Southern Upland Way

Distance	Approximate Time	Height Gain	OS Map
340 kms	15 - 20 days	1450 metres	Various Required

Description

The Southern Upland Way is one of four official Scottish long distance paths and is the longest in Scotland, running from Portpatrick in the West to Cockburnspath in the East. The Way crosses a wonderful mix of Southern Scottish terrain rising to over 700 metres in places, and includes coast, forest, farmland and hills as it traverses the country from coast to coast.

The route generally takes between 12 to 20 days to complete and there is a good range of accommodation along the way although some facilities such as shops can be widely spaced. Details of these can be found on the official re-launched website at www.southernuplandway.gov.uk.

After leaving the west coast the route heads through the heart of the Galloway hills, across the high moors of the Lowther Hills, past the Moffat Hills and St Mary's Loch to the River Tweed. From the Tweed the route then crosses the moors around Lauder before a gentler farmland section leads to the coast. The route follows paths throughout, is fully waymarked and is managed by a dedicated ranger service.

It's also possible to walk the Way in smaller chunks on a day walk if you prefer. To encourage even more people to enjoy the delights and diversity of southern Scotland, Scottish Natural Heritage and local councils along the Way have published booklets describing over 60 short walks which take the Way as their starting point. Perfect for visitors to the Borders wanting to get a flavour of the countryside and for people living along the Way to explore the countryside that surrounds them.

Some examples of these shorter routes include the Circuit of Loch Trool, which takes in the Bruce's Stone, Portpatrick to Black Head lighthouse at the start of the walk and an ascent of the Three Brethren near Caddonfoot to name just a few.

To download a copy of this guide online visit the Southern Upland Way website or to receive copies by post, email rangers@scotborders.gov.uk.

Access Info

The route begins in Portpatrick in the far south-west of Scotland and ends in Cockburnspath on the east coast of the Scottish Borders. To find out more about accessing the start and finish points via public transport visit the Southern Upland Way website Getting Here page.

There's also an Interactive Map facility on the new Southern Upland Way to allow you to plan your route easily.

Additional Info

An Official guidebook (cover shown above) has been produced by publishers Mercat Press and is available online by clicking this link The Southern Upland Way Official Guide.