Galloway has a hill problem, in the sense that every guide to it starts with one. The Merrick is a fine mountain and it is also 843 metres of not what everybody is looking for on a Tuesday. These five stay low, stay firm underfoot and, with one honourable exception, end within sight of a kettle.
1. Kirkcudbright harbour to Torrs Point
About 4km each way. Firm track, one gate. Dogs on leads near stock.
Out along the Dee estuary with the tide doing whatever it is doing. Waders in numbers from late summer, and the light in the evening is the reason a colony of painters settled in this town in the first place. Turn back whenever you like; it is the same view improving.
2. The Wigtown saltmarsh
2.5km loop. Boardwalk and gravel. Level throughout.
One of the largest local nature reserves in Britain and almost entirely flat, being a saltmarsh. Geese from October in numbers that make conversation difficult. The bird hide is open, the boardwalk is buggy-friendly, and the town has around twenty bookshops for afterwards, which is a hazard rather than a feature if you were hoping to leave by four.
3. Loch Ken shore path, Parton
3km out and back. Compacted path, some tree roots.
Water on one side, trees on the other, ospreys overhead in season. The old railway line does the level work for you. Ideal in a light drizzle, which is fortunate.
4. Sandyhills to Portling
3km each way. Coastal path, firm but uneven in places.
Sand at the start, cliffs in the middle distance, and the Lake District across the Solway on a clear day, which happens more often than the reputation suggests. Check the tide before you set off — the beach section is not passable at high water, and every summer somebody finds this out personally.
5. Threave estate riverside
2km loop, extendable. Surfaced paths.
The gentlest of the five. Gardens, river, a castle on an island reached by a small boat operated by a man who has clearly heard every joke about it. The tearoom is the best of any on this list and it is not close.
Before you go
- Tides matter on three of these five. Check before, not during.
- Midges are worst at dawn and dusk from June to September, and worse still in still air.
- Ticks are present in bracken and long grass. Check afterwards, including the backs of knees.
- Parking is small and free at four of these. Do not block a passing place or a field gate.
- Phone signal is patchy at Loch Ken and absent at Torrs Point. Download the map first.
None of these will trouble anyone who walks regularly. All of them are better in October than in July, when the light comes in low and sideways and the car parks have emptied.
