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The boardwalk at Aldouran Wetland Garden running out over the reedy pond towards the wooden bird hide among the trees.
Dumfries and Galloway

Aldouran Wetland Garden and Glen

A community wetland garden and bird hide on the edge of Leswalt, joined to an ancient wood with a sculpture trail.

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Welcome

Aldouran is a lovely little find on the edge of Leswalt, and a favourite with families.

The name means the glen of the otter. Volunteers from the village made it and still look after it, beginning with a community garden of dry-stone raised beds on paths that suit everyone. A boardwalk crosses the wetland to a bird hide, where feeders draw red squirrels, woodpeckers and finches in close. Beyond it lies Aldouran Glen, an ancient wood in the Woodland Trust Scotland's care, where a burn tumbles over little falls and wild flowers cover the ground in spring. Children will love the sculpture trail among the trees, with carved woodland animals, fairy doors, and a Gruffalo shaped with a chainsaw beside a ring of logs for telling stories.

A short drive awayFig and OliveA bright cafe on George Street in Stranraer, with brunch, hot dishes, fresh cakes and a welcome for dogs and children.7 min by roadSee itFig & Olive shopfront with turquoise trim on a quiet street corner
Before you go

Free and open at any time, all year.

Donations in the box at the gate help keep it going.

Parking
Beside the village hall, Leswalt Memorial Hall, where the garden and the woodland walk are signposted. A small car park by the wetland garden is kept for visitors with special needs. The Woodland Trust has a free car park for four cars at the wood's western entrance, at the top of the hill.
Paths
All-ability paths through the community garden and a boardwalk to the bird hide. The paths in the glen are narrow beaten earth, muddy for much of the year, with steps and two or three steep stretches.
Dogs
Welcome, kept to the paths in the garden.
Toilets
At the wetland garden, and in Leswalt Memorial Hall, which has an accessible toilet.
Care of
A village charity run by volunteers; the wood is the Woodland Trust Scotland's.

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Where it is

Off Glen Road on the edge of Leswalt, three miles north-west of Stranraer, DG9 0LJ.

Close byLeswalt, Stranraer and Portpatrick.
  1. Stranraer MuseumStranraer MuseumThe museum of Wigtownshire in Stranraer's Old Town Hall of 1776, free to visit, with refurbished displays and children's trails.4 miles 7 min by road
  2. Castle of St JohnCastle of St JohnA tower house in the middle of Stranraer that has been nearly everything.4 miles 8 min by road
  3. Waves rolling onto a curved sandy beach beneath grassy cliffsKillantringan Lighthouse and BayA white lighthouse of 1900 on the cliffs north of Portpatrick, above a sandy bay.8 miles 17 min by road
  4. PortpatrickPortpatrickA painted harbour on the Rhins, and mile nought of the Southern Upland Way.10 miles 15 min by road
  5. The Port Pantry, PortpatrickThe Port Pantry, PortpatrickA café on the harbour front at 24 Main Street, Portpatrick, open every day from 9.30am for breakfast, brunch, lunch, coffee and dessert.10 miles 15 min by road
  6. Small wooden hut atop layered coastal cliffs above the seaRhins of GallowayThe peninsula at Scotland's south-west tip, circled by an 83-mile waymarked coast path from Stranraer to the Mull of Galloway and back.10 miles 18 min by road
  7. Dunskey CastleDunskey CastleA roofless tower on the cliff edge, half an hour along the path from Portpatrick.10 miles 19 min by road
Directions
The Agnew Monument, a square castellated stone tower, on the green top of the Tor of Craigoch under a deep blue sky, a walker climbing through the long summer grass towards it.WalksAgnew Monument0.7 miles
The boating lake at Agnew Park under a blue sky, a little island of palm trees on the right and green hills across the water beyond.AttractionsAgnew Park3.0 miles
Fig & Olive shopfront with turquoise trim on a quiet street cornerCafeFig and Olive3.7 miles
From above, Dunskey House, the castle, its grey gables and chimneys, fields and woods running to the sea behind.PortpatrickThe Velvet UppergroundSleeps 4 · 4.9 miles
The sandy beach at Lady Bay with small waves breaking, Loch Ryan beyond and the hills of its far shore under a deep blue sky, a wooded headland on the left.AttractionsLady Bay5.0 miles
Corsewall Lighthouse's white tower and the old keepers' houses on the rocky point in low evening light, with Ailsa Craig on the horizon across the sea.RestaurantsCorsewall Lighthouse Hotel5.9 miles
The Crown Hotel's white frontage on North Crescent in Portpatrick, its name over the door, window boxes of flowers and picnic tables out front under furled blue umbrellas.RestaurantsThe Crown Hotel, Portpatrick6.0 miles
The restaurant at The Waterfront in Portpatrick, its tables laid under a pine-boarded ceiling with roof lights, and windows on the far wall.RestaurantsThe Waterfront, Portpatrick6.0 miles
The canal at Castle Kennedy Gardens in summer, lined with cordylines, with flowering trees in red on the bank and a path alongside.AttractionsCastle Kennedy Gardens6.1 miles

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The Daily for 23 October, from Scotland with love. Aerial view of a concrete road bridge with angled supports spanning a sea loch, twin cloud-wrapped mountain peaks rising behind autumn-coloured hills.

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Stay nearby

Places to stay near Aldouran, and when each is next free.

Rose Blair Lodge in the sun, a gabled cottage with a wooden door in a porch, trees behind and a table on the terrace.Rose Blair Lodge
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Portpatrick
  • 5 miles from Aldouran
Free 31 Oct – 3 NovHeritage Coachman Lodge's pale blue door in the cobbled stable courtyard, a table and a wooden bench in the sun outside.Heritage Coachman Lodge
  • Sleeps 4
  • In Portpatrick
  • 5 miles from Aldouran
Free 30 Oct – 2 NovFern Forest House, a grey stone house with ivy on its gable and a pale blue door, under a blue sky.Fern Forest House
  • Sleeps 6
  • In Portpatrick
  • 5 miles from Aldouran
Check datesFawn's Velvet Lodge in the sun, a stone cottage with a pale blue door, daisies on the lawn in front.Fawn's Velvet Lodge
  • Sleeps 4
  • In Portpatrick
  • 5 miles from Aldouran
Free 29 Oct – 1 NovPlaces to stayEvery stay in Dumfries and GallowayAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
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