11 As we start to head east along the Rig of the Jarkness keep to the northern edge to get these views of loch and hill - Loch Valley and Craignaw in the picture above (where we are looking north). Notice the stone sitting on top of the other stone as it was left there by the melting glaciers of the last ice age. I know this picture was taken in the month of May but the boulders are not actually mating and the rest of the boulders grazing quietly around are not part of his herd either.
You can see plenty of other scattered boulders (erratics) not only in these pictures but anywhere on the rig - it is one of special bonuses of this walk - they have their own sense of humour making a truly erratic landscape - as you will see. See the web page on Bennan near the Merrick for some other interesting geological features in Galloway.
The picture below shows the view west to Benyellary (on the left) and the Merrick (on the right) which are the two southernmost hills on the Awful Hand ridge. Together these two hills make the characteristic shape which will be with us most of the day and that you can see from as far away as Criffel in the Nith Valley.