Walking around Kirkcudbright Click Here to view Printer friendly page.
Barhill Wood.  Woodland paths & farmland.	from 1 to 3  miles.  Some circular routes

Through woods, pasture and minor roads-optional.

Woodland - easy; farmland - rough pasture; steps and stiles.

These walks, on footpaths through Barhill Wood, on the east side of the town, combine a variety of interesting routes of varying length.  There are occasional glimpses over the town and across the Dee Estuary to the Galloway Hills beyond. Follow the signs to the Caravan Park, by turning at the cross roads of St. Mary Street with High Street, near the Museum.   Go along, past the Hospital, and up Silvercraigs Road. There is a roadside footpath up to the Caravan Park, a distance of  ¼ mile.

Barhill Wood is accessed  from the corner of Woodlands Avenue, near the entrance to the Caravan Park, by means of a short footpath and a stile.  At the start of the walks there is a Forestry Notice Board. The walk distances are measured from this start point.

Alternatively, access can be made by the forestry track into the wood at the junction of the B727 Gelston Road, and the minor road; where there is limited car parking on the outside of the sharp bend.  (The B727 starts at the Royal Hotel.) The paths meandering through the Wood are generally firm and easy-going. The trees are mainly deciduous with a mix of some conifers, allowing the vegetation and flowers to flourish in the springtime. There are seats and a picnic area. Barhill Walk, ¾ mile - the red route, has  vantage points giving fine views over Kirkcudbright and the Galloway Hills beyond. Viewpoint Walk, 1¼ miles - the white route, is a pleasant forest walk providing several viewpoints.  Left click on photos to enlarge. Seven Stiles Walk, 1½ miles - the yellow route, goes through Barhill Wood to the fields beyond, and  out onto a track leading from Low Kirkland.  The exit from the wood is by a kissing gate into the first field 1.  Follow the outline of a path curving round to the left behind some gorse bushes to another gate back into the wood.  Follow the path straight through the wood to a stile into the second field 2.  Cross the stile and head across some rough pasture, skirting bushes, to a tractor track leading up to a gate and stile.  (Aim for a point midway between the cottage on the right and the end of the treeline on the left.) 3. 1 2 3 Climb over the stile, and turn left and walk a short distance to the minor road. Turn left and walk down this road for ¼  mile to join the B727 road leading into town, past the cemetery. There is a footpath alongside this road on the length from the cemetery to the town.  Opposite the cemetery, turn left along the unmade Silvercraigs Road back to the start point in Woodlands Avenue.                                            top

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