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Thistle within hexagonSouthern Upland Way

Dumfries & Galloway, Borders, S Lanarkshire

344 km / 214 miles  View Facebook Page
One of the original four officially designated Long Distance Routes in Scotland, and now one of the family of Scotland's Great Trails, it provides a coast-to-coast traverse of southern Scotland by a varied path through sparsely populated terrain, generally avoiding the high tops. Across the Rhinns of Galloway and into Glen Trool Forest Park, passing below the Merrick (843m) it heads to Sanquhar, then, via the open, heather-clad Lowther Hills, it reaches St Mary's Loch near Broad Law. From here the Way passes through Melrose (where it can be linked with the St Cuthbert's Way), Lauder and over the foothills of the Lammermuir Hills to reach the east coast.

The route's website has extensive supporting information and leaflets for download.

The section between Moffat in South Central Scotland to Cockburnspath on the South East Scottish Coastline is promoted as the Sir Walter Scott Way, almost entirely coincident with the Southern Upland Way. This has been designed as a shorter option to add some additional literary interest to the longer route. Scott took inspiration from this countryside and it was where he spent much of his life.

West from Melrose, where the St Cuthbert's Way joins, the route is part of the E2 E-Route.

The reference in the 2009 Trailwalker Handbook to the route passing over the Merrick top is incorrect.

See also E-Routes (E2).


Details:

Waymark: Thistle within hexagon
Path Type: Scotland's Great Trails
Waymark: Thistle within hexagon
Attributes: Scotland's Great Trails
Challenging
Coast-to-Coast
Moorland
Literary
Start: NX000542 - Portpatrick, Dumfries & Galloway View on StreetMap
Finish: NT774710 - Cockburnspath, Borders View on StreetMap
Open Date: 1984
Web Sites: Dumfries and Galloway Council - Southern Upland Way Southern Upland Way ibook Walk Highlands - Scotland's Long Distance Walking Routes Scotland's Great Trails Rambling Man - Planning your Southern Upland Way Walk Brian's Walks - Southern Upland Way [blog] BBC South Scotland : In pictures: the Southern Upland Way Trailplanner - Southern Upland Way [blog] Trailman - Southern Upland Way [blog] Trailwalker - Southern Upland Way [blog] Exploring Scottish Trails - Southern Upland Way - Bargrennan to Portpatrick [blog] Exploring Scottish Trails - Southern Upland Way - Bargrennan to St. Johns Town of Dalry [blog] Exploring Scottish Trails - Southern Upland Way - St. Johns Town of Dalry to Wanlockhead [blog] Exploring Scottish Trails - Southern Upland Way - Wanlockhead to St. Mary's Loch [blog] Exploring Scottish Trails - Southern Upland Way - Lauder to St. Marys Loch [blog] Exploring Scottish Trails - Southern Upland Way - Cockburnspath to Lauder [blog] Camino Adventures - Guide to Walking the Southern Upland Way [blog] Undiscovered Scotland - Southern Upland Way Annierak - Southern Upland Way [blog]

Publications, Badges and Certificates:

Guidebook Walking the Southern Upland Way: Scotland's coast to coast trail  (Cicerone Press  - 2022 )
Guidebook Southern Upland Way & St Cuthbert's Way  (Mike Salter  - 2007 )
External download Dumfries and Galloway Council - Southern Upland Way : tree and shrub guide  (Dumfries and Galloway Council  - 2004 ) Download
External download Dumfries and Galloway Council - Southern Upland Way : geology guide  (Dumfries and Galloway Council  - 2000 ) Download
External download Dumfries and Galloway Council - Southern Upland Way : wildlife guide  (Dumfries and Galloway Council  - 2005 ) Download
Guidebook Writing the Way : a collection of journeys along the Southern Upland Way  (Southern Uplands Partnership  - 2005 )
Certificate Certificate for National Trails  (Long Distance Walkers Association )
Certificate Certificate for Southern Upland Way  (Dumfries and Galloway Council )
General Interest Book Big walks of the north  (Summersdale Publishers  - 2010 )
General Interest Book Big walks of Great Britain  (Summersdale Publishers  - 2007 )
External download Dumfries and Galloway Council - Southern Upland Way : the killing times  (Dumfries and Galloway Council ) Download
External download Southern Upland Way : an underused resource for southern Scotland? Executive summary, recommendations & conclusions  (Southern Uplands Partnership  - February 2005 ) Download
General Interest Book Tales from the Big Trails  (Vertebrate Publishing  - 2021 )
General Interest Book National Trails : 19 long-distance routes through England, Scotland and Wales  (Cicerone Press  - 2015 )

Click to showhide 10 more Publications, Badges and Certificates


Maps:

You can use the interactive controls to zoom in and out and to move around the map, or click on a path or a marker for more info.(interactive map help)

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E Routes
Scotland's Great Trails
Paths Marked on OS mapping
Other Paths

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Hostel Accommodation
B & B Accommodation
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Walkers are Welcome

Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2016.
© OpenStreetMap contributors under Open Database Licence.
Rights of way data from selected Local Authorities.
Large scale digital mapping is provided by John Thorn.
At high zoom levels the route is indicative only.
Purchase Ordnance Survey Maps (path is named on OS maps):
OS Landranger 67, 71, 73, 74, 76, 77, 78, 79, 82
OS Landranger Active 67, 71, 73, 74, 76, 77, 78, 79, 82
OS Explorer 309, 310, 317, 318, 319, 320, 322, 328, 329, 330, 337, 338, 345, 346, 351
OS Explorer Active 309, 310, 317, 318, 319, 320, 322, 328, 329, 330, 337, 338, 345, 346, 351
Other Paper Maps:
Harvey National Trail map
Southern Upland Way (Harvey Maps - 2018)

Walking Support Providers:

Support Providers
Self-Guided Walking Holidays (Absolute Escapes Ltd)
Support Providers
Baggage Handling and Self Guided Walks (Celtic Trails Walking Holidays)
Support Providers
Self-Guided Walking Holidays (Make Tracks Walking Holidays)
Support Providers
Baggage Handling and Self-Guided Walks (Southern Upland Way Holidays)
Support Providers
Guided Walking Holidays (Footpath Holidays)
Support Providers

Click to show 3 more Walking Support Providers


Accommodation within 5 km of this Path:

 
 
From
Path
Along
Path
Hostel Accommodation
2 km
113 km
B & B Accommodation
2 km
148 km
Walkers are Welcome
2 km
194 km
Hostel Accommodation
2 km
196 km
Walkers are Welcome
< 1 km
274 km

Click to show 3 more Accommodations


Additional Images:


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Downloads:

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Route Profile:

337.6 km (209.8 miles)
8,720 m (28,609 ft) ascent
712 m (2,336 ft)  maximum height

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