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Southern Upland Way East to West - part 2Walking day 8: to Sanquhar (Blackaddie house hotel) - 16,4 km / 10.2 miles
The following morning I had breakfast on the porch with the other SUW walkers and wished them all the best on the Lowther hills. Their climb up to the golf ball from this side would have far easier terrain underfoot but I wondered if they’d struggle on the descend of Comb head. I only had 14,5 km to walk today but that soon became 16,5 as after 1 kilometre I realised I’d forgotten my UK plug converter in the camping pod’s socket. It was a thoroughly enjoyable return through along educational signs about Wanlockheads mining past and artefacts.
Leaving WanlockheadThe sun came out again and about a kilometre before the first climb of the day the poignant smell of fresh deodorant was in the air. Two groups of Duke of Edinburgh walkers were in front of me, initially with a slower pace on the flat surface. I chatted to one of their teachers and learnt about the DofE concept and traditions for teenage scholars. I wished I’d been able to go on a camping trip to Scotland as I probably would have discovered my love for the outdoors and hiking at an earlier age. Either that or I would have run away from it as you either embrace or hate anything compulsory when you’re a teenager.
Two fit teenagers kept breathing down my neck on ascending Glengaber hill. I struggled for a while to adjust to this newly found competition element to the SUW route. Luckily for me the scholars also had assignments to fulfil and they slowed down when chatting to other groups I passed on the hill. The morning cold now quickly disappeared and two airplanes drew a Scottish flag in the blue sky.
Scottish flag in the skyI spotted another teacher up on a hill who was going to ambush unexpecting DofE scholars and chatted to him how I loved the concept. I had a break close to the ruin of Cogshead sitting next to an Ultreia sign on the SUW waymarker. I suddenly felt an urge to go and look for the kist spurred on by the the SUW walkers I’d met in the Wanlockhead inn. I had another laugh about the story they told about a keen kist finder circling for two hours around an SUW waymarker and eventually a farm owner coming up to him to ask if he needed any help and then he ended up pitching his tent in the dark. I therefore decided to only briefly check a few suspicious looking rocks and quickly move on after being unable to find the elusive kist. On descending down the side of Conrig Hill I couldn’t believe my eyes as I spotted a person pushing a mountain bike up the hill with extremely wide tyres. I briefly chatted to her and she mentioned she wanted to be one of a select group who completed the SUW on a bicycle. Being a keen cyclist myself I could not see how one could enjoy ascending + descending the Lowther hills. Her name was Claire Agar and later at home I enjoyed watching the Youtube videos of the incredible expedition she had, highly recommended.
I could already spot Sanquhar in the distance and made a brief detour to see the castle ruin and then check in early at my hotel. I talked to the kind receptionist about doing my laundry and suddenly noticed my fingertips were blackened as apparently the ball pen I'd bought at Newcastle railway station's book stand could not cope with the Scottish Indian summer temperatures. Besides the ugly stain in my hip belt my only Ultreia coin was now black instead of copper coloured.
I walked into town to stock up on snacks, energy bars and lunch rolls for the coming days. The hotel I was staying in was far too posh for me to dine in with hiking clothes on, so decided to eat at the Nithsdale hotel. Sanquhar is a beautiful town with quaint old buildings, and surrounded by lush green hills and fast flowing river. I'd gotten a new pen at the hotel reception desk and started catching up on writing in my walkers diary whilst enjoying the haggis bon bon starter and sizzling fajitas accompanied by draught beers. After two to three days without a beer and cooked food it comes as a great reward and something to look forward to instead of a given. I liked this as part of the experience of a wild camping, bothies and hotel mix.
Sanquhar's tolbooth basking in the sunshineWalking day 9: to Manquhill hill (wild camp) - 26,5 km / 16.5 miles
Left the hotel with a fresh pair of clothing on, the wonderful staff at the Blackaddie house hotel had kindly done my laundry of smelly hiking socks and muddy trousers. Feeling re-energized I quickly threw my initial plan of hiking to Polskeoch bothy out as it was bound to be a stunning day to enjoy the views from Benbrack. I started to embrace this idea of not knowing where you would be stopping and sleeping that night. I realized I was spoiled rotten the first two nights of the SUW with two pin-pointed idyllic wild camping spots due to great tips in the SUW Facebook page. First however came a soggy climb up the hill from Sanquhar. I briefly chatted to a local walker who chose to retire in a white cottage overlooking the hills and Sanquhar village. I continued going up the hill feeling envious of retiring in this setting and thinking ‘its not too late, I’ve only just turned 46’. I looked back over my shoulder every now and then to Sanquhar and the hill range behind when I suddenly faced an unfriendly looking bull. A big one. I immediately diverted from the official SUW path as I certainly would not be able to outrun this huge piece of beef. Luckily it stayed exactly where it was and once on top of the hill it was time for a snack.
