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I've climbed this small range of hills dozens of times now as i use them for fitness training mainly over the winter months since they are within a reasonably short drive from where i live.
The Lowthers are easily accessible from a couple of points in Wanlockhead though i normally start from the beginning of the Lowther radar station access road near the northern edge of the village, there is parking space for several cars there.
Village road sign
Beginning of the walk
The range of hills directly above the village comprise of East Mount Lowther, Lowther Hill and Green Lowther. The tarred access road can be followed all the way to Lowther Hill and Green Lowther but in order to take in the third hill, East Mount Lowther, the Enterkin Pass track is taken which branches off the road at the first sharp bend. The track leads to the col between Lowther Hill and East Mount Lowther where a crossroads is reached with a track leading up Lowther Hill to the left and a grassy path following the fence line up East Mount Lowther to the right while the original path drops down into the historic Enterkin Pass which was the scene of a Covenanter skirmish in the 17th century.
The ascent of East Mount Lowther is short and steep from here with an indicator pillar on the flat summit.The views of the Galloway Hills are extensive from Criffel and the Solway to The Merrick and beyond.
Start of Enterkin path
East Mount Lowther and Enterkin Pass
Summit of East Mount Lowther
Criffel from East Mount Lowther
The route to Lowther Hill is obvious and is quickly reached when the track up from the col ends at the access road which leads to the summit which is crowned by a large radar installation. The road continues along the ridge to Green Lowther and if conditions allow and i'm not wearing boots then i tend to power walk this last part which stretches for about a mile from summit to summit.
Summit of Lowther Hill
Ridge between Lowther Hill and Green Lowther
The views from Green Lowther are as wide and far reaching as East Mount Lowther with Tinto, the Culter Hills and the Moffat Hills all visible in the distance with the Leadhills area below. Although Lowther Hill and Green Lowther are topped by telecommunications equipment it doesn't really spoil what is a great walk in the heart of the Southern Uplands.
There are various ways to return to the start and i prefer to retrace my route to Lowther Hill then go straight down bypassing the long bends in the road when possible.
Approaching Green Lowther
Summit of Green Lowther
