WALKING IN THE SOUTHERN UPLANDS
by Ronald Turnbull
2 POLICE SQUARE MILNTHORPE CUMBRIA LA7 7PY
About the Author
Ronald Turnbull was born in St Andrews, Scotland, into an energetic fell-walking family. In 1995 he won the Fell Running Association’s long-distance trophy for a non-stop run over all the 2000ft hills of southern Scotland; his other proud achievements include the ascent of the north ridge of the Weisshorn, and finishing the Ben Nevis race in less than 2hrs. He still likes to mix some fast and challenging outings among gentler walks.
He enjoys multi-day treks, through the Highlands in particular, and has made 21 different coast-to-coast crossings of the UK. He has also slept out on over 70 UK summits. Outside the UK he likes hot, rocky areas of Europe, ideally with beaches and cheap flights. Recently he completed California’s 220 mile John Muir Trail and East Lothian’s 45 mile John Muir Way in a single season, and believes he is the first to have achieved this slightly perverse double. He has also started trying to understand the geology of what he’s been walking and climbing on for so long.
Ronald lives in the Lowther Hills of Dumfriesshire, and most of his walking, and writing, takes place in the nearby Lake District and in the Scottish Highlands. He has seven times won Outdoor Writers and Photographers Guild Awards for Excellence for his guidebooks, outdoor books (including Book of the Bivvy) and magazine articles. He has a regular column in Lakeland Walker and also writes in Trail, Cumbria and The Great Outdoors. His current, hopelessly ambitious, project is to avoid completing the Munros for at least another 20 years. Find out more at www.ronaldturnbull.co.uk.
Other Cicerone guides by the author
Ben Nevis and Glen Coe
Not the West Highland Way
The Book of the Bivvy
Three Peaks, Ten Tors
Walking Highland Perthshire
Walking in the Cairngorms
Walking Loch Lomond and the Trossachs
Walking the Lowther Hills
© Ronald Turnbull 2015
First edition 2015
ISBN: 978 1 85284 740 1
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
All photographs are by the author.
Updates to this Guide
While every effort is made by our authors to ensure the accuracy of guidebooks as they go to print, changes can occur during the lifetime of an edition. If we know of any, there will be an Updates tab on this book’s page on the Cicerone website (www.cicerone.co.uk), so please check before planning your trip. We also advise that you check information about such things as transport, accommodation and shops locally. Even rights of way can be altered over time. We are always grateful for information about any discrepancies between a guidebook and the facts on the ground, sent by email to [email protected] or by post to Cicerone, 2 Police Square, Milnthorpe LA7 7PY, United Kingdom.
Front cover: Descending Merrick’s Redstone Ridge towards Loch Enoch on Walk 5
CONTENTS
Tourist information and other facilities
Walk 5 Merrick and Murder Hole
Walk 8 Cairnsmore of Carsphairn
Walk 9 Screel Hill
Walk 10 Afton Water
Walk 11 Criffel