69-587: The Lowther Hills , also sometimes known as the Lowthers , are an extensive area of hill country in the Southern Uplands of Scotland , though some sub-ranges of hills in this area also go under their own local names - see "Hillwalking" below. They form a roughly rhomboidal or lozenge shape on the map with the acute angles being to north and south. It has river valleys along its boundaries to north east ( Clydesdale ) and south west ( Nithsdale ) which carry
138-527: A marriage stone with two coat of arms, the date 1576, initials RD and NJ for Robert Douglas and his wife Nicola Johnston. Sections of the castle walls stood 6 foot high and 6 foot thick survived at least until 1825. Morton is first recorded as being held in the 12th century by Dunegal, Lord of Strathnith (Nithsdale) and then by Thomas Randolph, Earl of Moray . The location of the surviving ruins stand on an elevated and highly defendable promontory surrounded on three sides by an artificial loch, originally only
207-465: A Civil Aviation Authority aircraft tracking station on the summit. The huge white 'golf ball' on the top of Lowther Hill can be seen from many miles away in all directions. The Southern Upland Way passes over the top of Lowther Hill - the highest point of the entire route. The southern portion would generally be taken to mean the lower but more expansive hills which lie between the Dalveen Pass and
276-637: A Deas ) are the southernmost and least populous of mainland Scotland 's three major geographic areas (the others being the Central Lowlands and the Highlands ). The term is used both to describe the geographical region and to collectively denote the various ranges of hills and mountains within this region. An overwhelmingly rural and agricultural region, the Southern Uplands are partly forested and contain many areas of open moorland -
345-601: A branch of the Enterkin Path running up the glen on the eastern side. A ford crossed the Nith at Auchenbraith. Timothy Pont 's map of circa 1583-96 shows 'Interk (?) Mill' at the same position (NS 857042) as the later mill. The 1654 Joan Blaeu map also records a 'Mill of Inter'. The burn is recorded as 'Interkyn' in 1745. Roy's map records 'Entrikin Foot', 'Water of Entrican' and the 'Entriken Path'. In 1776 Entrakinfoot
414-603: A characteristic shared with the Highlands but in contrast to the Central Lowlands. Although the political and geographical borders do not precisely coincide, the two southern local authority areas have a combined population of around 265,000 across 4,314 square miles (11,170 km ), fewer inhabitants than five of the areas within the Central Lowlands, for example North Lanarkshire is home to 340,000 across 184 square miles (480 km ). Agriculture and forestry are
483-561: A church on this site since medieval times. Approaching Elvanfoot on the A702, Glenochar farmhouse is reached. Just to the north, there is Glenochar Bastle and Fermtoun a 17th-century settlement and fortified house. The archaeological dig which revealed this was the winner of the 1997 Pitt Rivers Award for amateur archaeologists. Also, just to the south is the source of the River Clyde which flows north through Lanarkshire and passes through
552-585: A height of 350 metres at the top of the pass. It is the only pass enlarged by ice into a U-shaped glacial trough, hence the road has to climb up the steep side to gain the head. The Mennock Pass carries the B797 which runs from the small village of Mennock on the A76 to Abington near the M74, passing through the villages of Wanlockhead and Leadhills . The B797 reaches to a height of 467 metres as it leaves Wanlockhead - which
621-460: A hunting lodge until around 1714. Morton is still the property of the Duke of Buccleuch in the care of Historic Environment Scotland . The ruins of this church and cemetery stand in a remote location above Enterkinfoot. In the 13th-century Holyrood Abbey held Kirkbride Church . In 1732 the parish was divided and annexed to the parishes of Durisdeer and Sanquhar . The remains on site today date from
690-532: A marshland. The 1357 Treaty of Berwick in 1357 required the Scots to destroy Morton and thirteen other castles in Nithsdale. The Earl of March probably built much of the existing castle in the early 15th century, however, James Douglas of Dalkeith, Earl of Morton . In 1608 the castle was sold to William Douglas of Coshogle, William Douglas of Drumlanrig then buying it ten years later. The castle may have served as
759-564: A north easterly direction diagonally through the Lowthers linking the A76 trunk road to the M74 motorway, and several 'ancient passes' now followed by paths or tracks. Dalveen Pass is the most southerly and the longest pass within the Lowther Hills. It runs from Carronbridge on the A76 just north of Thornhill to Elvanfoot near the M74 and carries the A702 trunk road. The road passes near the village of Durisdeer en route and reaches
