Adventure Awaits
While staying at the Bunkhouse you may be seeking activities to take part in, or sights to see in rural south-west Scotland. So, whether you choose to bike, hike or drive, here are some of our recommendations.
Hiking & Biking
While staying at the Bunkhouse, we provide maps for trails and local points of interest which, when paired with our bike racks and bike repair station, can make cycling one of the best ways to experience what our rural landscapes have to offer.
Trails like the 155 mile-long Whithorn Way have been traveled by pilgrims and peasants for hundreds of years, delivering them to places like St Ninian’s Cave.
If you’d prefer a shorter, more family-friendly jaunt, forested trails like the Wild Watch Trail at Kirroughtree might be more your speed. It acts as the gateway to Galloway Forest Park and has the Wild Watch Hide, visitor’s centre and bike hire if you’re looking to take on their mountain biking trails. If you’re looking for more mountain biking trails, pay 7stanes a visit.
For a more laid-back walk, Galloway House Gardens might be what you’re looking for – it’s meandering paths guide you through all manner of flora and the proximity to Rig Bay makes it an ideal place for a picnic on the beach if your feet get tired.
Stargazing
Dumfries & Galloway is home to one of the first International Dark Sky Parks – Galloway Forest Park – making this a magical place to spend a clear night staring at the cosmos. If you’re looking for a guide, rangers like Elizabeth Tindal specialise in tours around Galloway Forest Park and would be happy to show you the beauty of our dark skies.
Additionally, stargazing while visiting ancient ceremonial monuments like the Drumtroddan Standing Stones and Torhouse Stone Circle is an enchanting way to engage with this land’s ancient history – staring at the same sky the ancient Scotts did when they erected these monuments.
Wilderness Experiences
Looking to plunge yourself into Scotland’s wilderness? The locally-based Way of the Wild provides a variety of wilderness experiences like foraging, wildcraft, navigation and more.
But if you want to experience our waters, there is no better way to get to know our coasts and lochs than spending time in them, so groups like the Wigtown Bay Sailing Club, Newton Stewart Sub Aqua Club and Triskeli Swims are ideal, providing boating, scuba and immersive open-water swimming experiences respectively.
Alternatively, if the wild waters aren’t to your taste, you may enjoy Rural Swim – a rural leisure centre equipped with a gymnasium, treatment room, hot tub and swimming pool.
And More!
If those don’t float our boat, we’ve provided the following links, to even more activities to do in and arouund Dumfries & Galloway:
Pony Trekking: https://brighousebaytrekking.weebly.com
Highland Cow Experiences: https://www.kitchencoosandewes.com
Kirkatrick Coast-to-coast route: https://scotlandstartshere.com/kirkpatrickc2c/
