Rockcliffe – Castle Point, the Mote of Mark and Kippford

The walk

Rockcliffe sits above a sandy beach with rocky outcrops, off the A710 coast road, south of Dalbeattie. Park in the public car park by the beach, where the council's toilets are open all day, and check the signs there for any charge. Start with Castle Point, along a quiet road and then a path round the shore, past the old grave of a shipwrecked sailor among the rocks.

The point was an Iron Age fort, with a view right across the Solway to the Lake District hills on a good day, and in winter, with binoculars, red-throated divers and scaup offshore. The council's leaflet gives it as 3 kilometres (2 miles) there and back, an hour and a quarter, on road, shingle, earth and grass with stiles. At low tide you can walk out to Rough Island from the bay, except in May and June when birds are nesting.

The Solway's tides are fast, with strong currents and deep hidden channels, so check the tide times first and come back well before the tide turns.

Along the way

1. About 6 min on foot

   

   Mote of Mark

   Back at the car park, set off on the Jubilee Path, the main path between Rockcliffe and Kippford, named for Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee and running through land the National Trust for Scotland manages for wildlife. A short way along, a detour climbs the Mote of Mark. This granite knoll above the water was a fort in the sixth and seventh centuries, in the kingdom of Rheged, and probably the home and workshop of a master metalworker. Its top looks straight out over the Rough Firth. Back on the Jubilee Path, the council's Muckle Walk turns off at a double gate into Mark Hill Wood and climbs steadily by blue waymarker posts. The top of Mark Hill looks out to sea and inland towards Dalbeattie. Watch from there for sailing boats: the tide goes out a long way in the Rough Firth, and boats have only a few hours around high water to come and go. Then the Jubilee Path goes on to Kippford.

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2. About 22 min on foot

   

   The Anchor

   Lunch

   The Anchor is on the front at Kippford, looking over the Urr estuary, with a log fire in its little bar in winter. Food runs from noon, with Cullen skink, langoustines, beer-battered fish and chips and steak and Guinness pie, and there's a children's menu. Dogs are welcome. Winter hours can vary, so ring 01556 510 500 to check and book. If it's full, the Mariner Hotel, a few minutes' walk north, serves food from noon, though its hours vary out of season too. Back to Rockcliffe, it's 1.5 kilometres by the Jubilee Path.

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