Southern Upland Way (Western Section) – 8 Nights

Quick Facts

About & Details

Itinerary

• Day 1 - Arrive in Portpatrick

  Arrive at your accommodation in Portpatrick.

• Day 2 – Portpatrick to Castle Kennedy

  A gentle coastal path starts your adventure, you will meander along cliff tops, visit small coves and beaches before heading inland at the lighthouse of Killantringan. Soon the landscape starts to open up and you experience the wildness of Broad Moor. Bypassing Stranraer, narrow lanes and tracks take you into Castle Kennedy and your accommodation.

  22km (14m), 350m (1200ft) of ascent

• Day 3 – Castle Kennedy to New Luce

  Leaving Castle Kennedy, you follow trails through woodland beside White Loch and Black Loch before coming to the edge of the stark Airyolland Moss. Crossing the Water of Luce, you come to the moorland of Kilhern Moss, which is just as barren. You leave the trail to descend into New Luce for tonight’s accommodation.

  15km (9 miles), 300m (900ft) of ascent

• Day 4 – New Luce to Bargrennan

  Today will be a long walk with lots of interesting sights, to help you on the way. On leaving New Luce, look out for the Loups of Barnhangan waterfall on the Cross Water of Luce. You start to climb into the hills where you will see Beehive Bothy and the prehistoric standing stones of Laggangarn. You will cross the 1000ft (304.8m) contour line for the first time as you reach the summit of Craig Airie. You will get a magnificent view of the distant Galloway Hills which is where you are heading. Be warned, you won’t see a road for about 23km. (14.3 miles). Continue onwards to Bargrennan where you will find your accommodation.

  29km (18 miles), 450m (1500ft) of ascent

• Day 5 – Bargrennan to Craigenbay (Pick up point 1)

  Lochs, woodland and open moorland await you today. You start in the woodland, following the River Cree, before turning to follow the Water of Minnoch and finally the Water of Trool. As you reach the end of Loch Trool, a mountainous vista welcomes you. Welcome to the Galloway Hills. A steep climb lies ahead up to Loch Dee. From here it is woodland trail walking to Craigenbay, passing the reservoir of Loch Clatteringshaws, to be collected for your overnight stay.

  29km (18 miles), 600m (2000ft) of ascent

• Day 6 - Craigenbay to Stroanpatrick (Pick up point 2)

  Your taxi will return you to where you finished your walk yesterday.

  The climb over Low Benbrack is your starting point today, before heading out into the mountains and all their splendour. From Waterside Hill, you get a really good view of St John’s Town of Dalry, which you pass through before embarking on the last leg to Stroanpatrick, where you will be collected for your overnight stay.

  25km (16 miles), 550m (1900ft) of ascent

• Day 7 – Stroanpatrick to Sanquhar

  Your taxi will return you to where you finished your walk yesterday.

  Today will probably be the most challenging walk of the Southern Upland Way. Make sure you take extra provisions as the way ahead is very remote. You will summit Benbrack at 580m (1902ft) with the Striding Arch sculpture. Look out for more sculptures as you traverse this area. The paths are mainly good and there are lots of opportunities to take in the spectacular 360⁰ views. You are back to civilization as you reach the village of Ulzieside and on to Sanquhar where you will spend the evening.

  29km (18 miles), 700m (2300ft) of ascent

• Day 8 - Sanquhar to Overfingland, Dalveen Pass (Pick up point 3)

  It’s a relatively easy start to your days walking with the Way taking you over the lower, rolling hills of the Lowther Range with steep sided valleys before descending Glengaber into the Wanlock valley and on to Wanlockhead, famous for its lead mining industry. From here it is a steep climb to the summit of Lowther Hill at 712m (2335ft), followed by Cold Moss 628m (2060ft), Comb Head 609m (1998ft) and on to Laght Hill 507m (1663ft) before dropping down onto the A702 at Overfingland. Your taxi will be here to take you to your overnight accommodation.

  21km (13 miles), 1000m (3400ft) of ascent

• Day 9 - Overfingland, Dalveen Pass to Beattock/Moffat

  Your taxi will return you to where your walk finished yesterday.

  After the exciting walk of yesterday, today’s walk might feel a bit ‘uninspiring’ but you will bag the summit of Sweetshaw Brae at 448m (1469ft), which overlooks the vast Daer Reservoir and witness some good views back to the Lowther Hills before trekking through the forestry plantations into Beattock. This is where this section of your adventure finishes, unless you have booked accommodation for an extra night with us. Safe onward travel and well done!

  24km (15 miles) + Moffat 2.1km (1.3 miles), 550m (1900ft) of ascent

Notes:

This itinerary is a guide only. Timings and mileages are approximate.

