On the flank of Peniestone Knowe (Stage 10)
A very useful supplement to the mapping in this book is the Harvey Southern Upland Way route map (2018). It covers an area of several miles either side of the route at 1:40,000 scale. It is recommended especially if you have more than one map reader in your group, or if you are carrying this book in digital format and so require a backup map on paper.
The route, heading generally north-eastwards across the southern half of Scotland, cuts across a considerable number of OS map sheets. So if OS maps at either 1:50,000 scale or at 1:25,000 scale are to be taken then there will firstly be a fairly considerable financial outlay in buying the maps, and then their extra weight and bulk will have to be tolerated whilst on the walk. A possible solution to these mapping problems is to use the very adequate OS maps of the route contained in this guidebook for actually walking the Trail, but also to purchase a small scale map of the whole area, such as the OS 1:250,000 scale map of Southern Scotland and Northumberland. This could be either a paper map or installed in a GPS device or phone. This will be useful in overall planning before you leave home, but can also be used to identify distant features in a view and to provide an overview of the wider area through which you are passing. This map will of course have severe limitations if you intend to make detailed detours on foot for some distance from the route, although for relatively short on-foot diversions, the maps in this book will be more than adequate.
The maps that cover the entire SUW from west to east are given below for reference.
OS Landranger Series (1:50,000)
(9 sheets cover the whole of the SUW)
Sheet 82: Stranraer & Glenluce
Sheet 76: Girvan
Sheet 77: Dalmellington & New Galloway
(Sheet 71: Lanark & Upper Nithsdale)*
Sheet 78: Nithsdale & Annandale
Sheet 79: Hawick & Eskdale
Sheet 73: Peebles, Galashiels & Selkirk
Sheet 74: Kelso & Coldstream
Sheet 67: Duns, Dunbar & Eyemouth
*Sheet 71 is unnecessary if Sheet 77 and Sheet 78 are used, as there is sheet overlap.
The route of the SUW is clearly shown on these Landranger maps as a line of red diamond symbols.
Craig Burn (Stage 2)
OS Explorer Series (1:25,000)
(13 sheets cover the whole of the SUW)
Sheet 309: Stranraer & The Rhins
Sheet 310: Glenluce & Kirkcowan
Sheet 319: Galloway Forest Park South
(Sheet 318: Galloway Forest Park North)*
Sheet 320: Castle Douglas, Loch Ken & New Galloway
Sheet 328: Sanquhar & New Cumnock
Sheet 329: Lowther Hills, Sanquhar & Leadhills
Sheet 330: Moffat & St Mary’s Loch
Sheet 322: Annandale, Annan, Lockerbie & Beattock
Sheet 337: Peebles & Innerleithen
Sheet 338: Galashiels, Selkirk & Melrose
Sheet 345: Lammermuir Hills
Sheet 346: Berwick-upon-Tweed, Eyemouth & Duns, St Abb’s Head & Cockburnspath
*Sheet 318 is unnecessary if Sheet 319 and Sheet 320 are used, as there is sheet overlap.
The route of the SUW is clearly shown on these Explorer maps as a line of green diamond symbols.
Waymarking and navigation
The entire length of the SUW is waymarked with a white Scottish thistle symbol, identical to that used on other Great Trails in Scotland (West Highland Way (WHW), Great Glen Way and Speyside Way). These waymarks appear most often on wooden posts, which usually also carry yellow directional arrows. Where the Way crosses public roads and at other important junctions along the route, SUW signposts have been erected. In general within Dumfries & Galloway these signposts are of wood, whereas in the Borders Region they tend to be of metal, and painted green.
First SUW signpost – Portpatrick (Stage 1) (photo: Alan Castle)
Other Trail ‘furniture’ includes ladder stiles and stone stiles over dry stone walls (called ‘dry stane dykes’ in Scotland), and small gates in fences, these having largely replaced the original wooden stiles. These are quite numerous and are generally in good condition, as are the many wooden bridges and short sections of duck boarding (the latter over boggy areas) found along the Way. In recent years, many stiles have been eliminated by using a metal field gate which incorporates a small, latching gate for walkers. I have referred to these in the route description as ‘combination-gates’. Such a gate can act as an indicator that you’re probably on the correct route, as can a sign saying ‘please close the gate SECURELY’.
Never cross walls or fences except at the indicated points, where stiles or gates are always to be used. The wooden stiles and duck boarding can be very slippery, particularly when wet or icy. Many are protected by non-slippery surfaces, or wire netting, although in some cases these are too old and worn to be completely effective. The ground is sometimes rough and overgrown with long reed grasses and other vegetation, particularly during the summer months, so that care is required when placing your feet in order to avoid ankle or knee sprains, or worse. Occasionally, due to a breakdown in the original drainage, the path may vanish into a swampy section. Here, the original firm surface is still there, a few inches below. It is worth probing for this with a walking pole, rather than diverting into apparently drier ground to left or right. So, do take care: alertness and concentration are major factors for a safe journey along the SUW.
Following the Way in good conditions is generally straightforward, but does require some skills in map-reading and compass work. On some sections across open moorland the path is quite faint, and the lack of a single waymark (perhaps knocked over by a scratching cow or by a human from a nearby settlement) can leave the walker at a loss. Care is also needed on the upland sections of the Trail when hill fog covers the landscape. Inadvertently drifting from the line of the Way could lead to disastrous results in some of the large and featureless expanses of hill and moorland through which it passes. Be vigilant in navigation at all times, particularly in inclement weather conditions. Only experienced hill walkers should contemplate leaving the Way to take in nearby hills or following their own alternative routes. Waymarking elsewhere in the Southern Uplands is largely non-existent, and there are few paths other than those formed by the use of quad bikes by shepherds in recent decades.