📌 Rhins of Galloway, Dumfries & Galloway
★★★
A walk of contrasting halves explores the wonderful cliffs, beaches and bays on and near the Mull of Galloway. The route forms a rough figure-of-eight shape, with outward and return legs nearly converging on the isthmus between West and East Tarbet beaches (Tarbet means “neck of land” in Gaelic). East of this point is easy clifftop walking on short turf with excellent views to Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, England and the rest of Galloway. The western section is a mixed bag and it’s important to pick your time of year carefully: stinging nettles and overgrown gorse bushes complicated things for us around West Tarbet in late summer. The inland section isn’t so visually arresting as the coastal part, but pockets of interesting scenery at Mull Glen, Kirk Burn and from Portankill onwards offer recompense; overall, this is still a decent half-day walk. Start by visiting the lighthouse – you can see most of the route from the top of the tower.
📷 Chronological photo guide
View up the east side of the Mull from the start 
Mull of Galloway lighthouse 
Mull of Galloway 
Mull of Galloway 
Early clifftop section west of the lighthouse 
Cliffs & inlets 
View back to the lighthouse 
Cliffs relenting after Carrickcorie 
Coast beyond Mull Glen 
Coast beyond Mull Glen 
Short inland section beyond Mull Glen 
Wheatear(?) near East Cairngaan 
Path east from Cairngaan 
Portankill 
Portankill 
Lighthouse back in view around Portavaddie 
East Tarbet 
East Tarbet 
Final ascent back to the lighthouse
🌍 Location
📌 Start / finish at Mull of Galloway Lighthouse, minor road end 6 mi south of Drummore
🧭 O.S. Grid Reference: NX 155304
🛰️ GPS coordinates: 54.635157,-4.859933
❌ No public transport within 1 mi
🚗 Car park
📝 Key info
▶ 11 km / 7 mi | ▲ 220 m | ⌛ 3.5-4 hr
Features: 🌊 Mull of Galloway page: headland ★★★ & lighthouse ★★★; 🏖️ West & East Tarbet beaches; 🏖️ Portankill bay
⬤ Moderate | Often good paths, but faint (& overgrown in late summer) section just beyond West Tarbet. Tough / rough route for this grade.
Download file for GPS➡️ Clockwise circuit with detours at start: start – tip of Mull of Galloway – lighthouse – West Tarbet via south coast – Belloue via south coast – East Cairngaan – Barracks Bridge – Portankill – East Tarbet via east coast – start via north coast
🥾 On our last visit
Wildlife: A solitary seal, a few gannets and other seabirds, sheep. Cows making a short detour necessary when returning to start.
Weather: Sunny with light winds.
August 2016