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#1732772040375828-564: A road (the B797) through the Mennock Pass to the county boundary and onward to Edinburgh. The village never had a passenger station the nearest today being Sanquhar and previously a station was present at Carron Bridge . The Enterkin Pass was one of the old routes, a bridle-path, running north from Nithsdale into Clydesdale, together with the nearby Mennock, Well and Dalveen Passes, crossing
897-437: A wooden trough carrying the water from a sluice near the railway viaduct, splitting into a spillway and the lade to the wheel on the other side of the road. Coshogle Castle once overlooked Enterkinfoot, held by the clan Douglas, it stood near Old Coshogle Farm however nothing now remains at the site although some features from it are incorporated into nearby cottages, namely a doorway with an arch and moulded jambs, and secondly
966-757: Is Loch Ken the water lever of the loch was increased in 1936 when the Glenlochar Barrage was installed on the River Dee as well the Water of Ken was dammed to create manmade lochs as part of the Galloway Hydro Scheme. Several other lochs in Galloway are dammed such as Loch Doon , Loch Bradan and Clatteringshaws Loch though many smaller ones remain in a more natural state such as Loch Dee, Loch Enoch , Loch Grannoch and Loch Trool . To
1035-443: Is home to the only ski area in the south of Scotland, and Scotland's only community-owned ski centre. Operated by Lowther Hills Ski Club, the ski centre runs three ski lifts above the villages of Leadhills and Wanlockhead for beginners and intermediate skiers. 55°24′N 3°44′W / 55.40°N 3.74°W / 55.40; -3.74 Southern Uplands The Southern Uplands ( Scottish Gaelic : Na Monaidhean
1104-410: Is named for Caledonia , a Latin name for Scotland . The majority of the rocks are weakly metamorphosed coarse greywacke . The tectonic processes involved in the formation of the accretionary wedge, where sediment is scraped off the seafloor as a tectonic plate is subducted , has led to the formation of multiple, major, east–west faults that are now exploited by rivers and define valleys across
1173-598: Is now consistently known as 'Enterkinfoot' and the stream recorded as the 'Enterkin Burn' with its source 5 miles (8.0 km) away on the western slope of Lowther Hill. The burn has its confluence here with the River Nith . The area is famous for its association with the Covenanters and the events of the so-called 'Killing Times' that occurred during the reigns of Charles II and James VII and II and eventually led to
1242-585: Is on the west bank of the Enterkin Burn for around 3 km until it reaches Glenvalentine from where it ascends in a southerly direction from the burn to the ridge above. Descending south from the ridge, there are views of Enterkin Glen. A metalled road is present near Inglestone and a public road runs via Muiryhill, turning west to the A76 Nithsdale road and thence to Enterkinfoot. On 29 July 1684,
1311-525: Is one of the largest forests in Britain at 10,000 hectares. A continuous band of trees runs, again in a north easterly direction, from Auldgirth on the River Nith (9 kilometres south of Thornhill), for some 26 kilometres till it meets the M74 motorway 10 kilometres north of Beattock. Continuing south of Ae leads into the plain that surrounds the town of Dumfries. There are three road passes running in
1380-476: Is said to be a benchmark of its type, built by German engineers in around 1848 for the Glasgow, Dumfries and Carlisle Railway that opened in 1850 and became the Glasgow and South Western Railway . The design of this massive wall guarantees the stability of the double track railway above and in addition it prevents erosion of the embankment. The Enterkin Burn's name, with variants such as 'Inter' may originate in
1449-543: Is the highest village in Scotland. Crawick Pass is the most northerly of the three passes and carries the B740 from Crawick to Crawfordjohn and on to the M74. The Crawick is the shortest of the three passes without the steep ascents and overarching hills that characterise the other two. It is also the lowest of the three reaching a maximum height of 288 metres. There was another pass from Durisdeer through to Wanlockhead called
