📌 Galloway Forest Park, South Ayrshire
★★★
A quiet road wends its way south through increasingly remote countryside south of Straiton village in Carrick: one of the historic districts of Galloway, but now part of Ayrshire. Eventually you get to Stinchar Bridge – not the prettiest of names – from where a good path crosses the rocky burn and plunges into forest. After a while you emerge on the slopes of Cornish Hill, with lonely Cornish Loch suddenly coming into view near the top. The shores of the loch make a perfect picnic spot, and the full circuit gives a straightforward, short introduction to this sparsely populated region. It may even leave you wanting to climb all the bigger hills you can see from the summit cairn!
📷 Chronological photo guide
River Stinchar at the start 
Woodland path early on the route 
Footbridge over the Stinchar 
Memorial cairn on the way to Cornish Hill 
Cornish Hill ahead 
View northeast towards Loch Doon (right) from the ascent 
Lochan on Cornish Hill 
Cornish Loch from one of the summit cairns 
Looking south into the Galloway Hills 
Cornish Loch from the descent 
Cornish Loch 
Water of Girvan at the outflow from Cornish Loch 
Water of Girvan 
Water of Girvan 
View from the final high point 
Descent to the road 
Road return leg
🌍 Location
📌 Start / finish on minor road at Stinchar Bridge
🧭 O.S. Grid Reference: NX 397957
🛰️ GPS coordinates: 55.229588,-4.522322
❌ No public transport within 1 mi
🚗 Car park
📝 Key info
▶ 5 km / 3 mi | ▲ 160 m | ⌛ 1.5 hr
Features: △ Cornish Hill (460 m); Cornish Loch
⬤ Easy | Good paths, some ascent / descent.
Download file for GPS➡️ Anticlockwise circuit: start – cross River Stinchar – Cornish Hill – Cornish Loch outflow – hillside near Pedens Hut – join minor road at Water of Girvan – start
🥾 On our last visit
Wildlife: Small birds, generally quiet.
Weather: Breezy with hazy sunshine, temperatures in high teens.
May 2018
