Merrick and Shalloch Circuit- an alternative route

[MtnGoat]

I was looking for an alternative route to cover the Merrick and Shaolloch and took inspiration from this report: https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=69051 , although I definitely didn't have things as good with the conditions.....

A circuit that combines the Merrick and Shalloch on Minnoch, starting from Kirrieroch Loch. Corbett bagging round that also covers Benyellary, Kirrieroch Hill, Tarfessock on the loop.

The route covers a combination of gravel Galloway Forest logging tracks and links some parts of well established hillwalking routes, however a significant part of the loop covers pathless and wild terrain that will be challenging going in wet conditions. A link to the GPS link is below.

My take-aways…. Don’t attempt this after a lot of wet weather- in fact, I would target this hike for the winter when there is a hard frost and solid base. The walk through the forest is extremely hard walking due to the large tuffets that cover around about a mile of open ground. As can be see from my issues crossing the burn at the bottom of the Shaolloch on Minnoch… this is another reason to be mindful of rain levels.

An awesome and quiet route that feels remote for large periods. I thought that this video would be helpful to give an overview of the terrain ONE FOR WINTER!

[sarahk99]

Amazing looking walk!
Really calm and mesmerizing

[MtnGoat]

Thanks. I definitely fancy looking at a few alternative routes around galloway this winter. It's easy to forget about the Galloway hills, but the whole area is awesome (albeit a different awesome in comparison to the highlands!)