One of the Pretty Woodland Walks at Corsewall Estate
Dumfries and Galloway in south west Scotland is blessed with a huge range of walks to enjoy during your stay at one of our self-catering cottages – from the spectacular garden and woodland walks in Castle Kennedy to those along the coast and upland ones in the Galloway hills.
Corsewall Estate Woodland Walks and Coastal Paths
Over the past year, we’ve been busy in our little corner of South West Scotland creating a host of magnificent woodland paths and coastal walks around Corsewall Estate for guests to enjoy during their stay.
The Corsewall Loop walk takes you through the historic policy woodlands – originally laid out to represent the British Army’s dispositions at the Battle of Corunna of 1809 in Northern Spain. When you reach the top of the hill, catch your breath at one of the picnic benches which also provides fabulous views across the open farmland of the Rhins and onto Loch Ryan then out north and over to the Ailsa Craig and the Isle of Arran.
In spring, the woodland walks are thick with carpets of bluebells and in summer and the policy fields are full of wildflowers. The cows in the fields along the way are always keen to say hello (from the other side of the fence – if they’re not… they’ve escaped!).
Further north along the shores of Loch Ryan, but still on the Corsewall Estate, another new path now leads from Port Beg beach and hugs the coast round the rugged headland to Lady Bay – a pretty sandy beach with a craggy cove at the far end.
There are lots of different options for shortening the walks or lengthening them. Many guests comment that they love the new paths as they don’t need to drive anywhere to walk – it’s just a case of stepping outside and the walks are right on their doorstep.
You’ll find masses of wildlife spotting opportunities on the walks from roe deer, red squirrels to hares and in the spring, if you listen out, the chances are you’ll hear a noisy woodpecker and the wonderful sound of a cuckoo echoing around the woods.
Galloway Forest Park
The Galloway Forest Park offers three visitor centres close to Newton Stewart from where walkers can explore – Kirroughtree, Clatteringshaws and Glentrool. For the ambitious, head for the hills and tackle the Merrick – the south of Scotland’s highest peak. Alternatively, there are any number of clearly marked tracks of varying lengths that take you through spectacular Galloway scenery through woodlands, across moorland and by scenic lochs.
Southern Upland Way
The Southern Upland Way starts dramatically on the cliff tops at Portpatrick – which leads all the way from the west coast to Cockburnspath, just south of Edinburgh, on the east coast – some 212 miles.
Ayrshire Coastal Path
The recently established Ayrshire Coastal Path from Skelmorlie to the north to Glenapp in the south. Covering 100 miles of south West Scotland, it offers dramatic coast views and is teeming with wildlife. At Glenapp it joins into the Lochryan Coastal Path, which in turn leads onto Stranraer and Portpatrick, connecting to the Southern Upland Way.