Sneaky pic of the bull after taking a big detour around it - with Sanquhar in the backgroundI spotted a small van and a couple camping in a tent with their two dogs on the next hill. I greeted them and kept on going until I spotted a waymarker with an Ultreia sign on it. I guess this was a benefit of walking east to west as they would otherwise be harder to spot. I found my second coin which was silver coloured this time and I felt chuffed I now had a set to show the kids at home. With temperatures rising again I noticed I was drinking a lot more water. Also, my backpack was weighing much heavier on my shoulders as I was wearing less layers to dampen the load. I enjoyed the exposed moors here and descended along arty waymarkers down to photogenic Polgowan farm.
I actually ate half of my lunch with resting behind a high dry stone wall to catch a break from the sun. It was 23 degrees that day and I reapplied some more sunscreen before setting off again.
I arrived at Polskeoch bothy and appreciated the murals and had a good read through the bothy book whilst eating the other half of my lunch. It was a very different bothy than the two I'd been in before with no separate room and no views around, just trees. It was still really early in the day and this was not the kind of place for me. I'd also been warned about forestry workers starting to fell trees at 5.00 am which made wild camping a much more suitable option for a good night's rest. There was plenty of wood for the log burner confirming Graham's story (at Wanlockhead Inn) about two guys with a chain saw driving up to the bothy. I walked down to the burn to fill up on water and set off to climb Benbrack.
The winding gravel road made me want to return here one day on my beloved Gravel bike. In the forest that followed there were quite a number of fallen trees I had to climb over or circumvent. This pointed out to me the weather could be a lot rougher here than today's bluebird skies. I spotted the first striding arch in the distance (think it's named Colt Hill) and was looking forward to the views from up there. The approach up to Benbrack was boggy but the views from the striding arch did not disappoint. If it hadn't been for the wet grounds I might even have camped up there. I chose to descend further down to Manquhill hill and see if I could find a wild camping spot. I had a look around two ponds to see if I could set up camp and mistakenly tried to filter some water there. The taste and smell wasn't good as it wasn't flowing fast enough to get rid of the peat but I was pretty sure it wouldn't make me sick. I kept on going for another mile and met two young SUW walkers with one of them looking properly knackered. They asked me how long it would be to Polskeoch bothy and they didn't like my answer. It was already approaching 5 pm and I was ready to set up camp myself. I found an amazing spot on top of Manquhill hill directly next to the SUW path.
As the sun set I couldn't believe the sunny day I'd had and the only worry had been to find non-smelly water.
Walking day 10: to St John's town of Dalry (Clachan Inn) 16,5 km / 10.3 miles
During the night the wind picked up and I'd woken up a few times rethinking my decision to pitch my tent so unsheltered. The weather is changeable as I was well aware. When I zipped open my tent the next morning and rose out I spotted two deer just 25 metres away on the lower side of the knoll. They immediately set off to hide in the trees but I couldn't believe I'd had company and a true sleeping in the wild experience. A spider and its web clung on the the SUW Waymarker next to my tent.
Just one mile into my day I came across another great wild camping spot on Dunnans craig right next to an SUW bench looking towards Stroanpatrick. I greeted a farmer and enjoyed watching his border collies perform work duties. My border collie / Australian shepherd at home would just be playing with the sheep instead of herding them. I set foot on tarmac again and paused by the bridge before Culmark farm and took my water filter out for a refill. This water tasted much better and I splashed some of it on my face to freshen up. I had lunch at an odd looking tree next to a small pond that made a perfect bench and got ready for some rough underfoot grounds in the Brown Rig area.
Watch your ankles here!I soon reached the outskirts of St. John's town of Dalry, had a quick look in the church and checked-in early at the splendid Clachan Inn. The staff were super friendly and I enjoyed having some time for myself, to stock up on food and snacks and drink a cask ale pint or two. Even though it was a Friday night they got me a great table in the restaurant area and I thoroughly enjoyed their cask ales. They normally place single persons in the bar area on busy nights like these but the table allowed me to do a proper write-up of the past two days in my walking diary.
Walking day 11: to Whitelaggan bothy - 23 km / 14.3 miles
After a full Scottish breakfast the next morning I crossed the beautiful suspension bridge leading me out of the town. A sign reading 'Want to chill - climb this hill' sounded a bit like a dirty joke line from a movie but probably was there to encourage people to get outdoors.
