Kirroughtree Forest is one of the popular 7stanes Mountain Biking centres, but also has 3 waymarked routes for walkers. This route combines the Millenium Cairn (waymarked in orange) and then Little Bruntis (yellow) routes to make for the best short outing in the forest.
Bog Factor
Waymarked forestry tracks and paths.
Car park at Kirroughtree Visitor Centre.
None to start.
NX 450 649
Kirroughtree Visitor Centre is a few km east of Newton Stewart on the A75 - turn at Panure. From the car park, pass to the right of the Visitor Centre (which includes a cafe and toilets). Turn right (signed Forest Walks) alongside the children's play area, following the surfaced path across a grassy area and then crossing a small bridge. After the bridge turn left (Forest Walks sign). The path soon leads under a bridge that carries one of the mountain bike routes, decorated with a bike wheel sculpture.
The wide path makes a graded climb through the forest in a series of wide zig-zags. When it meets a forest track, ignore the path straight ahead and turn right along the track. Ignore the various mountain bike trails that leave to the right as you continue along the track, with distant views of the Cairnsmore of Fleet through the trees. Eventually the pyramidal Millenium Cairn is reached, with a bench. Leave the tracks here and turn left onto a marked path into the trees.
When the path forks, take the left branch. The path leads through mature forestry, but there are occasional glimpses over the Cree Estuary. Eventually the path leads over a footbridge that crosses a mountain bike route - so watching out for speeding cyclists below! Beyond this keep straight ahead, then cross another footbridge, this time over the outflow of the Bruntis Loch. The path then crosses the earth dam of the loch, which was created in the eighteenth century to provide power for nearby lead mines.
The trail turns right to stay by the loch at first, then reaches a path junction where you turn left (waymarked) into the trees. Soon the Little Bruntis loch is reached, and once again the path crosses the earth dam. At a junction turn right onto a smaller woodland path (yellow waymarker). At the next, 4-way junction go straight across. Eventually a track is reached - turn right along this. At the next t-junction turn left (this sounds complex - but the yellow markers will keep you right). The track leads down, passing through a gate, to reach a tarmac road.
Bear left along the road, then leave it on the left side for a path in the trees once more. This keeps close by the road at first, before winding to-and-fro. At a fork take the right branch (still yellow markers), then keep to the main left path at the following fork. When the path meets a track turn left, then stay on the track, ignoring mountain bike routes off, until you return to the cross-paths from near the start of the walk. Turn right here to follow the zig-zag path back downhill, passing under the mountain bike bridge and then taking two right turns to return to the visitor centre.
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