhinns of Kells and Range of the Awful Hand from Cairnsmore of Carsphairn.
Location
The location of Galloway has been described as follows, "Galloway is contained by sea to the west and south, the "Galloway Hills" to the north, and the River Nith to the east". So if we were to say "The hills of Galloway" we would be including all the hills within this area; but as the first sentence implies, the "Galloway Hills" is usually taken to mean a collection of ranges which lie mainly south of Loch Doon and which are not constrained by political boundaries. The boundary between Dumfries and Galloway Region and Ayrshire runs west to east over Kirriereoch hill, drops south of Mullwharchar to the shores of Loch Enoch, before heading northwards up the east shore of Loch Doon, and so runs more or less through what might well be considered the heart of the Galloway hills – around Loch Enoch.Northern and western boundaries
The northern limit of this hill area is around the small towns of Dalmellington and Straiton, both in Ayrshire. The B741 runs on an east–west line between these two towns on its way to the town of Girvan on the Firth of Clyde. The B741 could therefore be taken as the northern limit of the Galloway Hills area.From Straiton a minor road runs south by Stinchar Bridge through the northwest corner of these hills to meet another minor road which runs from Glentrool village northwards towards Girvan and Maybole. This latter road forms the western boundary of the Galloway Hills. It follows the valley of Water of Minnoch and for most of its length it passes through the extensive forestry plantations which lie to the west of the hills.
Eastern boundary
The A713 forms the eastern boundary of these hills. As it heads south from Dalmellington it passes through the valley known as the Glenkens which separates the Galloway Hills from the Carsphairn and Scaur Hills hills to the east. There is an extensive hydro-electric scheme with several dams and power stations that runs down through the Glenkens to end at Tongland Power Station near Kirkcudbright.The A713 passes through Carsphairn on the Water of Deuch and St John's Town of Dalry on Water of Ken and also close to New Galloway at Kenbridge, at the northern end of Loch Ken. From New Galloway the A712 passes through the hills to Newton Stewart. This road passes Clatteringshaws Reservoir, the Queen's Way, Dunkitterick Cottage, a deer range, a wild goat park and Murray's Monument.
Southern boundary
For most users of these hills, "the Galloway Hills" would mean the ranges which lie north of a line running eastwards along the north shores of Loch Trool, Loch Dee and Clatteringshaws Reservoir. This for them would be the notional true heartland of the Galloway Hills. The Southern Upland Way and the National Cycle Network Route Number Seven travel along this line. A slightly looser use of the phrase Galloway Hills would include the ranges which lie to the south of that line.Outlying ranges to the south
To the south of the A712, east of Clatteringshaws Reservoir is a hill called Cairnsmore of Dee or Black Craig of Dee which offers excellent views from the top over Clatteringshaws into the heart of the Galloway Hills. To the south of Murray's Monument is a range of hills around Cairnsmore of Fleet. The top of Cairnsmore of Fleet is over 2 km in length running almost north–south and it has tops at either end. To the south of this again is a group of small coastal hills around Cairnharrow just to the west of Gatehouse of Fleet. Immediately beyond that is the A75 road running close to the shore of the Solway Firth.Hills named Cairnsmore
Besides the two Cairnsmore Hills just mentioned there is a third "Cairnsmore" acting as a prominent sentinel around the borders of the Galloway hills. This is Cairnsmore of Carsphairn which lies some 5 km to the north east of Carsphairn and is the prominent hill to the east of the Rhinns of Kells ridge.Access roads
- Some 2 km south of Dalmellington on the A713 s a forestry toll road which leads down the west side of Loch Doon, passing the reconstructed Loch Doon Castle and emerging at Stinchar Bridge, passing close to Loch Riecawr and Loch Bradan. The Barr to Loch Doon Cycle Route uses this forest road.
- From Glentrool village there is a minor single track road that foes eastward to Bruce's Stone on the northern side of Loch Trool, a distance of some 6 km. The road stops here for vehicle traffic but the N7 National Cycle Network Route carries on from there over to Clatteringshaws.
- Cars can be taken as far as Craigencallie which lies about halfway between Loch Dee and Clatteringshaws. Access to the single track road there is just west of the dam at Clatteringshaws Reservoir on the A712.
