Lock Ken, Galloway Forest Park, Scotland (VisitScotland)
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Why Go To Galloway Forest Park?
Get away from the hubbub of modern life with a visit to the Galloway Forest Park, nestling unshoutily is this overlooked corner of south-west Scotland. Just some of many things you can do in the Galloway Forest Park that you can't do anywhere else...
See more trees than you've ever seen before - it's Britain's biggest forest
Hike up marvellous Merrick and the other peaks of the Awful Hand range
Stargaze in one of Britain's best (darkest) locations for viewing the cosmos
Have a good yomp along the Southern Upland Way, one of Britain's great long-distance walking routes
Want to find out more? Read on for great photos, articles, videos, top tips and other content to fire up your adventure appetite. Got a question? Ask away.
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The "Highlands of the Lowlands" are spread over 300 square miles of wild beauty with lots of forest, lochs and moorland rising up to the grandeur of Merrick (the park's highest point at 843m) and the other 'fingers' of the Awful Hand range, the Rhinns of Kells (a wonderful ridgeline) and Cairnsmore of Fleet (711m). They do name things very well in these parts. Merrick is also home to the Grey Man, a wonderfully anthropomorphic bit of rock.
Galloway Forest Park is also an internationally recognised Dark Sky Park (which is to say it's really very dark at night, which happens to be great for seeing stars). The Southern Upland Way passes right through, and Loch Ken, bordering the south-western edge of the park, is a top watersports spot too.
The Grey Man of Merrick, Galloway Forest Park (Allan Devlin Photography)
The essential journey, not just in the Galloway Forest Park but across the southern part of Scotland is the Southern Upland Way. One of Scotland's "great trails" (same as a "national trail" in England and Wales), it is one of Britain's great long-distance walking routes.
Getting To Galloway Forest Park, Maps & Guides
Getting there: An hour’s drive from Glasgow
Travel times from where you are: See Galloway Forest Park on Google Maps.
Maps: Find the right Ordnance Survey maps and / or get a month's free subscription to their excellent OS Maps app.
Guidebooks: Bradt's Guide to Dumfries & Galloway.
Walking route guidance: Walking Highlands and the Southern Upland Way.
Tourist board: Forestry Commission Scotland site.
Even More Galloway Forest Park Adventure Inspiration
Loch Trool, Galloway Forest Park, Scotland (VisitScotland)
Some reading / watching suggestions, just for you...
Outside Online's slightly niche Global Top 10 Hiking Trails After Dark
The Great Outdoors Magazine's article on Galloway Forest Park's Awful Hand range
What Next?
Click here to see 49 other Great British adventure locations and tell us about your adventures, plans and suggestions for these pages.
Britain's Best Outdoorsy Bits... Mapped!
Liking what you see, but fancy keeping it old school with an actual paper map? Our Joyously Busy Great British Adventure Map features all of Britain's best outdoorsy bits (including the Top 50), plus some enjoyably random and vaguely useful stuff too. Available either as a 2-sided fold-out map or a framed wall map (office furniture and fake plants not included).