The views from Waterside hill back to Dalry were worth the climb indeed and I continued on some easy tarmac and gravel walking all the way to Knocksheen farm. From there the moorland opened up again and the climb up Shield Rig looked daunting from this angle. The views from the two pointy rocks on the top were great and after that there was some dense bracken to conquer and ticks to dodge. I met a young solo SUW walker in the forest of Low Benbrack and he told me he'd spent the night in Whitelaggan with five students from Dumfries University who drove up the bothy as far as they could and walked the last 3 miles. I became a bit apprehensive as I was not looking forward to a drinking party but he reassured me they were conscious of the bothy code. I decided I would just go up to the bothy and see what the atmosphere was like and otherwise camp somewhere close to Loch Dee. After that it was not long before I could catch the first glimpse of Clatteringshaws Loch and noticed I was getting closer to 'civilisation' again. Large amounts of litter and discarded camping gear could be seen on the loch shores where there obviously had been some drinking parties with bonfires. I really will never understand how lazy and environmentally irresponsible some persons are. I love my beer and a good party as well but leaving it all behind after a camping trip or festival never ever crossed my mind. I ate a snack looking at the fast flowing Black water of Dee and then continued on the gravel road. The sun came out again and Loch Dee looked spectacular, this was Scotland at its most beautiful.
I soon spotted Whitelaggan bothy with its distinctive Scottish flag painted on the side and started the final ascent of the day. I passed the stargazing chairs and immediately took to the sublime setting of this bothy. The four guys from Dumfries (one had dropped off) turned out to be super friendly and wildlife science students. A party of three men on their mountain bikes soon arrived who cycled there from the Clachan Inn in Dalry. They fitted a plaque inside the bothy in loving memory of their friend who had suddenly passed away that year. It confirmed to me I was doing the right thing by taking this sabbatical leave now as I too might die just before my retirement age. He’d been the fittest of them all and was fond of their outdoor trips similar to the one they were doing today.
The four students offered to make room and moved out of the bothy and set up their tent next to the fire pit. I had an amazing evening chatting to all the others around the fire pit, drinking the whisky they brought and learnt an awful lot about Scottish wildlife, nature and bothy life in the meantime. After being apprehensive at first it turned out to be the most fun night I'd had on the SUW.
Star gazing chairs and views from Whitelaggan bothyWalking day 12: to Beehive bothy via Trostan alternative - 41,6 km / 25.8 miles
I woke up early to get an early start on the trail. The views from Whitelaggan's 'kitchen' over to Loch Dee are worth visiting this bothy, it's a great start of your day cooking breakfast there. Shortly after leaving the bothy and returning to the gravel road I spotted a fresh looking SUW waymarker pointing out I could take the Trostan alternative route to Glenhead. I'd read in my guidebook it had been trampled by cows in the past but as the waymarker was brand new it would surely mean this part of the trail had recently been restored to its former glory. How wrong was I, this was the hardest part of the SUW I've done. The faint path disappeared infrequently and I was really lucky the GPX on my sportswatch kept pointing me in the right direction. I slipped once, fell twice and my knees took a really heavy pounding on this rugged uneven terrain with all the tussocks. I'm almost sure that in these densely grown ferns and bracken is where I picked up a tick that I removed only on the last day of the walk.
Trostan alternative waymarker and good gravel roadClouds clearing as seen from the faint path over Trostan to GlenheadOverjoyed to be back on firm gravel terrain again the sight of Loch Trool relieved the pain in my knees. I took a good snack break to let my heart rate drop and give my legs some much needed rest. The path along the loch was undulating with some steep sections and after a couple of kilometres the views of the loch were obstructed by trees. It became a lot busier on the path with day walkers coming from the nearby Glen Trool visitor centre. I was asked a couple of times how far it would be to have actual sights of the loch and most people didn't like my answer.
Loch TroolI filled up on water where the Water of Trool and Water of Minnow met and ate part of my lunch there. The way continued through ancient woodland and I went off the path for a while to find a kist I'd heard would be there. No sign of a kist of course but I did enjoy standing on the old bridge and watching the water and hills from there. The sun was flexing its muscles and I took off a layer before continuing. After dodging the cars on the busy road at Bargrennan I continued up Glenvernoch Fell and enjoyed the sights from there over Loch Ochiltree and had one look back at the Galloway hills that I'd enjoyed thoroughly enjoyed hiking over and through.
