Sometimes when doing these Core Path walks it is difficult to stick to the prescribed route as other walks or extensions to the main route look so tempting. This walk up a glen between steep hillsides is one of those and I will be returning to take the path up Black Hill.
That shouldn’t put you off this excellent short walk which takes you along a Roman Road up to a Fortlet with good views over Nithsdale and on to the Galloway Hills. The tin shack mentioned in the route guide further up the trail is now just a pile of rusting corrugated iron, but there is a fairly clear quad trail which leads you through the boggy section which follows (which was not particularly wet even on a January day). A short steep climb leads you to where the Roman Road meets the track back down to Durisdeer.
Edit: Since writing this entry I have now returned and walked the route up Black Hill and along to Well Hill. According to some local advice this can be done in 3.5 hours (“depending how fit you are”) but it took me 5 (so we can draw our own conclusion there). It’s a thoroughly enjoyable strenuous walk with a very steep descent back down to the Roman Road off Well Hill (which I wouldn’t fancy in wet weather).
| When I walked it | 19/1/22 |
| How long it took me | 2:00 |
| How far I walked | 6.8 km |