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#17327720403751518-478: Is the spelling used. Enterkine Foot is marked on Crawford's 1804 map. By 1898 the more recent two storey mill is marked as a meal mill rather than a corn mill. The mill no longer survives. The miller's house is of a red sandstone construction and the lean-to extensions at each gable end once housed a smithy and a shop respectively. An older mill stands alongside, with various outbuildings, a cobbled courtyard, small walled garden and an old pig sty. The lade ran down as
1587-686: The Ayrshire coast northeastwards to Dunbar in East Lothian on the North Sea coast, a distance of some 220 km (140 mi). There are several ranges of hills and mountains within the Southern Uplands. From east to west these are: Although the summits are not as high as many in the Scottish Highlands nor other famous mountain regions, parts of the Southern Uplands are remote and mountainous, containing about 120 Marilyns ,
1656-517: The Enterkin Pass which was an old pack horse route through the hills from Dumfries to Glasgow. It has been argued by H.R.G. Inglis (1924) that this route was used mainly for extracting lead to the Solway coast and was never viable as a main route north because of its height. There is no road through there now though there is a track for walkers into the centre of the hills. The Enterkin Pass was
1725-631: The M74 motorway and has been the main route north over centuries. Nithsdale to the west of the Lowthers carries both the A76 road and the rail line from Dumfries to Kilmarnock . The next range of hills to the west beyond the River Nith is the Carsphairn and Scaur Hills . The north west boundary of the hills runs up the Crawick Water in a north easterly direction from where the Crawick Water runs into
1794-640: The River Clyde at 106 mi (171 km) and the River Tweed at 97 mi (156 km) respectively. Several significant rivers drain southwards into the Solway Firth and Irish Sea including (from west to east) the River Cree , River Dee , River Urr , River Nith , River Annan and the River Esk . There are numerous lochs in the Southern Uplands, particularly in the west. The largest
1863-526: The Anglo-Scottish border have a troubled and bloody history. They were the scene of many raids, campaigns and battles, including the Battle of Ancrum Moor , the Battle of Nesbit Moor and the Battle of Philiphaugh . The Common Riding festivals of many Southern Upland towns such as Jedburgh , Kelso , Hawick , Peebles , Selkirk and Langholm recall this history, re-enacting the practice of riding
1932-527: The Carlisle area. Several primary roads run through the Southern Uplands, most of which run north–south, with the most notable exception being the A75. The most significant of these roads is the M74 motorway connecting Scotland and England. These roads include: Five railway lines pass through, or into, the Southern Uplands; all in a roughly north–south direction. These are the: There are no major airports within
2001-663: The City of Glasgow. Where the Daer and Potrail Waters confluence, the River Clyde begins. The Daer Water has its head waters near Queensberry and it flows through Daer Reservoir before it meets the Potrail. The head waters of the Potrail are on the north east side of Durisdeer Hill. The fact that there are two villages nearly 500 metres up in a desolate hillside in the Southern Uplands of Scotland requires some explanation: because of
2070-521: The Enterkin Pass was the scene of a dramatic rescue, the 'Enterkin Raid' by twelve Covenanters of five of their colleagues and a minister who were under escort by soldiers taking them from Dumfries via Thornhill to Edinburgh. The leaders of the group were James and Thomas Harkness and the ambush was set at Glenvalentine confluence resulting in the officer commanding being shot through the head and
2139-651: The Forest of Ae, the highest point of which is Queensberry . Mitchellslacks, on the northern edge of the Forest Ae, and which provides access to Queensberry, along with nearby Locherben, were the homes of the Harknesses involved in the Covenanter ambush. They also offer views into the northern Lowthers, Nithsdale and Annandale . The Lowther Hills are one of the birthplaces of Scottish winter sports. Curling in
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2208-888: The Lowthers and then onwards to Edinburgh or Glasgow . Its origins may be a medieval travellers route or 16th century, made to facilitate the transport of lead from the mines by pack horses with panniers to Dumfries . In 1726 Daniel Defoe writing in " A Tour Thro' the Whole Island of Great Britain" (1726) described the pass: "Enterkin, the frightfullest pass, and most dangerous that I met with, between that and Penmenmuir in North Wales ". Another author wrote that " A few steps and you are on its edge, looking down giddy and amazed into its sudden and immense depths. ... but we know nothing more noticeable, more unlike any other place, more impressive, than this short, deep, narrow, and sudden glen. " The original path and lane ran from near
