Dumfries and Galloway Forest Park Area

Jonesgj

Jonesgj

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Graydon
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Hi All,

Last year before visiting North Yorkshire I put a request on here for good photo opportunities in that area. I had many helpful responses.

I'm off to the Dumfries and Galloway Forest Park Area next month and wondered if you all had any advice / experience on places to go and not go.

Yes I'm going to google it, but nothing like advice from real people.

Thanks in advance.

Graydon
 
The place that comes to mind is the Bruce Memorial overlooking the loch in Glen Trool. From the memorial there's the potential for decent shots looking either way up and down the valley.

From Glentrool village there's a scenic drive directly northwards through fairly wild landscapes, though much of the forest there has been felled.

It's worth driving along the shores of Loch Doon to the end of the road for some along and across the loch shots. The road is very narrow in places and does get congested, so early or late in the day would be best.

The A721 from New Galloway to Newton Stewart has a few things to stop for, eg wild goats, a waterfall, the overflow from the dam on Clatteringshaws Loch and a viewing platform which gives a view down one the valley which takes the overflow water away.

It's worth driving down to the Mull of Galloway (decent tearoom, lighthouse, rocky promontaries etc) (http://SPAM/262zauu), and having dinner in Portpatrick on the way back. Portpatrick has a couple of good places to eat fish, such as the Crown Hotel (http://www.crownportpatrick.com/food.html) and Campbells Restaurant.

I was in D&G in April, but only spent a day in the forest park so there's surely a lot I missed. This is where I stayed: http://www.cottageguide.co.uk/lookout/
 
Midges are a killer around there, especially dawn & dusk, Glen Trool you can probably take pictures of the clouds of midges - I kid you not, even my dogs were demented with them. Brought up and lived most of my life in Dumfries & Galloway. If you take the forest trail from Clatteringshaws to Lock Ken there are some great river shots in the forest. At the end you can get a great view of Lock Ken, head up towards New Galloway along the loch anywhere really. There are places like Kippford for shots of the estuary & yachts. If you like walking you can walk from there over to Rockliffe, some nice views over the top. Good cliffs at Balcary Bay, climbing Screel or Criffel for great panoramas. There's Sweetheart Abbey in New Abbey, wildfowl trust at Carlaverock, Portling is another great place for cliffs and sea. There are so many places, if you want anything more specific then let me know.
 
Loads of Red Kites around Loch Ken, and D&G is a dark sky area so star trails or astrophotography is another possibility.
 
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