Adventures in Galloway and Yorkshire
Our refreshment stop at Cruggleton Castle offered stunning vistas.
What a crazy few weeks – stunning crisp blue sky days, torrential downpours and gales – we’ve had it all! And, that’s what my first overseas client of 2026 experienced on his 2-days of walking in Galloway in February. We had a cool crisp morning as we set off from Garlieston village for a walk out along the shore, around Rigg Bay, and up onto the cliff path out to Cruggleton Castle.
There was a sprinkling of snow on the higher tops (Cairnsmore of Fleet) and a bit of frost on the ground in the village but the frost soon melted as the sun came out. There was a breeze with us all day, but the clear blue sky and sunshine made for marvelous walking conditions. With views across to Cumbria and the Lake District hills and across the sea to the Isle of Man, our refreshment stop at Cruggleton Castle offered stunning vistas.
Unfortunately day 2 was at the other end of the scale; heavy rain, sleet at one point and strong winds. The sun peaked out at us for about 10 minutes as we made our way through Knockman Wood to Boreland Cairn and on up to the top of Knockman Hill. It wasn’t cold, just wet, with lots of water on the path making for some interesting small stream crossings. Sadly my client did not get to see the stunning views from Knockman Hill.
Since then I’ve had some great outings to The Dornells, the coast path at Brighouse Bay, Torrs Point near Kirkcudbright, Threave Gardens and Estate, and it was a great pleasure to introduce a group of local walkers to Newlaw Hill near Dundrennan, a place they had never visited before.
I also ventured further afield to visit some places I had not been before.
I took advantage of a last minute Weekly Sale Special for a 7-day Guided Walking Holiday in Yorkshire with HF Holidays. It was a great opportunity to visit the tourist hot spots of Malham Cove, Malham Tarn, Janet's Foss Waterfall, Goredale Scar and Ingleborough Cave at a quieter time of year (2 of us had the Cave to ourselves!).
That combined with 5-days of magnificent walking in the Yorkshire Dales and on the moors was very relaxing.
The weather was a treat; never used my rain jacket once!
Come departure day an overnight storm had brought snow on the tops in Yorkshire and on the ground in the villages of the Eden Valley, but that made for a magical train journey home along the Settle-to Carlisle railway.
It was a great trip but it's always good to get home to Galloway; it's a special place.
If you’d like to explore somewhere new in Galloway why not join me on one of my Small Group Scheduled Walks or book your own Tailored or Bespoke Walk.
