Southwest Coastal 300

Quite a few of us have heard of the North Coast 500 road trip route taking in some of the most amazing and dramatic scenery of Scotland...but have you heard of its slighter smaller, younger brother...the Southwest Coastal 300?

Taking in equally breathtaking landscapes, perhaps with slightly less height - the Borders are not known for their mountainous terrains...there is Screel and Criffel in Dumfries & Galloway, although you have to tackle them on foot rather than in the car!

The route is a circular 300 miles across large parts of Dumfries & Galloway that dips in and out of Southern Ayrshire. Much of the drive is through an area designated as an UNESCO Biosphere, with nature, conservation and harmonious development at its core, it also passes the Galloway Forest which houses the relatively new Dark Skies Park (which is featured in our Jan/Feb issue of Slow.Reconnect Magazine). 

There are castles and abbeys with The National Trust for Scotland's Culzean Castle and its epic Wild Woodland Playpark or Threave Castle near Castle Douglas where you have to ring a bell to call the rowing boat over to get on to the island where the castle sits.  For nature lovers there is Logan Botanic Garden or the land art at Crawick Multiverse, which was once a coal mine.  There is history everywhere, in Dumfries visit the site where Robert The Bruce slayed the Red Conwyn in 1306 which cleared the way for him to become King of Scotland (unfortunately Greyfriers Church, where the deed took place, is no longer there) or if our great Bard, Rabbie Burns, is more your thing, he is very closely associated with the area having been a Customs man in Dumfries and it is also where is he laid to rest.

With low light pollution, expansive skies and beautiful coastal environments it is well worth the trip.