Loch OchiltreeIt was still a bit early to setup camp at Loch Ochiltree and wanted to add a few more kilometres to the day. Coming through the hamlet of Knowe I realised I was running low on water for wild camping. Due the warmth I'd been consuming a lot more water and I'd learnt in the past days how much water I needed for cooking etcetera. A few wild camping spots had been shared in the SUW Facebook group but those were either occupied by cattle or midges, on farm land (way too much of a compliance person for hopping over a fence), or in sight of a farm or wind farm business. My legs were feeling surprisingly good given the earlier Trostan adventure and the evening sun was still giving plenty of daylight. I decided to push on to the Beehive bothy although that would give me day of 40+ km. I kept on looking for a wild camp spot close to water on my maps whilst walking today's last ascend, Craig Airie fell. I almost ran down past the pink skies over the cairn at Craig-dhu and the standing stones. I saw no one outside the bothy so assumed I would not be disturbing anyone but the lady from Wales and her dog inside were surprised by my late arrival. I apologised and quickly cooked some food outside on the picnic bench. I filtered some water from the burn and after that it soon turned dark. I chatted to Tanja as she was called and made friends with her dog Coco. She was doing the SUW in opposite direction and we shared our SUW experiences until that day. I fell asleep in the know I did not have a long day ahead of me tomorrow and only two days left on the SUW.
Craig-dhu cairn in the evening lightWalking day 13: to Glenwhan moor (wild camp) - 16,9 km / 10.5 miles
I made my porridge outside at the picnic table and it was overcast and foggy in the morning. I couldn't see the windmill but only hear it. It was the one disadvantage of this bothy and this part of the SUW - the close vicinity of the windfarm. It hadn't bothered me until now on the SUW and as stated before I prefer seeing a wind turbine over power lines and fossil fuelled powerplants. The noise however did affect your sense of remoteness and the peace and quiet that I'd enjoyed on the SUW so far was gone. Tanja from Wales packed her bag and set off with Coco adorably carrying his own sleeping mat and dog food strapped to his back. I swept the bothy, wrote a few words in the bothy book and set off at a leisurely 9.30 am. I wanted to wild camp somewhere near New Luce and had plenty of time. The first kilometres I could hardly see anything of the surroundings due to the dense fog. I did quite like walking with more than one layer on as the backpack clung a lot better to my body and there was less chafing. The views on Balmurrie fell were stunning with the mist adding its charm. I was leaving the sound of the wind turbines behind me and chatted to a friendly farmer on a quad, after stepping well aside for the herd of sheep he was chasing.
Balmurrie fellKilhern MossOn the long straight stretch to Cruise farm over Kilhern Moss I met yet two other SUW walkers who were splitting it up in two parts. They would finish their walk at Sanquhar and then take a train back home, to continue the SUW another year. After passing Cruise farm and steering well clear of the beautiful horses I had a long lunch down at the water of New Luce, brewed a cup a soup and even contemplated pitching my tent there. The one thing I didn't like about the camping spots was that there either would be strong winds, or it would be right on the edge of the meadow filled with horses in the one place that did not have a fence. The chance of being woken up by a nosy horse in the middle of the night was not within my risk appetite and it also meant my final day's walk would be quite long.
Time for soup besides the Water of LuceI continued a bit further to Glenwhan Moor and half way I spotted a great place right next to the route and Craig burn providing me with fresh water. It wasn't the flattest spot but I didn't want to run out of luck again and I knew tarmac was coming up in a few miles at Pinwherrie. There was soft, dry grass, just 29km remaining for the final day and just enough of a breeze to keep the midges away. To the left there was a dry stone wall protecting me from cattle and I could see very far into open farmland and distant hills.
Laying in my tent that evening I could not get my head around the fact that in such a beautiful place there were no passers-by after 4 pm. It's probably because its a sparsely populated part of Scotland and there's so many places to go for a walk, you're spoilt for choice really.
Walking day 14: to the finish at Portpatrick - 29,6 km / 18.4 miles
I woke up to pink skies, which often indicate a change in weather coming up. I felt excited about this being the final day and looked forward to arriving in the beautiful town of Portpatrick. I had saved a luxurious muesli & chocolate breakfast for the final day and packed up my tent dry. I did still have almost 30 km to go and quite a lot of tarmac which would prove to be tough on weary legs. As soon as I passed the Glenwhan moor plantation gate I had to put on my full rain gear but only for the second time on all of the SUW. A stretch of tarmac followed and I soon arrived on the grounds of Castle Kennedy gardens. I ordered coffee and scones at the tea room to warm myself up and ordered a packed lunch from the kind lady at the till. At the nearby petrol station I purchased a can of Tennent's lager so that no matter what, I could have a celebratory pint. Leaving the village of Castle Kennedy behind I walked through some light and airy woodland leading to quiet country roads.
