"The Galloway Hills are covered wi' broom, Wi' heather bells in bonnie bloom," says the song. There are also bare granite slabs, silver lochs (lakes), wild goats and three mountains over 750m. The ground has small paths, if any, and its central section around Loch Enoch is tough indeed. Around the rim, the Awful Hand, the Rhinns of the Kells, and the Minnigaff Hills, offer high grassy ridges that are almost as rewarding as, and very much quieter than, any in the Highlands or English Lakes. This little-known small range is a rugged and remote mountain treat for any serious hillwalker.
For gentler days out, the well-made Southern Upland Way crosses many of the slightly lower ranges. Away from that marked path, the Lowthers, Carsphairns, and (in the region's far east) the Ettricks, are grassy and mostly pathless. While the going is fairly easy, navigation can be challenging. The reward is the 'cleuchs' and 'scars', the little rocky hollows and waterfalls, that decorate the hillsides.
Scattered along the Solway coast are smaller, but more rugged, hills such as Screel and Criffel. Also rewarding are coastal walks, looking across to the Lake District or the Isle of Man. These tend to be unmarked and quite rough, but often very beautiful – especially so in frosty days of winter.
For a gentler walking experience, there are waymarked trails in many forestry commission plantations. Perhaps the most rewarding of these are at Mabie Forest, south of Dumfries, and at (privately-owned) Drumlanrig Castle in Nithsdale.
