Walk 11 - Kirroughtree Forest walking and hiking route

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.

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.