Cairnsmore and beyond Seasonal highlights Walk this way Welcome to National Nature Spring There are several trails across the Fleet Valley, some of Reserve, managed by Scottish Natural Heritage. Ditches and pools come alive as frogs, toads and newts which cross the National Nature Reserve. The most This Reserve, in the Hills, is one of the start to spawn. accessible is the In-bye trail, which begins from the wildest and remotest corners of south-west . Late spring / early summer Dromore Visitor Centre, and includes information boards Dominated by an imposing granite hill, shaped and Enjoy wildflowers such as devil’s bit scabious, harebells and covering local flora and fauna, as well as the Reserve’s sculpted by the elements, Cairnsmore offers a true taste ragged robin, as they bring a splash of colour, while migrant history and geology. of the Scottish wilderness, with superb views over the birds like wheatears also begin to arrive. Listen out for the Other longer trails lead up to the escarpment and the Cree Estuary, and vistas stretching back towards distinctive call of the stonechat – like two stones being Clints of Dromore, where the ground can be rough and the ,as well as out across to and knocked together – and, of course, the unmistakable cuckoo. these should only be attempted by experienced, well- north to Ayrshire. During warm summer mornings you may also be lucky equipped walkers. enough to spot an adder, basking in the sun. Cairnsmore’s mixture of wind-clipped summit heath, Further details about other trails and walking routes heather and blanket bog supports a wide Mid-summer around the Fleet Valley are detailed in a set of five leaflets range of wildlife. This includes some of Scotland’s Watch aerobatic swifts swooping and diving as they begin available from both the Reserve’s visitor centre and the most iconic birds, such as red and , to arrive and nest on the towering Big viaduct, Mill on the Fleet. the occasional , as well as intriguing while dragonflies and damselflies flit across the bogs and Five sculptures by artist Matt Baker are also dotted across plantlife that manages to eke out an existence in ponds. You can also see the white bobbing heads of bog the Reserve. Based around five words – Erratic, Hush, the harsh conditions. cotton nodding in the wind and the delicate pale purple Heart, Ocean and Scene Shifter – each is accompanied petals of the heath spotted orchid. Open access and three suggested walks allow visitors by a poem written by Mary Smith. At the viaduct you can to explore the bleak but beautiful surroundings, which Autumn sit on Ali Jeffries’ beautiful “cloud seat”. All these artistic are set off by several beautiful sculptures designed Marvel as the open hill trembles to the roar of rutting stags. works reflect the many elements of the landscape’s rich to blend in with the landscape. Winter history. Hen harriers visit; sweeping the heath for food, the male recognised by his blue-grey back and black wing tips.

Hush by Matt Baker

Male hen harrier

The Clints of Dromore

www.nnr.scot

Getting to Cairnsmore Cairnsmore of Fleet NNR is off the B796 in the Wigtown district of , approximately 7 miles Cairnsmore — a timeline from Creetown, and 8 miles from the village of Gatehouse of Fleet. If you had been here 18,000 years ago, you would have been under a glacier! The ice carved out deep corries in the Access to the Cairnsmore of Fleet summit path is at Cairnsmore of Fleet hillsides, and scoured the Clints of Dromore. Mud and rocks Cairnsmore House, off the A75 at Planure, 3 miles from . National Nature Reserve dragged along under the moving ice were dumped by the glacier as it melted, forming small ridges called moraines. There is parking and cycle racks at Dromore Farm and the Tèarmann Nàdair Nàiseanta The landscape at Cairnsmore has been managed by man small car park for the summit path is just off the A75. There for hundreds of years. Once heavily forested, the Romans is further parking as well as picnic benches at the viaduct. began the clearance of much of Galloway’s ancient There is no bus service to the Reserve. woodlands. For more information please contact: The earliest evidence of man’s cultivation of the land are SNH Cairnsmore of Fleet Reserve Office, Bronze Age remains found just to the south of Cairnsmore, Dromore Farm, Gatehouse of Fleet, Castle Douglas DG7 2BP. and in medieval times, the land was used for grazing sheep and goats, as well as hunting. Tel: 01557 814435. After the introduction of ‘enclosures’ during the 1700s, when www.nnr.scot many small tenants were cleared from the land, large flocks Support this NNR at www.nature.scot/donate-nnr of sheep dominated the hills, while some people scraped a living mining for lead and other minerals. Search for ‘Scotland’s National Nature Reserves’ on Facebook. The railway arrived in 1860, with the impressive 20 arch viaduct that straddles the River Fleet still standing today. It was built to carry the railway to Stranraer and led to a boom in grouse shooting and deer stalking on the moors. After the Second World War, much of the surrounding area was planted with coniferous forest, and in 1975, 2,000ha VISIT of Cairnsmore of Fleet became a National Nature Reserve. TADHAIL A702

