Southern Scotland

Scotland's southerly regions are so much more than staging posts on the road north. They're endlessly fascinating and exceptionally beautiful in their own right.

All the things that you'd naturally associate with Scotland can be found as soon as you cross the ancient (and much contested) border with England. From rugged coast to coast, over rolling hills and through rich and varied countryside where the tell-tale signs of a torrid history are everywhere to be seen, southern Scotland is at once different from its neighbour on the other side, with a proud heritage and traditions of its own.

This is an area of fantastic walking variety. There are challenging upland walks in the Galloway Hills or on the stunning mountains of the Isle of Arran; rambling in the Eildon Hills; fascinating forest walks in Galloway or Tweed Valley Forest Parks or why not enjoy a gentle walk along beautiful seaside trails or dramatic cliff-tops. There's even the option to walk some or all of the longest official long distance route in Scotland, the Southern Upland Way at 212 miles long.

Whatever you choose, you're sure to return to this walkers paradise!

Moderate Walks

Southern Scotland has a largely rural landscape, with bustling market towns and peaceful villages set among vast swathes of open country. Much of the land is rolling uplands, but lush valleys with winding rivers and delightful woodlands lie between the hills. The coastal plains have fertile farmland, which runs to a shoreline of sandy beaches and rocky headlands. The quiet countryside is a haven for wildlife, including deer, wild goats, otters, red squirrels and birds of prey.

Throughout the area there are well-marked path networks and many more walks are described in leaflets and books. Several districts have programmes of ranger-led walks - many aimed specifically at families with children. A number of town trails provide short but fascinating strolls that highlight local history and architecture.

The beautiful river valleys of the area offer splendid walks and can often be combined with exploration of ancient semi-natural deciduous woodlands, as in the Clyde Valley near Lanark or Wood of Cree near Newton Stewart. Many conifer forests also have extensive networks of marked trails, including Glentress and Newcastleton in the Borders and Forest of Ae and Castle O'er Forest in Dumfries and Galloway.

Coastal walks vary from the sandy dune-backed beaches of Ayrshire to the seabird cliffs of the Mull of Galloway. Often walks can encompass a range of scenery, as along the east coast path from Eyemouth to St Abbs Head, which passes a fishing village, a pebble beach, a sandy bay and cliffs teeming with birds.

Longer Walks

There is a great feeling of space in southern Scotland, but without the isolation of wilder areas further north. As well as rounded hills, wooded valleys and unspoilt coastlines, there are scattered market towns and pretty villages, many of which have rich histories. With a great diversity of walks there is a wide range of wildlife to be seen - from red deer, grouse and birds of prey in the hills to roe deer and red squirrels in the woods and seabirds on the coast. A visit to the island of Arran off the west coast could add to the list with sightings of basking sharks and porpoises from the shore.

Southern Scotland is well endowed with long distance paths, sections of which can easily be done in a day. The middle parts of the Southern Upland Way can be quite challenging, but towards the coasts there are many sections beside rivers and across fields and moors. Two gentler routes are the Pilgrim Way, which runs from Glenluce Abbey to the Isle of Whithorn and St Ninian's Cave in Dumfries and Galloway, and St Cuthbert's Way, which goes from Melrose across the border to Holy Island in Northumberland. For a day of waterfalls, orchards and woodlands try the Clyde Walkway near Lanark.

Glens give access to magnificent scenery without having to climb the hills - some of the finest are on Arran, where long walks can take you coast to coast through the mountains. Several forests in the Borders and in Dumfries and Galloway have long trails, as does Changue Forest in Ayrshire.

Coastal walks offer a different sort of adventure, as along the Colvend Coast on the Solway Firth where a tidal island, smugglers' caves and a yacht harbour provide interesting diversions. For those who enjoy walking beside water, there are many paths along rivers - such as the Tweed - and beside tranquil lochs that reflect the surrounding hills, like St Mary's Loch and Loch Trool.