We will always endeavour to accommodate you in the locations detailed in the above itinerary. Due to very high demand, some accommodation providers may occasionally have limited availability and so we may need to accommodate you in an alternative location, nearby. In this case, we will arrange a taxi transfer for you to take you from the trail to your accommodation and back again the following morning. An additional charge may be payable. We will notify you of this when confirming your booking.

The Route

Reviews

Find some of the reviews our wonderful customers have left for us below, or read them all here!

Heather Parr
3 months ago

Maximum Adventure exceeded expectations, planning a trip for me last minute and off season through the glorious Lake District. The hotels were top rate, as was the food and my daily gluten free sandwich. Nathalie got the route guide sent to me in a couple of days and the baggage service was impeccable. It was the only tour guide company that responded immediately to my last minute request. Looking forward to more adventures with your company!!!

Chris Evans
3 months ago

David and I walked the Speyside Way in September 2023 and very much enjoyed the adventure. Maximum Adventure Ltd organised our nightly accommodation and uplifting of our luggage in a seamless manner, which made the whole trip so easy with no stress. This is the second time that I have personally used Maximum Adventures Ltd and I would recommend them to others as they offer a friendly and efficient service.

Göte Fredriksson
4 months ago

We realy appreciated the tour we did on Hadrians Wall path in May.Beautiful scenery, decent weather, god arrangements including lodging, transport, bagagehandling etc. We came well prepared . In this preparation Maximum adventures gave us great support, as we are coming from abroad with no knowledge of conditions on the path. We had great BnBs and could concentrate on de daily walks that gave us great pleasure.Thank you England and Hadrians Wall path for your friendly reception and well mantained walking path.Thank you Maximum Adventures for your good service.We would love to come back in the future.

Jerry Kashinski
4 months ago

Maximum Adventure did a great job for us. With less than a month's notice, it set up an itinerary, lodging and luggage porterage for a walk from Carlisle to Newcastle, England along Hadrian's Wall. The lodging was fantastic, as was the itinerary and support during the walk. We'd definitely use Maximum Adventure again and would recommend them without reservation!

Fiona Reilly
5 months ago

I was part of a climb on 23/09, didn't think I would make ut, but I did. The descent was a different story.. I got jelly legs and lost my confidence. If it wasn't for James, my Sherpa would never have made it. Can't thank him enough, Will, met you briefly.Both of them were very knowledgeable, we had the most amazing views at the summit...the pain is still worth it and

Tom Graham
5 months ago

I walked the West Highland Way with my dad and brother. The organisation was excellent by Samantha. Itinerary and instructions were clear and all the bookings and luggage transfers went smoothly. As a result we were able to ensure the fantastic walk and not worry about anything. I would happily recommend Maximum Adventure to others.

Sarah Bracken
5 months ago

Absolutely brilliant guide - knowledgeable, interesting and humorous in addition to looking after our safety so well - making sure we ate and suggesting when to layer up! Would highly recommend!

Diana Straub
6 months ago

We just got home from our 8-days Hadrian's Wall hike and we just loved it!Everything was perfectly organized!We had great B&Bs and hotels with very friendly, welcoming and helpful staff. Our favorite was the Dacre House with Clare. But then again, all were great!The luggage was always at the day's destination, no matter how early we got to the accommodation.The description of how to get to the accommodations were clear and precise.The road map and the guide book were waiting for us as we got to the first B&B and were very helpful and interestingThanks, Maximum Adventure!

Kristin Hentschel
6 months ago

Praise for the West Highland Hike and the Maximum Adventure planners, esp. our planner Samantha. Great experience in every regard.

Simon Bradish
6 months ago

Booked for the 3 UK Peaks adventure, it was organised perfectly and everything when to plan. Accommodation was good, transport excellent, our guide (Patrick) brilliant, so cannot fault the trip and adventure. I personally expected too much from myself and was unable to fully summit as this adventure is not for beginners, I climbed Kilimanjaro in 2003 when I was 42 and twenty years later, although relatively fit, my endurance didn't last. So I did a half summit for Ben Nevis & Scafell, thanks to Patrick for letting go back down on my own, it was brilliant. With Snowdon, a half summit is tricky as you can't descend the way you go up, so I decided to do some hiking in the area while the rest of the group did the climb. I took a chance and went to the ticket office and managed to get a single return ticket up to the summit of Snowdon at 9am which returned down by 11.30am. I was hoping to see my group on top and spring a surprise but the weather was terrible. I highly recommend the trip but make sure you are fit enough otherwise as there is an emphasis on time, so a slow walk up is going to slow everyone down and really delay the trip. Have Fun, Simon Bradish