📌 Scenic road in Galloway Forest Park, Dumfries & Galloway
★★
🛠️ Drive closed to motorised vehicles into spring 2024 due to tree harvesting – open for walkers / cyclists etc. (checked April 2024)
Raiders’ Road Forest Drive is one of two forest drives in Galloway Forest Park (the other is Carrick Forest Drive). Both are gravel tracks suitable for most vehicles, accessing remote parts of the park which are otherwise a long way from the nearest road. Raiders’ Road roughly follows the forested glen cut by the Black Water of Dee; the route can be driven in either direction (we did it westbound, and the photos below are also ordered in this way) in about an hour, but you should plan for at least double that once you take into account stops along the way. A key highlight is The Otter Pool: an attractive series of rapids usually interspersed by rocky outcrops, and a perfect picnic spot in good weather. Amongst the other points of interest are the Secret Cages. Now disused, these used to house young red kites before their release into the wild back when persecution threatened the bird’s national extinction. A signpost near the east end of the forest drive shows where to start the 45-minute round trip to the cages. We didn’t spot any red kites in the course of the drive, but we did see several buzzards – some perched on branches right next to the track.
🌍 Location
📌 East entrance is on A762 4 mi south of New Galloway
🧭 O.S. Grid Reference: NX 655718
🛰️ GPS coordinates: 55.022245,-4.105218
📷 Best viewpoint is The Otter Pool
🧭 O.S. Grid Reference: NX 594736
🛰️ GPS coordinates: 55.037292,-4.200856
📌 West entrance is on A712 6 mi west of New Galloway
🧭 O.S. Grid Reference: NX 546752
🛰️ GPS coordinates: 55.050203,-4.276811
🚌 Extremely infrequent bus stops on A762 just south of the east entrance, but no public transport on the forest drive itself
🚗 Gravel track – only a few potholes on our visit
📝 Key info
▶ 16 km / 10 mi
⌚ Open to vehicles from April to October; always open to cyclists / walkers / horse riders
🎫 £3 per vehicle
