Newton Stewart & Galloway Forest Park

About 18 miles north-west of Gatehouse Of Fleet on the A75 is Newton Stewart on the banks of the River Cree and the area north of that is the Galloway Forest Park.  Newton Stewart has few visitor attractions but is an ideal place as a base for walkers, cyclists and anglers (salmon and trout fishing) visiting the Galloway Forest Park.  An unusual exhibition is that of the Sophie's Puppenstube and Dolls' House Museum near the market square and there are 11th century engraved graves in Monigaff Church.  The main hotels are the Creebridge House Hotel and the Bruce Hotel.  Buses run to Dumfries, Stranraer, Girvan (in Ayrshire) and the Isle Of Whithorn and the tourist office is in Dashwood Square.

The Galloway Forest Park is a beautiful area of hills, woodland and lochs covering an area of 300 square miles.  It is a walker's paradise with a range of walks from the gentle to the more strenuous and the park is dissected by part of the Southern Upland Way.    The A712 passes through the park between Newton Stewart and New Galloway - known as the Queen's Way.  It is worth stopping at the Grey Mare Tail's Bridge, about 7 miles east of Newton Stewart, to explore the network of woodland walks, and later at the Galloway Red Deer Range for a guided walk to view the deer.  The road passes Clatteringshaws Loch where the Clatteringshaws Visitor Centre provides interesting information about the local natural habitat and species, including the red kite.  From the Centre, you can walk the 14 miles around the loch or to Bruce's Stone where Robert The Bruce is reputed to have rested after defeating the English at the Battle of Rapploch Moss in 1317.  Taking the A714 north out of Newton Stewart up the western edge of the Forest Park, there is a track (popular with cyclists) from Bargrennan to Glen Trool, the Glen Trool Visitor Centre and the amazing views at Loch Trool.  There is a wide range of walks in this area, including a hike up the 842-metre Merrick hill and part of the Southern Upland Way which leads to Clatteringshaws Loch.  The nearest hotels are the Lochinvar Hotel at St. John's Town of Dalry and the Leamington House Hotel at New Galloway.  Buses run from Dumfries, Castle Douglas and Ayr.

Our cottages:

Red Cottage, Drumlamford Estate Near Barhill Sleeps: 4, Bedrooms: 2

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