Hill walk routes to climb in SW Scotland - also coastal paths and National Scenic Areas with maps, pictures and other useful information based on extensive local knowledge

The Lochs route onto Merrick (Page 1)
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The picture on the right shows the ascent up from the parking place by Bruce's Stone, round the front of Buchan Hill, to reach the Gairland Burn valley which you will follow up to Loch Neldricken where the Gairland runs out of.
The mouseover shows the route for the start of the walk and two alternative ways of finishing it, by coming down the Buchan Burn or by coming over the top of Bennan and Eshoncan. Of course you could do the routes in reverse if you chose to.
To see a map of this route click here.
Heading round the shoulder of Buchan Hill with Loch Trool in the background
The picture below shows the route emerging from the Gairland Burn Valley and coming up past the lochs. It also shows the alternative ways of descending mentioned above.
The Awful Hand from the Dungeon Hills
To go to Buchan Hill Route page click here.
Two routes are shown superimposed on the picture above: The Lochs route (in green) and the Buchan Hill Ridge route (in Yellow). Both routes return by Benyellary and both offer the option of either descending by the Buchan Burn or over Bennan and Eschoncan.
Heading up the Gairland Burn with the Buchan Ridge on the left and the start of the Rig of the Jarkness on the right. The source of the Gairland Burn as it runs out of Loch Valley.
The picture above shows the valley of the Gairland Burn with the Buchan Hill Ridge on the left and the start of the Rig of the Jarkness on the right. The picture above shows the Gairland running out of Loch Valley, and the picture below left shows this same point as viewed from the Buchan Hill ridge on a quite different day.
Loch Valley from the Buchan Ridge The "Murder Hole" on Loch Neldricken
The Loch on the left above is Loch Valley, with the approaches to Craignaw and the Dungeon hills to the left of it. The Rig of the Jarkness lies to the right of the loch (immediately above the figure), and leads on up to Craiglea at the far end of the ridge. The lochs on the right are the Long Loch and the Round Loch of Glenhead. The picture above brings us back onto our route again and shows the notoreous Murder Hole corner of Loch Neldricken where unsuspecting travellers were once despatched - though this local legend is dismissed by some authorities. Buchan Hill ridge is above the loch and Merrick can be seen beyond the ridge.
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