Avandra Field Guide · Southern Scotland, Scotland
The SW300: The Rhins of Galloway, Culzean and the Galloway Forest
9
nights
240
km driving
4
challenges
1,025
XP to earn
9
nights
240
km driving
4
challenges
1,025
XP to earn
Follow in the footsteps of Gemma and Campbell, the hosts of Highlands2Hammocks, on the stretch of the SW300 that sits on their own doorstep. This is a section of the route rather than the full three hundred miles: three nights on the shore of the Rhins of Galloway with the waves audible from the pitch, three beside the Culzean estate on the Ayrshire coast, then inland to a loch with a castle on it that was taken down and rebuilt stone by stone. The last stretch is the Galloway Forest — Britain's first Dark Sky Park — with a river pool at Stinchar Bridge, Bruce's Stone above Loch Trool, and a night at the red deer range where the stags come up to the hide window. Late April is quiet: New England Bay had been open about three weeks and the waterfront pitches were still free.
Starts at the ferry in Cairnryan
Best from April, May, June and September
240 km of driving in total, about 4 hours over 9 days
A Creator Trail
Follow in the footsteps of Gemma and Campbell, the hosts of Highlands2Hammocks, on the stretch of the SW300 on their own doorstep, which they drove in late April into May. A Scottish couple who travel by van with their young daughter and are straight about what goes wrong on the way. They write the SW300 guidebook and hire campervans out at home.
The route and the stop notes come from their trip, across 2 videos; prices are what they paid at the time. They drove it in a motorhome with a rear garage, so the access notes assume that length.
Edited by Avandra
Days 1–3 · 3 nights
New England Bay and the Rhins of Galloway
22 km · 20 min from Stranraer, where the SW300 meets the Rhins
South down the Rhins from Stranraer.
Base camp · 3 nights
New England Bay Caravan and Motorhome Club Campsite
4.6
539 Google reviews
Waterfront pitches along the shore; electric hookup and a good toilet block. Poor mobile signal
Editor's note
A big site strung along the shore, with pitches close enough that you hear the waves at high tide and the beach about ten seconds from the step. In late April it had been open roughly three weeks and the waterfront was still free to choose from. Two practical things: leave a cone on your pitch if you drive out for the day or you may come back to find it taken, and do not rely on the old chemical disposal point in the car park outside the site — it is out of order, so use the campsite's own. The Rhins is easy touring — Port Logan is a couple of minutes across the peninsula with a big car park and white sand, and there is an honesty box at Ardwell selling tablet with a QR code to pay by. Be careful which single-track roads you commit to: several run for miles and finish somewhere too tight to turn a motorhome.
What brought them here
Days 4–6 · 3 nights
Culzean
86 km · 1 h 19 min from New England Bay and the Rhins of Galloway
North up the Ayrshire coast.
Base camp · 3 nights
Culzean Castle Camping and Caravanning Club Site
4.7
645 Google reviews
Walking distance into the Culzean estate; on-site shop, grass for awnings, sea views to Arran
Editor's note
Close enough to walk into the Culzean estate, which is the point — the castle has its ground and top floors open, and the grounds run to walled gardens, forest walks and a lot of space to let children loose. The site faces the sea with Arran across the water and, in the sun, everybody sits outside in a way that feels more continental than Scottish. The name is said Cull-ain, which is worth knowing before you ask directions.
Days 7–8 · 2 nights
Loch Doon
43 km · 54 min from Culzean
Inland and south-east into the hills. Their own run broke here for a fortnight at home, with a night at a park-up near Cumnock on the way back in — no detail given, so it is not a stop on this guide.
Base camp · 2 nights
Loch Doon Caravan & Camping Park
4.8
191 Google reviews
£20 a night, hardstanding with electric · Septic system — green or bio toilet fluid only, no standard blue. Loch about 100 m away
Editor's note
Hardstanding with the view straight down the loch, and a shower block in a Portakabin that is far better than that sounds. It looks full because of the year-round statics and it is not. Fire pits are allowed on the gravel as long as they are raised off the ground. The castle is along the shore: an eleven-sided curtain wall of the late 13th century that stood on an island until the loch was raised in the 1930s, then was taken down and rebuilt here. Go at the end of the day for the light down the water, and watch for lambs on the road in spring.
Also within reach
Day 9 · day stop
Stinchar Bridge
29 km · 41 min from Loch Doon
South-west on the forest roads.
Stop · day stop
Stinchar Bridge, Galloway Forest
Roadside parking at the bridge; the river pool is a short way off the road
Editor's note
A river pool right by the road in the middle of the forest, and the reason to stop. The rocks are slippery and the deeper water is over on the far side, so get in carefully rather than confidently. The Stinchar Falls trail starts from the same place if you want to put a walk around the swim.
Walks from camp
Day 9 · day stop
Glen Trool and Bruce’s Stone
21 km · 31 min from Stinchar Bridge
Down out of the forest to the head of Loch Trool.
Stop · day stop
Glentrool village
Park at the Glen Trool visitor centre or the larger car parks past it
Editor's note
Bruce's Stone marks Robert the Bruce's victory here and sits above Loch Trool in one of Scotland's best-preserved ancient oak woods, a short walk from the upper car park. The road matters more than the walk: the last kilometre up to the lower Bruce's Stone car park is narrow, winding and has no passing places, and it is no place to meet something coming down in a motorhome. Park at the visitor centre or one of the bigger car parks beyond it and walk the couple of kilometres in. It is busier than the setting suggests.
Also within reach
Kirroughtree: Granite Singletrack Above the Cree
300 XPRide the graded trails from the Kirroughtree visitor centre
16.4 km from camp
About 3.5 h
Wigtown: Scotland's National Book Town
225 XPAttend at least three events at the Wigtown Book Festival, which began in 1999 and is the second largest in Scotland
24.3 km from camp
About 5 h
Day 9 · 1 night
The Red Deer Range at Clatteringshaws
39 km · 32 min from Glen Trool and Bruce’s Stone
East along the A712 past Clatteringshaws Loch.
Park-up · 1 night
Galloway Red Deer Range, the Queen’s Way
Forestry and Land Scotland Stay the Night — £7, or £10 where there is chemical disposal, paid by app · Self-contained vehicles only, one night, 6 pm to 10 am. No fires or barbecues
Editor's note
A night in the forest under the Stay the Night scheme, which is one night only and self-contained vans only — in by six, out by ten, and no fires. The red deer range is the reason to be here: the stags come right up to the hide window, and you can feed them carrots or other vegetables through it, nothing else. This is the end of the section they filmed; the rest of the SW300 loop carries on east towards Dumfries and the Solway.
Also within reach
Threave: The Black Douglas Tower on Its Island
225 XPRing the bell and take the boat to Threave Castle
24.5 km from camp
About 3.5 h
Spring to autumn only
Kirkcudbright: The Artists' Town
250 XPVisit the Kirkcudbright Galleries, in the former town hall, opened on 12 July 2018 in 'the Artists' Town' where the Glasgow Boys and the Scottish Colourists settled from the 1880s
28.3 km from camp
About 4 h
The Galloway Kite Trail: Red Kites Over Loch Ken
300 XPFollow the Galloway Kite Trail through New Galloway and Crossmichael, watching for red kites over Loch Ken
6.7 km from camp
About 4 h
Finish the guide, earn 1,025 XP
4 challenges across 6 stops.
Carry on with…
These start close to where this one finishes, after 9 nights, so you can keep going.