Southern Upland Way

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The start of the Southern Upland Way in Portpatrick
Craigmichen Scar from the Southern Upland Way

The Southern Upland Way is a coast-to-coast walk of 212 miles between Portpatrick on the Atlantic coast in Wigtownshire in the west, and Cockburnspath on the North Sea coast in Berwickshire in the east, running the length of the Southern Uplands and Lammermuir. The trail opened in 1984.

The path visits on its way many fine towns and villages, amongst them Castle Kennedy, New Luce, Bargrennan, St John's Town of Dalry, Sanquhar, Wanlockhead, Beattock, St Mary's Loch, Traquair, Galashiels, Lauder and Longformacus.

Route

Waymarker
The path in the forest
Portpatrick to New Luce 24 miles Wigtownshire
New Luce to Bargrennan 17.5 miles Wigtownshire, Kirkcudbrightshire
Bargrennan to St John's Town of Dalry 25.5 miles Kirkcudbrightshire
St John's Town of Dalry to Sanquhar 25.5 miles Kirkcudbrightshire, Dumfriesshire
Sanquhar to Wanlockhead 7.5 miles Dumfriesshire
Wanlockhead to Moffat 23.5 miles Dumfriesshire
Moffat to St Mary's Loch 19.5 miles Dumfriesshire, Selkirkshire
St Mary's Loch to Traquair 12 miles Selkirkshire, Peebleshire
Traquair to Galashiels 18 miles Peeblesshire, Selkirkshire
Galashiels to Lauder 10 miles Roxburghshire, Berwickshire
Lauder to Longformacus 15 miles Berwickshire
Longformacus to Cockburnspath 17 miles Berwickshire

Parallel and connecting paths

The Sir Walter Scott Way runs through the shires along the Tweed and like the Soutyhern Upland Way it visits St Mary's Loch, Traquair, Galashiels, Lauder and Longformacus.

The Annandale Way[1] running through Annandale from the source of the River Annan to the sea meets the Southern Upland Way briefly at Beattock.[2]

John Dippie's Well

In the Lammermuir Hills, near Longformacus close to where the Way crosses the Watch Water, is John Dippie's Well. The well is marked by a carved stone "headstone" which tells that there is no sweeter water in the Lammermuir Hills. John Dippie was a gamekeeper and the reason the water was so sweet was that he added some whisky to it before the thirsty shooting parties slaked their thirsts. The "headstone" marks their appreciation.

Other trails nearby

The Middle Shires have many long distance routes through their rough fells, and amongst them are:

References

Books

  • Roger Smith. The Southern Upland Way, Official Guide. ISBN 0-11-495170-5. 
  • Writing the Way - A collection of Journeys along the Southern Upland Way, published to commemorate the 21st anniversary of the route in 2005, available from the Southern Uplands Partnership http://www.sup.org.uk or from http://www.suw21.com

Outside links

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about Southern Upland Way)
Long-distance footpaths in the United Kingdom

Cleveland WayCotswold WayGlyndŵr's WayGreat Glen WayHadrian's Wall PathIcknield WayNorth Downs WayNorfolk Coast PathOffa's Dyke PathPeddars WayPembrokeshire Coast PathPennine BridlewayPennine WayThe RidgewayScottish National TrailSouth Downs WaySouthern Upland WaySouth West Coast PathSpeyside WayThames PathUlster WayWest Highland WayYorkshire Wolds Way