The Upper Nithsdale Trail Links with the Where James VI Is Believed to Have Stayed When He Visited South West Coastal 300 Route #SWC300

Home , Kirkconnel, Leadhills, Lowther Hills, Mennock, Sanquhar, Southern Upland Way

1 LEADHILLS NARROW THE UPPER GAUGE RAILWAY NITHSDALE www.leadhillsrailway.co.uk A short drive from the M74 TRAIL DISC is Leadhills, home to Britain’s highest narrow gauge Douglas railway. Trains run mainly on A73 A70 A702 B7078 weekends in the summer, with THE UPPER M74 seasonal special events. ER UPPER NITHSDALECrawfordjohn SCOTLAND NITHSDALE Abington A stunning drive 2 MUSEUM OF LEAD MINING TRAIL through the A74(M) www.leadminingmuseum.co.uk B797 Lowther Hills Scotland’s highest village, Glasgow Edinburgh B7040 with fascinating Wanlockhead, boasts a fascinating B740

museum where you can experience Leadhills history, nature the thrill of going underground in this Newcastle Wanlockhead and culture 18th century lead mine. Open daily Dumfries Southern Upland Way Lowther Hill to explore... from Apr– Sep. Kirkconnel Carlisle Kelloholm A76 Crawick Sanquhar A702 Southe

3 SOUTHERN UPLAND WAY rn Upland River Nith www.southernuplandway.gov.uk Way Scotland’s coast to coast footpath journeys across the Upper FOOD & DRINK A76 Nithsdale Trail. Its highest point, Lowther Hill, is around an n Upland Way hour’s walk from Wanlockhead and the views are spectacular. Available at the Museum of Lead Mining, Souther Spot the ‘golf ball’ radar station near the summit. Wanlockhead Inn, A’ the Airts, Blackaddie House Hotel, Burnside Tearoom and 4 LOWTHER HILLS SKI CENTRE Nithsdale Hotel. www.skiclub.lowtherhills.com In winter the Lowther Hills become FUEL the south of Scotland’s only snow Unleaded and diesel is available at Burnside sports centre. Filling Station, Sanquhar. Electric vehicle charging points are available at Sanquhar. 5 MENNOCK PASS A spectacular drive through the Lowther Hills alongside a stream PUBLIC TOILETS that’s famed for the Scottish gold Open 24 hours a day at Sanquhar. regularly found within it!

VISIT SOUTH WEST SCOTLAND 6 SANQUHAR CASTLE Now in ruin this striking castle on the edge of Sanquhar is The Upper Nithsdale Trail links with the where James VI is believed to have stayed when he visited South West Coastal 300 Route #SWC300

Sanquhar in 1617. The castle itself is unsafe to visit, however gd

a public footpath runs close to it. pm Design: Design: 7 SANQUHAR POST OFFICE Ofﬁcially the oldest post ofﬁce in the world! Got something special to post? Then this is the most special place in the WWW.UPPERNITHSDALE.COM world to send it from. @DISCOVERUPPERNITHSDALE ust an hour from central Scotland, the Upper Nithsdale Trail takes you on a journey J through southern Scotland’s most dramatic 8 A’ THE AIRTS landscapes, welcoming towns and villages with a www.atheairts.org.uk A hub of craft and creativity! Enjoy wealth of fascinating places to visit and explore. a relaxed light lunch, buy traditional Discover the history, majesty and beauty of the Sanquhar pattern items and knitting Lowther Hills and the Nith Valley; a perfect day trip patterns, along with other local for you and your family to explore and enjoy... crafts, in the shop. Open 10am - 4pm, Tue - Sat.

9 SANQUHAR TOLLBOOTH Discover the story of Sanquhar’s mines, explore the town’s world famous knitting tradition and ﬁnd out what it was like to be a prisoner in DISC Sanquhar jail! Open Tue - Sun, Apr - Sep. 10 THE WAIRD (CURLING POND)

THE UPPER A scenic pond in the middle of Sanquhar, 15 MUSEUM OF RURAL LIFE NITHSDALE perfect for picnics and feeding the ducks. www.crawfordjohn.org Run by volunteers, this is a fascinating glimpse ER 11 TRAIL ST CONAL’S CHURCH into rural life through the ages with a display One of the oldest church sites in southern of artefacts and information. Open weekend

Douglas Scotland, archaeological remains date to the afternoons May - Sep.

A73 9th century and the present foundations date A70 16 A702 B7078 back to the 12th and 13th centuries. 16 CRAWICK PASS B743 M74 15 Complete the Upper Nithsdale Trail by 12 KIRKCONNEL PARISH heading back up towards the M74 through Crawfordjohn the beautiful Crawick Pass, a gentle, scenic Abington HERITAGE SOCIETY Delve into the history of Kirkconnel conclusion to your tour of Upper Nithsdale. A74(M) B797 14 by browsing through thousands of photographs and artefacts.

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2 Leadhills CRAWICK MULTIVERSE 13 11 7 Wanlockhead www.crawickmultiverse.co.uk 12 8 River Nith Southern Upland Way 3 9 13 A spectacular cosmic land art A76 5 4 Lowther Hill Kirkconnel 10 attraction, designed by world Kelloholm A76 Crawick Sanquhar renowned artist Charles Jencks 6 A702 Southern Upland Way to represent the theories of

River Nith the universe. Crawick Multiverse has converted an open cast

A76 mine site into an inspirational art work, exploring issues relating to space, cosmology Southern Upland Way and creativity. Check website for opening times.

Drumlanrig 14 SOLDIER’S POND A tranquil, sheltered pool; the perfect scenic stop on

B732 Thornhill a hot summer day.

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River Nith DUMFRIES