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Glenwhan Botanic Garden above Luce Bay
Dumfries and Galloway

Glenwhan – A Garden Made from the Moor

A few hours.

The route

Glenwhan is a family-made botanic garden on a hillside above Dunragit, with paths round two small lochans, a numbered tree trail and a moorland walk, and views over Luce Bay to the Mull of Galloway.

Tess Knott and her husband bought this ground as bare bog and gorse in 1971, and the garden she has made on it is a quiet place to spend a couple of hours. Dogs on leads are welcome.

Before you go

  1. Book accommodation nearby

    If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.

    Wren's NestPortpatrickWren's NestSleeps 2Rose Blair Lodge9 miles awayRose Blair LodgeSleeps 2Heritage Coachman Lodge9 miles awayHeritage Coachman LodgeSleeps 4Fern Forest House9 miles awayFern Forest HouseSleeps 6

The day

Dunragit

A slow wander round the lochans and the tree trail, then up onto the moorland for the view over Luce Bay.

About two hours

  1. Glenwhan Botanic Garden

    Glenwhan Botanic Garden

    Glenwhan is a mile north of the A75 at Dunragit, seven miles east of Stranraer: follow the brown signs up to the garden's car park. It opens every day of the year from 10am to 5pm, and 2026 tickets are £10 for adults, £8 for concessions and £24 for a family with up to three children, with under-10s free. From October to March you pay at the honesty box at the entrance, or buy online. The paths wind round two small lochans, past rhododendrons, azaleas and tender plants from the southern hemisphere, with seats and sculptures along the way. The views reach over Luce Bay to the Mull of Galloway, and to the Isle of Man on a clear day. Follow the numbered Tree Trail of more than 160 species, then climb to the moorland walk, about 20 minutes on mown grass paths among wildflowers and ferns, where you may see red squirrels and birds of prey if you are lucky. Dogs on leads are welcome. The ground is mixed, so only part of the garden suits a wheelchair, though there are benches all the way round. The tearoom, reached by a gentle ramp from the car park, serves home-cooked lunches and cakes from 1 April and closes for the winter on 10 October this year. Out of season, bring a flask, or have lunch at Fig and Olive on George Street in Stranraer, which is shut on Mondays.

If it rains

All of Glenwhan is out in the weather on a hillside of mixed ground, so wear boots on a wet day and keep to the lower garden round the lochans; from April into October the tearoom is there to shelter in.

Fig and Olive, a café in Stranraer.

Make it a weekend

More days out in Dumfries and Galloway.

Dumfries and GallowayBurns in Dumfries and Ellisland.Dumfries and GallowayCaerlaverock and the Solway: the castle, the geese and the Ruthwell Cross.Dumfries and GallowayCastles of Galloway: Threave by boat, Cardoness, Dundrennan and Orchardton.

Photographs by Jane Edgley and Caroline Smith via Google