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Portpatrick is a beautiful coastal village with hotels and bars with picnic tables looking out over the harbour. One of our favourite short walks so far.
We parked in one of the allocated parking bays on the Main Street and got set to follow the Walk Highlands route. We were a little confused at first as it mentions steps to walk up which we could see to the right as you face the water but this is the wrong way. The route does say head left so totally my fault for not checking properly. So head to the left side of the harbour and up the left split in the road at the far end. From there the route is very clear.
You start by heading up quite a few steps but these are easy enough to negotiate as they are low height per step and deep so plenty of room for a stride or two between steps. The views from the top are brilliant with sheer cliff edges feet away. These are all securely fenced and even with Blair, who has a severe learning disability and two pooches with us, we never felt uneasy being so close to the cliff edges. Very safe path if that's a concern for you.
Heading along the cliff path Dunskey Castle soon comes into view after which you turn left. There's a couple of Private Properly signs which doesn't seem to make sense. The path turns left then left again to continue back to Portpatrick. The gorge looks reminiscent of the Eerie entrance in Game Of Thrones.
Those worried about heading back down the steps will be pleased to hear the route back bypasses these to take you directly to the road into Portpatrick again.
Even though this is the shortest Autism Rambler walk we've done on the Walk Highlands list, it’s one of our favourites.
