Trusty's Hill – Pictish Carvings above the Fleet
About 3.4 miles on foot.
West of Gatehouse of Fleet, a round of small rough hills holds a great deal of history for a short walk.
There's a hillfort with stones the Picts carved, a granite obelisk with the Fleet estuary spread out below it, and a roofless kirk, or church, in a green graveyard at Anwoth. It's 5.5 km and about two hours, on waymarked paths with a few stiles.
- Time
- About two hours: the council's waymarked round from Gatehouse of Fleet, 5.5 km, with about 120 m of climbing. A walk.
- The path
- Pavement and a minor road, then earth and grass paths over rough ground, with stiles.
- Where to start
- The car park in the centre of Gatehouse of Fleet; no charge.
- Set off
- From November to January, set off by 1pm to be back in daylight.
- When to go
- All year in daylight. From November to January set off by 1pm. The hill ground is rough and wet after rain.
- Dogs
- Under close control: sheep and cattle graze the hills.
- Children
- Children who manage stiles and rough ground; no pushchairs.
- Toilets
- Public toilets beside the car park in Gatehouse of Fleet.
- Before you set out
- Part of the walk crosses a private garden: close the gates behind you.
The walk
Park in the car park in the centre of Gatehouse of Fleet, where there's no charge and the public toilets are beside it. The council's waymarked walk from here is a 5.5 km round of the small rough hills west of the town. It allows two hours, with about 120 metres of climbing. Trusty's Hill is a vitrified fort, its stone walls fused by fire, and near its top on the south side are stones the Picts carved, known locally as the De'il's Specs.
It's one of only two places in Galloway where they left their mark, a long way from their own country in the north-east, and nobody knows why. Rutherford's Monument stands on the next hill, a granite obelisk 55 feet high, raised in 1842 to Samuel Rutherford, minister of Anwoth from 1627 to 1639. A millennium cairn close by names every minister of Anwoth and Girthon up to the year 2000, and the Fleet estuary lies below. Below the monument, beyond a wood, is the roofless Old Kirk at Anwoth, built in 1626-27 and used until 1825, and the way back from there is a minor road.
Part of the walk crosses a private garden, so close the gates behind you. There are stiles and rough ground, so wear boots. Sheep and cattle graze the hills: keep dogs under close control. From November to January, set off by 1pm to be back in daylight.
If it rains
The hilltops are open and the view of the estuary goes in low cloud. On a wet day keep to the town end, or save the walk for a clearer one.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
For further reading, before you go.
Photograph by Mark Prentice via Google