Scaur Hills

Scaur Glen from Cloud Hill near Polgown on the Southern Upland Way

The Scaur Hills are part of the Southern Uplands, and spread across the north of Kirkcudbrightshire between Nithsdale to the east and the dale of the Water of Ken in the west, beyond which are the Carsphairn Hills.

The Ordnance Survey use "Scar" rather than the local spelling of "Scaur" - the word is pronounced as "Scar" however.

Location

By comparison with the Galloway Hills and Lowther Hills, these hills are much less frequented or known about except by local folk, for whom the hills have a special place in the folk memories of the communities. There are also many more communities immediately around these hills than around either the Lowthers or the Galloway hills and what to call this hill area would be challenged strongly by these local communities who would each wish to claim the hills for their own. Being much more readily accessible and in general considerably less challenging than the neighbouring ranges these hills are much more lived in and used on a daily basis by the local communities. They are exploited on an altogether more casual basis, by communities which strongly identify with them.

Rivers

Trig point and spiral cairn on top of Cairnkinna with a squall coming in from the Lowthers

Water of Ken

Water of Ken rises just to the southeast of the watershed at Polskeoch; half a mile from the headwaters of Scaur Water, on the other side of the watershed. The Ken heads in a generally southern direction, its valley marking the separation of the Scaur Hills to the east from the Carsphairn Hills in the west. The Ken joins the Water of Deugh a mile and a half north of Kendoon power station (which is the second in a series of such power stations running all the way down through the Glenkens from Drumjohn near Loch Doon, to Tongland near Kirkcudbright. This series of power stations is called Galloway hydro-electric power scheme. The next two power stations are at Carsfad Loch and Earlstoun Loch with Water of Ken running through them to the fourth power station at Glenlee (less than a mile southwest of St John's Town of Dalry) and onward as far as Parton village on Loch Ken, where it is subsumed into the River Dee. The southern end of Loch Ken is shown with the alternative title of River Dee on the Ordnance Survey maps.

Dalwhat Water

This water runs south eastward to Moniaive close to which it meets the conjoined waters of Craigdarroch and Castlefairn Waters and becomes the River Cairn. The Cairn in turn is subsumed into the River Nith just outside Dumfries.

Shinnel Water

Shinnel Water rises in the Carsphairn Hills and runs southeastward to the Scaur Hills through the village of Tynron. It joins the Scaur Water just west of Penpont. The Scaur Water is subsumed into the River Nith some two miles south of Thornhill.

Scaur Water

This water rises on Blacklorg Hill, close to the source of the Water of Ken so that these two water systems taken together create a natural route through the southeast corner of these hills and the roads which run up into these glens almost meet - there is a gap of a mile with no road between Lorg on Water of Ken and Polskeoch on the Polskeoch Burn (which feeds Scaur Water). Scaur Water travels in a generally south eastward direction to Penpont.

Euchan Water and the Kello Water

These waters rise within a thousand yards of each other on the north east side of Blacklorg Hill. They both run north-eastward, the Euchan (pronounced Yochan) being subsumed into the River Nith just south of Sanquhar (close by the ruin of Sanquhar Castle) and the Kello into it at Kelloholm half a mile east of Kirkconnel.

River Nith

The River Nith rises half a mile southwest of Enoch Hill. It flows northward under the B741 at Nith Lodge roughly half way between Dalmellington and New Cumnock before swinging eastward. From New Cumnock it forms the boundary between the Lowther hills and Carsphairn/Scaur hills and the A76 travels down the valley created by it (Nithsdale). Just north of Thornhill is Drumlanrig Castle belonging to the Duke of Buccleuch.

Access to Scaur Hills

From the north

From Auchengibbert Hill past Tynron Doon to Nithsdale

From Sanquhar the Southern Upland Way heads southwest over gently rising moorland, before descending to Scaur Water at Polgown from whence it uses the minor road which follows Scaur Water to Polskeoch where there is a Mountain Bothies Association bothy (NS685018). From there the Way heads south to St John's Town of Dalry.

Coming in from the area of Mennock village, the route is again over gently rising moorland called Fardingmulloch Moor and here there is a good track to follow to just beyond the ruin of Fardingmulloch house. Beyond that the route continues on an old track over by Druidhill Burn to Scaur Water and Penpont. No doubt this would have been an ancient way through these hills since the route passes a fine earthwork by the Druidhill Burn (NS810014).

From the east

To the east of this ancient way from Mennock to Penpont the hills drop to a small glen which carries a minor road north from Penpont to Burnmouth on the River Nith. There are several places along this glen offering access into the Scaur hills.

Drumlanrig Castle, its grounds, and the many estate properties surrounding it lie on and around a low north/south carefully forested ridge between this glen and the west bank of the River Nith. There are several walking and cycling trails in these wood and river bank environs. This is good agricultural land and there are many minor roads through the low green hills serving the farming community in this most easterly part of the Scaur hills.

From the south and south east

Scaur hills near Glenmanna and Glenwhargen from Woodend Hill

In the south/south east, the valleys of Water of Ken, Dalwhat, Shinnel and Scaur Waters have roads running deep into the central hill area with active farming communities eating well into the hill area up these glens. Between the glens there are a series of ridges which gently increase in height towards the central area of the hills around Blacklorg and Polskeoch. These ridges make for easy, pleasant, but unspectacular walking except for the area near the head of Scaur Water where there is considerable visual interest among the cluster of low but shapely hills around Glenmanna, Glenwhargen Craig (1,581 feet) and Cairnkinna Hill the highest hill in this part of the hills at 1,811 feet.

Close to a mile east of the village of Tynron is Tynron Doon (948 feet), the site of an Iron Age fort occupied from pre-Christian times till the 16th century (NX819939).

Outside links

• Map of Scaur and Carsphairn hills on a hill walking site.
• BBC Scotland's archive of Robert Burns's poetic works

Further reading

• Atkinson, Tom (1982) South West Scotland Luath Press Barr Ayrshire
• MacLeod, Innes (2001) Where the Whaups are Crying (A Dumfries and Galloway Anthology) Birlinn Edinburgh ISBN 1-84158-149-6
• Oram, Richard (2000) The Lordship of Galloway John Donald Edinburgh ISBN 0-85976-541-5
• Temperley, Alan (1979) Tales of Galloway Mainstream Publishing ISBN 1-85158-026-3