Bellymack – The Red Kites Come Down to Feed
A few hours.
The route
Red kites were gone from Scotland by the end of the nineteenth century, and Bellymack Hill Farm above Laurieston is where they came back to Galloway.
On open days food goes out on the field each afternoon, and the kites drop in from the sky to take it, turning and stooping right in front of you. It's a thrilling hour for anyone who loves birds, children included.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
The day
Laurieston
The two o'clock feed, with the kites wheeling over the field, then a short walk on the edge of the forest.
About two hours
Galloway Kite Trail
An attraction
The feeding station is at Bellymack Hill Farm by Laurieston, on the Galloway Kite Trail; park at the farm. It usually opens from noon to 4pm, Sunday to Thursday, but the days can change, so ring 07733 267210 before you set out. The kites are fed at 2pm, so be there by half past one. Entry is by donation, £5 for adults at the time of writing, with children free, and the money buys the birds' food. About a hundred red kites were released here between 2001 and 2005, and they settled. Now, when the food goes out, dozens of kites can come down at once, twisting and stooping over the field, most of all in the winter months; how many come on any day is up to them. You can sit indoors to watch when the weather is poor. Afterwards, take the farm's own walking trail, 20 to 30 minutes on the edge of the Galloway Forest. Keep to the trail and leave the birds be.
If it rains
You can watch the feed from indoors at the centre; the walking trail is out in the weather.
Make it a weekend
More days out in Dumfries and Galloway.
Photographs by Willow Tkw and paul bates via Google