Walk 11 - Kirroughtree Forest walking and hiking route
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Walk Instructions
Start: At the Kirroughtree car park (Pay & Display)
Refreshments: Café and visitor centre next to the car park
An interesting and varied walk around trails in
Kirroughtree Forest Park. Kirroughtree is part
of Galloway Forest Park and has recently been
developed to provide excellent facilities for
walking and mountain biking. This is a good
location for seeing red squirrels, roe deer and a
variety of woodland birds.
1. Drive up to Kirroughtree Forest Park visitor centre
by following the A75 towards Newton Stewart. The
turning to Kirroughtree is well signposted about 4
miles north of Creetown. You can pick up detailed
information on the forest trails at the Kirroughtree
visitor centre. The route described here follows the
Larg Hill trail. From the car park there is a short nature
trail called the “Wild Watch Trail”, to a hide where
there are feeders for birds and red squirrels.
To start the walk, go across in front of the visitor
centre and café to the trail head then turn left and
go under the bicycle wheel bridge to access the trail
up to Bruntis Loch. The trail winds up alongside the
burn and leads, in about half a mile, to the dam that
contains Bruntis Loch. At the far side of the dam
there is an interesting bridge that gives access to
the Gem Stane, a sculpture made from a 1.75 ton
piece of rose quartz.
2. Follow the waymarked trail up the left side of
Bruntis Loch before it winds its way up the east side
of Larg Hill on a series of forest trails. The trail then
turns north and skirts around Larg Hill before reaching
the edge of the forest and revealing views across the
valley towards Newton Stewart. Follow the trail all the
way around the west side of Larg hill until it comes
out on a minor road near a car park.
3. From the car park, you have the option of following
the waymarked Little Bruntis Trail back across to
Bruntis Loch. This is marked as the alternate route on
the map below.
Otherwise, follow the trail that keep just inside the
woods to the left of the minor road and descends
back towards the starting point. After about half a
mile look for a sign on the left for the Lade Link Route.
4. Follow this trail along the line of an old water
course that used to feed the lead mining activities in
this area. There are several boards along the route
with information about the history of the mining
activities. The Lade Link leads back to Bruntis Loch.
Just before the end of the Lade Link you should see a
couple of examples of Rosnes Benches down among
the trees to the right of the path.
5. The Rosnes Benches are an art installation in
12 locations throughout the Galloway Forest Park.
At each location there is a set of two or three oval
benches that are designed to allow an alternative
view of the natural features of the area. You can lie
on the benches to view the sky and the clouds or the
forest canopy. Some of them are at sites that offer
panoramic viewpoints over the surrounding area.
From Bruntis Loch you can follow the good track back
down to the visitor centre and café.
It would be a great help to future walkers if
you could record any inaccuracies you come across
during this walk and report them to reception so that
appropriate amendments can be made. Thank you
for your help. Happy walking.
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Disclaimer: This route was correct at time of writing. However, alterations can happen if development or boundary changes occur, and there is no guarantee of permanent access. These walks have been published for use by site visitors on the understanding that neither HPB Management Limited nor any other person connected with Holiday Property Bond is responsible for the safety or wellbeing of those following the routes as described. It is walkers' own responsibility to be adequately prepared and equipped for the level of walk and the weather conditions and to assess the safety and accessibility of the walk.
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