The Three Marches
The Southern Upland Way covers 214 miles of breathtaking landscapes, historic towns and captivating wildlife. But this can all be too much to do in one go. Luckily the route can be split into three sections each starting and ending at a town with good facilities and transport links. These are the three marches of the Southern Upland Way.
Why Marches?
In the middle ages the Scottish Border region was not controlled by either Scotland or England but by the local Clans. Because of the difficulty of controlling such a huge area of land it was split into 3 marches, the West, Middle and East March. Each was the responsibility of Warden of the Marches. Because the Southern Upland Way is so long we have decided to split it up into our own 'marches' but this time it's to deal with the long distances rather than the Border Reivers.
Spirit of Galloway
From the rugged coastline of the Rhins, through the farmland of Wigtownshire and the forests of Galloway this section will give you a real feeling for the spirit of this most remote and forgotten corner of Scotland.
Your adventure starts in the historic fishing village of portpatrick with many hotels, pubs and cafes. Gannet Guillemot and maybe even puffin will fish the waters as you wander along the coast to Killantringan Lighthouse. Turning inland you cross farmland to the historic ruin of Castle Kennedy surrounded by it's impressive gardens. Soon you will be climbing up towards the Galloway Hills and the uplands that the Southern Upland Way is named after. The dramatic Glentrool is a highlight of the route as is the reservoir of Clatteringshaws. the last part of this section takes you right up into the hills passing the sculptures of the Striding Arches before finishing in the town of Sanquhar with it's castle ruin, the worlds oldest post office and the Crawick Multiverse sculpture park.
Start | Portpatrick |
Finish | Sanquhar |
Length | 92 miles / 148km |
Ascent | 7850 feet / 2392m |
Transport to Portpatrick | Railway Station in Stranraer & busses from Stranraer to Portpatrick |
Transport to Sanquhar | Railway Station in Sanquhar & regular busses from Sanquhar to Dumfries |
The Big Hills
As soon as you begin walking this dramatic and inspiring route you will be climbing. Ascending out of the town of Sanquhar into the Lowther Hills, first to Scotlands highest village, Wanlockhead with it’s mining museum. From there you climb to the highest point on the route at Lowther hill where on a good day you can see across the whole of the Southern Uplands. If you thought the views couldn’t get better you will find out otherwise as you traverse first the Lowthers and then the Moffat Hills to get to St Mary’s Loch. The dramatic scenery continues as you head through the Tweedsmuir hills past the Three brethren cairns before ending your adventure in the Borders town of Galasheils.
Start | Sanquhar |
Finish | Galasheils |
Length | 75 miles / 120km |
Ascent | 11,075 feet / 3375m |
Transport to Sanquhar | Railway Station in Sanquhar & regular busses to Dumfries |
Transport to Galasheils | Railway Station in Galasheils & regular busses to Edinburgh |
The Bonnie Borders
A shorter introduction to the delights of the Southern Upland Way or a challanging weekend adventure this section has all of the dramatic landscape the route is known for in a far more accessible length.
From historic Melrose with it’s abbey the route starts through picturesque farmland to the small but busy town of Lauder with many pubs, cafes and shops. From there the route heads into the Lammemuir Hills to give a great sample of the Uplands that the route is known. You will pass the Twin Law Cairns before heading down to Watch Water reservoir. Then a return to the pleasant farmland takes you to the coast and a dramatic few miles along the cliffs to Cove Harbour and the end of your adventure at Cockburnspath.
Start | Galasheils |
Finish | Cockburnspath |
Length | 47 miles / 75km |
Ascent | 4125 feet / 1257m |
Transport to Galasheils | Railway Station in Galasheils & regular busses to Edinburgh |
Transport to Cockburnspath | Railway Station in Dunbar, Busses from Cockburnspath to Dunbar, Edinburgh or Berwick |