2277-583: The Lowthers can be traced back to 1777, when the Wanlockhead Curling Society –one of Scotland's first Curling societies- was created. Scotland's first boys' Curling club was established in Wanlockhead in 1883. The sport remained popular in the area until the 1930s. Since the 1920s skiing in the Lowther Hills has been organised intermittently by a succession of local residents as well as several non-for-profit sports clubs. Lowther Hill
2346-399: The River Nith. This boundary follows the B740 road through Crawfordjohn and connects to the old trunk road north which was used before the M74 was built on its present route. North of the B740 the hills gradually drop out into the Central Lowlands of Scotland though Tinto is an outlier 11 kilometres north of Abington. The south east boundary of the hills is formed by the Forest of Ae which
2415-601: The Scottish population of red squirrels . Ospreys are present at some of the lochs of the Galloway Forest Park, St Mary's Loch and along the River Tweed . Brown trout are common in many burns and a number of the rivers in the area have populations of sea trout , salmon and Eurasian otters . The two unitary authorities of Dumfries and Galloway in the west and the Scottish Borders in
2484-471: The Southern Uplands are covered with forests such as: The amount of forested land cover in the western Southern Uplands increased greatly between the 1940s and the 1980s, from 1% to 23%. The Southern Uplands have always formed a major obstacle to travel between the more heavily populated and industrialised Central Belt of Scotland and England to the south. Major roads and railways follow the east coast route and various valley routes radiating northwards from
2553-835: The Southern Uplands in several of his prose and verse works (such as The Lay of the Last Minstrel ), as did James Hogg , known as the Ettrick Shepherd. 55°25′N 3°17′W / 55.41°N 3.28°W / 55.41; -3.28 Enterkin Pass Enterkinfoot is a small village or hamlet which lies 6 miles (9.7 km) north of Thornhill on the A76 on the route to Sanquhar , in Dumfriesshire , Durisdeer Parish, in Dumfries and Galloway , south-west Scotland . Its original nucleus
2622-519: The Southern Uplands. Levels of deformation associated with these faults is highly variable but is pervasive in the finer-grained sediments. Secondary mineralisation has further altered these Lower Palaeozoic rocks which are hosts for some distinctive springs , some of which have been exploited for tourism, such as those around Moffat . The Southern Uplands lie south of the Southern Uplands Fault line that runs from Ballantrae on
2691-595: The area. The nearest international passenger airports are Glasgow Prestwick International Airport , Glasgow International Airport and Edinburgh Airport . Vehicle ferries operate between Stranraer and Cairnryan in Scotland and Belfast and Larne in Northern Ireland respectively. There are numerous walks through the Southern Uplands. These include the Southern Upland Way , a 212-mile (341 km) coast to coast walk between Portpatrick in
2760-577: The body of James Harkness in Locherben who died 6th Dec. 1723 aged 72 years Bel o this stone his dust doth ly who in dured 28 years porsecuti on by tiranny :Did him persue with echo & cry through many a lonsome place at last by Clavers he was tane Sentenced for to dy But God who for his soul took care did him from prison bring Because no other cause they had But that he could not give up With Christ his Glorious king, and swear alligence to that beast
2829-548: The boundaries of the town to enable warning to be given of raids from the south. This violent history is also commemorated in many Border ballads , another common theme of which is the supernatural, as in the ballads of Thomas the Rhymer and Tam Lin . Many Border ballads were collected by Sir Walter Scott in his Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border . Scott also portrayed the social history, folklore and traditions of
Lowther Hills - Misplaced Pages Continue
2898-524: The deep, steep-sided Enterkin Pass are both lined with rock slope failures (large landslips and landslides), with a deep V-shaped notch linking these passes being a probable overflow channel cut by glacial meltwaters. The original source of the Clyde is inferred to have been here, captured to the Nith by the Dalveen trough-head. The village of Durisdeer sits at some distance from the A702, nestling tightly into
