A walk up the Grey Mare's Tail to Loch Skeen

A walk · Moffat

The Grey Mare's Tail – A Waterfall and a High Loch

About 2.5 miles on foot.

The Grey Mare's Tail is one of the great sights of the Southern Uplands, a white ribbon of water that drops about 60 metres out of a hanging valley beside the road from Moffat to Selkirk.

You can see it from the car park, but the walk is the thing: a steep path climbs beside the falls to Loch Skeen, a lonely loch high in the hills. It's short and stiff.

Time: About two hours: 4 km, or 2.5 miles, there and back on a steep path, with a climb of 278 m.
The path: A steep stone-pitched path with drain crossings and wet patches. Boots.
Where to start: The Grey Mare's Tail car parks on the A708, either side of the bridge over the Tail Burn, ten miles from Moffat. Pay at the ticket machines.
When to go: All year in daylight. Snow and ice lie on the upper path from November. From November to January set off by 12.30pm.
Dogs: Under close control: sheep and wild goats graze the slopes.
Children: Steep, with a long drop beside the path: for older children, kept close.
Before you set out: Steep, uneven and wet in places, with a long drop beside the lower path. Snow and ice lie on the upper path from November.

The walk

Park at the Grey Mare's Tail car parks, on either side of the bridge over the Tail Burn on the A708, ten miles from Moffat on the Selkirk road. It's a paid car park, with ticket machines. The waterfall is in sight from here, dropping about 60 metres out of a side valley that a glacier cut short when it scoured out Moffat Dale. The council's walk leaflet calls it the fifth highest waterfall in the UK. A short path along the burn leads to a seating area with a full view of the falls, and that alone is worth the stop. The walk to Loch Skeen climbs the valley side on a stone-pitched path, steeply at first with a long drop beside it.

Higher up it eases off through grassy hummocks left by the ice, until the loch opens out in front of you. The council gives it as 4 km, or two and a half miles, there and back and allows an hour and a half. It's strenuous, so give it two hours. Walkhighlands puts the climb at 278 metres. Loch Skeen lies at about 510 metres with craggy slopes round it, and it holds vendace, Britain's rarest freshwater fish, which were brought here from the Lake District. Wild goats live on these hillsides, and peregrines nest on the reserve.

The path is uneven and wet in places and wants boots. Keep children close on the steep section, and keep dogs under close control, as sheep and goats graze the slopes. The land is a nature reserve of the National Trust for Scotland. Snow and ice lie up here from November, and then the upper path is only for walkers equipped for winter hills. The view from the foot of the falls is a fine one in any season. From November to January, set off by 12.30pm.

If it rains

The falls are at their fullest after rain, and the view from the foot of them is only a few minutes from the car. The climb to the loch is slippery when wet and has no shelter, so in heavy rain or low cloud stay at the bottom.

Before you go

Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
The nearest of ours is The Scullery in Yarrow, 12 miles away. Sleeps 2; next free Fri 13 Nov to Sun 15 Nov.

Find out more

For further reading, before you go.