Cairn Holy – Stone Age Tombs and Lunch in Gatehouse
A few hours.
The route
Two Stone Age burial cairns stand on a quiet hillside above Wigtown Bay, west of Gatehouse of Fleet, and they are thought to be four to six thousand years old.
The lower cairn is the striking one, with a curving front of tall, thin standing stones, and the view down over the bay is half the reason to come. Lunch is 13 minutes' drive away at the Ship Inn in Gatehouse, an award-winning hotel restaurant by the river.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
Book a table for lunch at the Ship Inn in Gatehouse of Fleet online or on 01557 814217 (option 2), any day from noon, and say on the booking if a dog is coming so it can seat you.
The day
Cairn Holy
A hillside of ancient stones above the sea, then a warm lunch by the river in Gatehouse of Fleet.
About two and a half hours
Cairn Holy Chambered Cairn
An attraction
Cairn Holy is signed off the A75 west of Gatehouse of Fleet. A narrow minor road climbs steeply for about two thirds of a mile to a small parking area where it becomes a track. The lower cairn is through a gate in the wall beyond: eight tall pillar stones curve round its entrance, and the burial chamber is still there behind them. The cairns are thought to have been raised between four and six thousand years ago. Walk on 150 metres up the track to the upper cairn, plainer but with its great capstone still in place. It's free and open ground, with no staff or gate times, so go in daylight. The grass can be wet and rough, and dogs should be kept on a lead.
13 min by car
The Ship Inn
Lunch
Lunch is 13 minutes' drive back east at the Ship Inn in Gatehouse of Fleet, beside the Water of Fleet, with free parking beside the hotel. It serves food every day from noon, with last orders at 8.30pm, or 8pm in winter, and there's a woodburner to sit round. Children and dogs are welcome: say you're bringing a dog when you book. There's a ramped entrance on Dromore Road. If it's full, the Masonic Arms on Ann Street, 7 minutes' walk up the town, serves lunch until 2.30pm on weekdays and all day at weekends.
If it rains
The cairns are out on an open hillside with no shelter, so in heavy rain or low cloud see them another day and go straight to the Ship Inn in Gatehouse, where there's a woodburner.
Worth a detour
- Mossyard Beach
Down a farm road off the A75, Mossyard is a small sandy bay on Fleet Bay with clear, shallow water, rocky outcrops at either end and the Isles of Fleet lying offshore. Park considerately at the end of the road and walk down to the shore, and watch the tide: the sand goes a long way out and comes back quickly.
Galloway Lodge Preserves, a restaurant in Gatehouse of Fleet.
Photograph by The Ship Inn via Google