A714 Cairnsmore New Galloway of Fleet A712 NNR A713 A76

Newton 2 Stewart A75 Castle 5 A7 Douglas Creetown Gatehouse

Walkers at the viaduct of Fleet W ig Kirkcudbright tow n B ay Photography: Lorne Gill/SNH, Laurie Campbell/SNH, Mark Hamblin, Allan Devlin/South West Images Scotland. Map illustration by Fitzpatrick Woolmer. Photography: Lorne Gill/SNH, Laurie Campbell/SNH, Mark Hamblin, Allan Devlin/South West What to look out for

Birds Both red and black grouse breed on the moorland, while the area is patrolled by a host of raptors, including the Lo u diminutive , the hen harrier and the peregrine falcon. ra n

B The imperious golden eagle is also an occasional visitor. u r n Craignelder

L ou ra n Bu

Summit rn Craigronald Meikle Mulltaggart Clints of the Spout

C C AR m a PARK 2.5k Wheatears arrive in the spring, which is also a good time to rr

Spout of o spot skylarks, singing for all they’re worth, as they soar c rn the Clints h u B B higher and higher into the sky. Listen out too for the laconic ch ddo u Gra r cry of the curlew. n Knee of Mi Cairnsmore d Bu r Key n

Toilet Cairnsmore of Door of Historic structure Cairnsmore Fleet National Information centre Nature Reserve

Parking Ca rdoo n B In-bye Trail urn Summit Path Golden eagle National Cycle Route Cl National Nature Reserve int Plantlife s o f D ro Windy summit heath dominates the higher reaches of the mo re Little Reserve, while lower down heather moorland takes over. Cullendoch Heather is a crucial plant on Cairnsmore, as it provides wildlife with food, shelter and a place to nest. Big Water of Dromore Farm Fleet Viaduct Visitor Centre 0½miles

01kilometres All map data © Crown copyright 2010 – licence number 100017908.

Heather moorland

Heather stems always have buds in reserve too, ready to sprout new shoots as older ones die or are grazed. A healthy plant can also produce more than 150,000 seeds a year.

The acid soil at Cairnsmore means much of the Reserve Red deer stag is covered in blanket bog, in places up to 10m deep and over 7,000 years old. This internationally important Mammals habitat is topped off by a multi-coloured patchwork of Among the mammals at Cairnsmore are brown hares, the tiny red, yellow and green leaves of sphagnum moss. often seen on the lower grounds, and mountain hares, which Just below this living blanket lies layer upon layer of have been seen at higher altitudes. A herd of wild goats also dead moss, which is slowly turning into peat at the roams freely, as do red deer, with the stags mounting their rate of about 1mm a year spectacular rut every autumn. Roe deer live on the more heavily forested fringes of the Reserve. It’s here too that carnivorous plants such as common butterwort, with its yellow green leaves, and sundew, Insects with its spoon shaped leaves covered in red hairs, thrive. The golden-ringed dragonfly can be seen hunting over ponds The plants use the hairs to catch insects which they then and ditches, and the nationally rare blue hawker has been digest to help supplement the nutrient poor soil. recorded at some of the remoter acidic bog pools. Facilities The visitor centre is open all year round, and has public toilets and disabled access. The Mill on the Fleet is an old cotton mill in the centre of Gatehouse of Fleet. It stages regular exhibitions about the area and also has a café and tourist information centre. It opens daily from April until the end of October. Tel: 01557 814099. www.millonthefleet.co.uk

Golden-ringed dragonfly Mountain hare

www.nnr.scot