Hidden Scotland
Sign in
A walk from Wigtown to the Martyrs' Stake and the harbour
A walk · Wigtown

Wigtown – Lovers' Walk, the Martyrs' Stake and the Harbour

The County Buildings, WigtownStartWigtown HarbourWhere you turn

Wigtown is Scotland's National Book Town, and the walk to do between its bookshops goes down to the edge of the bay.

An old lane with a view, a boardwalk over the saltmarsh to the Martyrs' Stake and a harbour with a bird hide make an easy round of 5.2 km, or 2.7 km for the short version. In winter, geese and swans from Iceland are on the marsh.

Time
One to three hours: the council's round from the County Buildings, 2.7 km or 5.2 km. A stroll or a short walk.
The path
Roads, a track, a grass lane and a boardwalk over the saltmarsh.
Where to start
Free parking round the square in Wigtown, by the County Buildings.
When to go
All year in daylight. The geese and swans are on the bay from autumn to spring. The Book Shop is shut on Sundays.
Dogs
Under close control.
Children
An easy walk; the marsh is tidal, so keep children on the boardwalk.
Toilets
Public toilets off the square, daily 9am to 4pm.
Before you set out
The longer round has about 100 m on the verge of the A714.

The walk

Park for nothing round the square in the middle of Wigtown, by the County Buildings with their clock tower, where the council's walk begins. The public toilets off the square are open daily from 9am to 4pm. The walk comes in two lengths, 2.7 km or 5.2 km, and the council allows one to three hours for it. Lovers' Walk is an old grassy lane that rises gently out of the town, and on a clear day it looks over Wigtown Bay to the Galloway Hills.

Below the town, the old railway line leads to a boardwalk out across the saltmarsh to the Martyrs' Stake. The monument marks the place where two local women were tied to stakes in 1685 and drowned by the tide for siding with the Covenanters. Wigtown Harbour, on the River Bladnoch, is the far end of the walk, with a bird hide looking over the river, the marsh and the new wetlands. The bay is Britain's largest Local Nature Reserve, and pink-footed geese and whooper swans from Iceland spend the winter on it, so bring binoculars.

The longer round has a hundred metres on the verge of the A714. Wear boots or stout shoes, and keep dogs under close control.

If it rains

The lane and the marsh are open to the weather, so take a coat; the short round is under an hour, and the bookshops are the wet-day half of the idea.

Afterwards

  1. About 4 min on foot

    The Book Shop, Wigtown

    The Book Shop, Wigtown

    A shop

    A few minutes' walk from the square, The Book Shop on North Main Street is the largest second-hand bookshop in Scotland. Nearly a mile of shelves runs back through the house, and there's a log fire and a shop cat called Captain. It's the shop in Shaun Bythell's Diary of a Bookseller, and an hour goes quickly in it. It opens Monday to Saturday, 9am to 5pm, and is shut on Sundays. Over Christmas and New Year, check before going.

    More about The Book Shop, Wigtown

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 Lodge27 miles awayRose Blair LodgeSleeps 2Heritage Coachman Lodge27 miles awayHeritage Coachman LodgeSleeps 4Fern Forest House27 miles awayFern Forest HouseSleeps 6
Find out more

For further reading, before you go.