Three ridges
Range of the Awful Hand
Taking the 'Awful Hand' from north to south are the following tops Shalloch on Minnoch, Tarfessock, Kirriereoch Hill, Merrick and Benyellary. Merrick is the highest hill in the south of Scotland though at less than 3000 feet it is not a Munro. These five hills have ridges running off them to the west making the hand shape, Benyellary being the thumb. This hand is best seen from near Waterhead on Minnoch as you head south from Stinchar Bridge towards Glentrool village. The Awful Hand ridge is 9 km in length as the crow flies; from the top of Shalloch on Minnoch to the top of Benyellary. Although sounding quite short, there are some stiff climbs along the route, especially around Kirriereoch Hill and the Merrick. Walkers also have at least a 3 km walk in to the two terminal tops from any road.Rhinns of Kells
Taking the Rhinns of Kells from north to south we start on Black Craig on the east bank of Loch Doon, followed by Coran of Portmark, Meaul, Carlin's Cairn, Corserine, Millfire, Milldown, Meikle Millyea, Little Millyea and Darrou. Darrou lies about halfway between Loch Dee and Clatteringshaws. The Rhinns of Kells is 15.5 km as the crow flies from Black Craig to Darrou and the ridge has a double curve on it making it somewhat longer than that. It tends to be a gently undulating ridge along its length, making for relatively easy walking.Dungeon Hills
Taking the Dungeon Hills from north to south, Craigmawhannal is just south of the south end of Loch Doon, followed by, Hoodens Hill, Mullwharchar, Dungeon Hill, Craignairny, Craignaw, Snibe Hill and Craiglee. Craiglee is to an extent an outlier from the main ridge lying as it does at the eastern end of the Rig of the Jarkness which runs east to west. Craiglee is just north of Loch Dee. The 'Dungeons' are 11 km from the top of Craigmawhannal to the top of Craiglee as the crow flies. None of these hills get to the same heights as some hills on the other two ridges. However, apart from Mullwharchar they are much more rocky and rugged and are therefore popular with climbers and scramblers.A planning application was made in January 1978 to Kyle and Carrick District Council by the UKAEA to test drill on Mullwharchar for the purpose of dumping nuclear waste. On 24 October 1978, the Council rejected the application after considerable local protest.
Between the ridges
There is relatively low ground between the Dungeons ridge and the other two ridges on either side of it and this lower ground passes through the whole hill area from north to south forming two corridors through the hills.However, the surface of the highest loch in the corridor to the west of the Dungeons, Loch Enoch, is actually around 490 metres above sea level. With Loch Trool being about 70 m above sea level, this corridor rises significantly as it passes for about 5 km between the hills on either side.
The surface of Dry Loch of the Dungeon, the highest loch to the east of the Dungeons is around 330 metres above sea level and most of the Silver Flowe immediately to the south of it lies fairly level at about the 270 metres mark all the way back south to Loch Dee. The explanation for this is that the Silver Flowe is a floating or blanket bog and is consequently flat in nature.
Lochs between the Awful Hand and the Dungeons
There are two burns which feed into the eastern end of Loch Trool on its northern shore, the Buchan Burn and the Gairland Burn, separated by a 3 km long ridge which runs north from Buchan Hill just north of Loch Trool to Craig Neldricken immediately south of Loch Enoch – the Buchan Ridge.It is quite possible to use the Buchan Burn route to get to Loch Enoch, passing the Grey Man of the Merrick, on the left before Loch Enoch. The more popular route however, because of the scenic interest, is the Gairland Burn path which passes Loch Valley, Loch Neldricken and Loch Arron before reaching Loch Enoch. This is often called the "Loch's Route onto The Merrick" – though involves a 350-metre climb up Redstone Rig from Loch Enoch to the Merrick.
On the west side of Loch Neldricken is "Murder Hole", which name refers to an incident in Samuel Crockett's novel "The Raiders" – though it is claimed that the real murder hole is near Rowantree Bridge on the Water of Minnoch where the bodies of waylaid, murdered travellers were dumped.
East of Loch Neldricken, access to Loch Enoch is gained by the Wolf Slock. Both of these latter named places figure prominently in the Crockett novel. The sharp granite sand on the beaches of Loch Enoch itself was at one time collected and sold for sharpening knives and scythes.
In McBain's book "The Merrick and Neighbouring Hills" there is a description of how McBain tried to find the depth of Loch Enoch by cutting a series of holes on its icy surface and dropping a weighted line into it – quite alone when he did so. He worked out a depth of 105 feet at what he reckoned was the deepest point. McBain was an intrepid hill walker/climber who was much devoted to these hills and his book exudes his love for the wild places.