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Trig point on a grassy summit overlooking a distant coastline and sea
Dumfries and Galloway

Criffel

The hill that stands over the Solway, with Skiddaw across the water.

Welcome

Criffel is not a big hill - five hundred and sixty-nine metres - but it stands on its own three kilometres back from the Solway with nothing between it and the sea, and that is worth more than height.

From the top the whole firth is laid out: the Nith winding down to it, Loch Kindar small and dark below, the sands going out for miles at low water, and across seventeen kilometres of sea the northern fells of the Lake District, with Skiddaw the one you pick out first. The usual ways up start at Ardwall or from New Abbey, and both are a steady plod through heather and peat rather than anything technical, though the ground is wet most of the year and the summit is a bare dome that finds whatever wind is going.

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The Daily for 1 November, from Scotland with love. A misty lane runs past slate-roofed cottages toward a wooded hillside.
Before you go
How long
Three and a half to five hours
Cost
Free
Getting there
Park at Ardwall or in New Abbey; the path is steep, wet and unmarked in places.

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Did you know

Did you know

Five hundred and sixty-nine metres.

It is a modest height, but it stands alone three kilometres from the Solway, which makes it the viewpoint for the whole firth.

Did you know

Skiddaw across the water.

Seventeen kilometres of sea separate it from Cumbria, and the northern fells of the Lake District are laid out from the top, Skiddaw the most prominent.

Did you know

Loch Kindar below.

The climb looks back over Loch Kindar and the Nith estuary the whole way up, which is the best of it on a clear day.

Emily Rose Mawson

From our guide to Dumfries and Galloway

Merrick is the biggest mountain in the region, but Criffel is the more striking. It’s an isolated bulge, prominent in the landscape of Kirkcudbrightshire, and at only 570 metres’ high, it’s a breeze to reach the summit’s views (some say the best in the area) that stretch across the Solway coast to the Lake District.

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Where it is

Above New Abbey, about eight miles south of Dumfries on the A710.

Close byThe rest of Dumfries and Galloway, near at hand.
  1. Ruined sandstone abbey walls with gothic windows rise above a gravestone-filled churchyardSweetheart AbbeyThe red sandstone ruin of a Cistercian abbey at New Abbey, founded by Lady Dervorguilla in memory of her husband John Balliol.3 miles 6 min by road
  2. White-painted inn with lit windows overlooking a grassy slope at duskThe Steamboat Inn, CarsethornA family-run inn in the village of Carsethorn on the Solway shore, with seafood, Sunday lunches, a beer garden and views over the Solway.4 miles 7 min by road
  3. Southerness LighthouseSoutherness LighthouseScotland's second-oldest lighthouse, a square white tower of 1749 on Southerness Point at the mouth of the Nith on the Solway.6 miles 12 min by road
  4. Burger stacked with onion rings, chips and a pint of beer at the barMabie House HotelA 17th-century country house hotel in Mabie Forest, three and a half miles from Dumfries, beside the 7stanes mountain bike trails.7 miles 12 min by road
  5. Inside Kilnford Farm Shop: timber roof beams, a round wooden stand of ciders, gins and tonics, and aisles of shelves on a wooden floor.Kilnford Farm ShopA farm shop, butchery and café in restored barns on the edge of Dumfries, selling the farm's own Galloway beef and Blackface lamb.8 miles as the crow flies
  6. Sandyhills BeachSandyhills BeachA sheltered bay of sand below wooded hills on the Solway coast near Dalbeattie, with a sea arch, a cave and a coastal path to Rockcliffe.9 miles 13 min by road
Directions
Cheese wheels and wedges displayed on wooden counters in a farm shopAttractionsLoch Arthur Creamery and Farm Shop8.8 miles
A round white tower building stands beside a garden path lined with box hedges, an urn fountain and a classical stone archway nearby.AttractionsDumfries Museum and Camera Obscura10 miles
Red sandstone house with slate roof and cobbled path to black doorAttractionsRobert Burns House10 miles
Sandstone riverside building with crow-stepped gables, cherry blossom framing the riverbank pathAttractionsRobert Burns Centre11 miles
Sandstone church spire with clock tower overlooks a statue in Dumfries town squareAttractionsGreyfriars Church, Dumfries11 miles
Weathered headstones and an obelisk line a gravel path between tall cypress treesAttractionsSt Michael's Church, Dumfries11 miles
Black hanging sign reading "The Globe" against brick buildingsRestaurantsThe Globe Inn, Dumfries11 miles
Gift shop table with wrapping paper, Nutscene twine, seed tray dibbers and Highland cow paintingsRestaurantsFlourish11 miles
Corner shopfront lit at dusk with outdoor table and chairs on pavementCafeKings Coffee and Books11 miles

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What we have written about it and more in Dumfries and Galloway.

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