📌 Fossil site near Moffat, Dumfries & Galloway
★★★
The National Trust for Scotland owns a large swathe of land on the north side of the A708 in the depths of the Moffat Hills. The Grey Mare’s Tail is the obvious attraction, but their land also extends to the lesser-known gorge at Dob’s Linn, a mile or so up the road. It’s quite a scenic location in its own right, and the waterfall that the area is named after (at the top of the gorge) is worth a visit after wet weather. But the unusual feature is its excellent fossil finding potential. Over the years the burn has sliced through layers of black shale, further weathering then shattering the exposed cliffs into large areas of scree. Rummage through this (hammering is not allowed) and it’s easy enough to find your very own specimens (specifically, graptolite animal fossils) even if you’ve no specialist fossil knowledge.
🌍 Location
📌 Off the A708 1 mi northeast of Grey Mare’s Tail
🧭 O.S. Grid Reference: NT 197158
🛰️ GPS coordinates: 55.429480,-3.271133
❌ No public transport within 1 mi
🚗 Layby where A708 crosses Raking Gill at 🧭 NT 197154 / 🛰️ 55.426188,-3.270630
📝 Key info
⌚ Always open
🎫 Free
💬 From the layby it’s a 5/10-min walk (each way) to the fossil site (⬤ Easy). Descend steeply to the burn’s confluence with the main river. Dob’s Linn is the deep valley slightly to the right ahead. An intermittent and rough path leads into the gorge, with at least one fairly straightforward burn crossing on stepping stones.
