A Day Out in... Galloway Forest, Scotland

Galloway Forest Park is thought to be the largest park in the UK, and the first in the UK to be designated as a dark sky park - a status it received in 2009. This means that on a clear night, there is no better place for stargazing! Even when it's cloudy, though, Galloway Forest has an abundance of offerings. We visited a handful of them today, on a mini road trip!

This morning's adventures started at Kirroughtree Visitor Centre near Newton Stewart, which is easily accessible from the A75, and houses a café (serving Lavazza coffee), a bike shop, walking trails and the 7Stanes Kirroughtree biking trails. There is parking (charges apply), toilets, and a children's play area, and dogs are welcome to join!

After a quick coffee stop, we got back on the road, and had to come to a sudden stop when I got over excited by an awesome waterfall! The Grey Mare's Tail waterfall is very impressive, and the river it flows in to is just beautiful. There's a small parking spot by the waterfall, and this is also the starting point for the Murray's Monument walk. The monument dates back to the late 1800s, and was erected for a local shepherd boy, who became a Professor of Oriental Languages at Edinburgh University. His birthplace is actually not far from the monument, but we didn't stop today as the weather took a turn for the worse!

After the abrupt stop, we continued on to the Wild Goat Park. Unfortunately, the goats didn't seem to been keen on the Scottish weather, and they stayed hidden! There are around 80 goats within the goat park, according to the information, of which we saw approximately zero!! There are no facilities at the goat park, but it's only 15 minutes from Kirroughtree Visitor Centre, and parking here is free. From the park you can spot the awesome Murray's Monument, which looked super eerie and atmospheric today, nestled in the hills, trees and clouds.

Moving on from the Wild Goat Park, we reached the main attraction of the day... Red Deer Range! This place never seems to be busy, despite the fact that parking and entry is free, and it's such an incredible place! There were no cars there when we turned up, and the deer were all hanging out nearby the hide. The deer are all very friendly, and are obviously used to being near to people. The range was established in 1977 and is home to around 25 deer. You're welcome to bring food for the deer, but please, please stick to fruit and veg, and make sure you don't overfeed them. I could honestly hang out in the deer hide all day watching them. Pre-Covid there were tours available, and from my understanding these will resume at some point, but there has been no further information released on this yet.

After a long while with the deer, we stopped for coffee and cake at Clatteringshaw's Loch and Visitor Centre. The cakes here are incredible - I had a Mars Bar Crispy and Mr opted for (the world's biggest slice of) chocolate orange Millionaire's shortbread. Around 1km from the Visitor's Centre is Bruce's Stone (one of many Bruce's Stones), where Robert the Bruce supposedly stopped to rest in 1307. The centre is also home to an abundance of bird feeders, and is a really lovely place to just stop and take in your surroundings.

At a Glance Information:

• Kirroughtree Visitor Centre

  • 🐶 Yes

  • 🚽 Yes

  • 🚗 Yes (charges apply from £2)

  • ///collides.goodnight.park

• Grey Mare's Tail Waterfall and Murray's Monument walk

  • 🐶 Yes, on leads

  • 🚽 No

  • 🚗 Yes, free

  • ///encloses.divides.expert

• Wild Goat Park

  • 🐶 Yes, on leads, but do not let reactive dogs near the fences

  • 🚽 No

  • 🚗 Yes, free

  • ///shopping.gloom.entitles

• Red Deer Range

  • 🐶 Yes, on leads, but do not let reactive dogs near the fences

  • 🚽 No

  • 🚗 Yes, free

  • ///melons.proof.comforted

• Clatteringshaw's Visitor Centre

  • 🐶 Yes

  • 🚽 Yes

  • 🚗 Yes (charges apply from £1.50)

  • ///goal.heartened.sponsors