6. The Southern Upland Way
As you may have read earlier in our adventures in the Range of the Awful Hand, the Southern Uplands are criminally overlooked among Scotland’s treasures. If you want to help redress that situation, the best way to do it is via this 212-mile epic walk. The Way runs from Portpatrick on the Rinns of Galloway on the west coast to Cockburnspath on the east coast, via the Galloway Forest, the Lowther Hills (above), Ettrick Forest and the Lammermuir Hills. There are a fair few hills en route, and the sparseness of population means some stretches are very long – the schlep from St John’s Town of Dalry to Sanquar is just over 25 miles. But you’re likely to find it fascinating – and far less busy than the West Highland Way. WALK IT: The official website is full of info; the trail is waymarked and on OS maps.