I crossed the busy A716 road and climbed up Dunbae hill in the direction of Stranraer. Two rainbows appeared briefly after the rain had stopped and I would soon get a first glimpse of the sea on the West coast. It was a special moment for me as it started to dawn on me I had crossed an entire country on foot. I ate my lunch on a spot in the sun on someone's driveway which was far from idyllic but I needed to eat some food as my legs were feeling weary. The tarmac did have its effect on my knees and legs after 13 days of continuous walking. With no bench in sight this just had to do and the packed tuna sandwich and salad from the Castle Kennedy tea room was excellent. More tarmac followed and as I got closer to Stranraer the amount of litter started to increase equally. I was relieved to leave the tarmac of the quiet country roads behind me when I entered Broad moor and walked along the Knockquhassen reservoir. I passed the cairn indicating the highest point of that last hill and soon walked down the tarmac road with the spectacular Killantringan Lighthouse in the distance.
At the viewpoint next to the lighthouse overlooking Killantringan bay I met a very nice man who had just arrived from the ferry from Northern Ireland and travelled all around Europe in his campervan. I gave him my gas cannister and two lighters as I would not be able to check those in on tomorrow's flight home, for which he was very grateful.
With blue skies and a cool sea breeze the last part of the cliff top walks were thoroughly enjoyable. This, combined with the views over to Arran, Kintryre and Northern Ireland added to the excitement of almost finishing the walk. My weary legs had to work a bit more as there were a few tough sections of rocky steps with chain hand rail to descend on before I could see Portpatrick.
Beautiful Portpatrick in all of its glory
Finish!The lovely couple taking my picture at the start/finish point advised me to have a drink in the Crown Hotel and so I did. After one celebratory pint on the terrace of the Crown I checked into the Portpatrick hotel and of course I opted for a a hotel room with sea views. I drank my can of Tennent's I'd bought in Castle Kennedy whilst overlooking the SUW start/finish point and felt a great sense of achievement. I was glad I had decided to finish on this end of SUW.
Travel day 15 - From Portpatrick back to The Netherlands
I caught the first 08.45 bus from Portpatrick to Stranraer and had to run to the former ferry piers to catch one out of three daily trains to Ayr. This was key for me to catch my flight from Glasgow airport in the afternoon. When I was walking and camping on Glenwhan moors the day before I'd heard the train blowing its horn on the many level crossings. I now found myself on that same train route and enjoyed being back and seeing the sights of New Luce and surroundings even though it was only for a brief moment. I got off the train in Ayr as from there every 30 minutes a direct train would take me to Glasgow Paisley Gilmour street station. I walked around the lovely town of Ayr for a while and had the best coffee in all my journey at the Honeybee and the Hare. I knew I had to prepare myself mentally from swapping a daily life on the trail and backpacking to life at home. Before I boarded the train to Glasgow I nipped into a local book store and quickly bought Chris Townsend's 'Along the Divide' to relive some of the walking experiences on the Southern uplands.
Would definitely recommend a visit to Ayr and Southern Scotland in general. Its a beautiful part of Scotland that is often overlooked when booking a holiday or planning a hike, yet it has so much to offer.
Once back home I promptly provided some feedback about the route on the official SUW website and soon received my completion certificate, many thanks! Will frame it soon together with the two Ultreia coins. I also plan to join the MBA (Mountain Bothy Association) for letting me stay in three of their bothies. It's only 25 GBP a year and if you divide that by three nights accommodation it's a bargain, isn't it?
To conclude, some information on the key gear I used, to inspire you and provide some tips :
- Nordisk Halland 2 LW tent
- Gregory Baltoro 75 litre backpack
- Hanwag Makra Trek GTX hiking boots
- Garmin fenix 7 sportswatch
- Jetboil stash
- MSR Titan cup 450 ml
- Sleeping mat Sea to summit Ether light XT
- Sea to summit stainless steel collapsible bowl L
- Sea to summit Trek 1 sleeping bag
- Cocoon Egyptian cotton sleeping bag liner
- Black Diamond Talus mini gaiters
- Black Diamond Cosmo 350-R head lamp
- LifeStraw Peak Series filter Collapsible Squeeze 650 ml bottle with Filter
- Real Turmat freeze-dried foods
- Sea to summit alloy pocket trowel
- Sea to summit wilderness wipes
- Sea to summit clothes line 3.5m
- Sea to summit handwash leaves
- don't skimp on hiking socks
- hip flask filled with good quality whisky
...and plenty of Sunscreen SPF50 !
Link to part 1 of the walk report:
https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=127499