2967-440: The duke of york, i mean. In spite of all there hellish rage a naturel death he died in full asurance of his rest with Christ eternally The Duke of Buccleuch insisted that the railway be hidden from his seat at Drumlanrig Castle and this necessitated a 1,397-yard-long tunnel built by a workforce of 600 and requiring seven million bricks. The original contractor found the project too onerous. The tunnel opens at
3036-436: The early 16th century and a sacristy projects from the north wall. Kirkbride is said to be only the second reformed church built in Scotland. The church bell was stolen after its abandonment was and was traced to Glasgow where it had been recognised by the sound of it when rung it was brought back and re-hung in the small belfry on the gable end. Enoch castle was the caput of the barony of that name, however, nothing remains at
3105-417: The east cover almost all of the Southern Uplands. Along its northern margins, the councils of South Ayrshire , East Ayrshire , South Lanarkshire and East Lothian extend into the region. After local government reorganisation in 1974 and prior to further reorganisation in 1996, the Southern Uplands were administered by the two 'regions' of Dumfries & Galloway and Borders along with the southern margins of
3174-792: The east of Moffat is the largest natural body of water in the Borders Region of the Southern Uplands, St. Mary's Loch together with the adjacent Loch of the Lowes and nearby Loch Skeen . There are several other reservoirs in the vicinity including Megget Reservoir , Talla Reservoir and Fruid Reservoir whilst Daer Reservoir lies among the Lowther Hills. The area has a wide diversity of species and habitats. The uplands support black and red grouse , mountain hares , golden eagles , hen harriers and some unusual plant species. The western hills are home to red deer , roe deer , feral goats and wild boar . The western forests have one fifth of
3243-511: The establishment of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland. A number of small cottages, many owned by the Duke of Buccleuch, made up the original village, some of which are still occupied. A public house stood next to the Enterkin Burn on the southern side. Enterkinfoot School and schoolhouse was situated near the cottages at Auchenbraith. A holy well is shown at the 'Holywell Cleuch' above Hapland Farm (with no recorded history) with
3312-548: The foot of Durisdeer Hill at the bottom of the pass through the hills that the Romans used. The Duke of Buccleuch , the largest private landowner in Britain, owns much of the land for many miles around this area and has a castle at Drumlanrig on the west bank of the River Nith some 5 kilometres north of Thornhill. In the church at Durisdeer there is a mausoleum to the first Duke of Buccleuch complete with marble statues of him and his wife Mary dating from 1713 though there has been
3381-578: The hill names in the area are congruent with these characteristics. The Southern Uplands consist mainly of Silurian sedimentary deposits deposited in the Iapetus Ocean 420 million years ago. These rocks were pushed up from the sea bed into an accretionary wedge during the Caledonian orogeny , roughly 400 million years ago ( Ma ), when the continents and terranes of Laurentia , Baltica and Avalonia collided. The Caledonian orogeny
3450-488: The local economy and to that of Scotland in general. Generally, sheep and arable farming are more predominant in the Scottish Borders to the east, while dairy farming is traditionally more important in Dumfries and Galloway , although recent years here have seen a move away from cattle grazing towards sheep farming. Several breeds of livestock have originated in the Southern Uplands, including Galloway cattle , Ayrshire dairy cattle and Cheviot sheep . Large areas of
3519-478: The location of a 1684 Covenanter ambush of a party of Dragoons during the Killing Time The Romans built a road through from their fortlet near Durisdeer on a route which takes a more direct route to the head of the pass than is offered by the Dalveen Pass. Inglis calls this route Well Path and he considers this to have been on the main pilgrimage route from Edinburgh to Whithorn and one of
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#17327720403753588-487: The main ancient routes northwards through the Southern Uplands. The Lowther Hills are composed of resistant Ordovician shales, heavily compressed and contorted in the Caledonian mountain-building orogeny. The headwaters of the River Nith incise them deeply on the south, as the Nith falls much more steeply (to the nearby Solway Firth) than does the Clyde on the north. The flanks of the heavily glaciated Dalveen Pass and of
3657-548: The main forms of land use in the Southern Uplands. Sustainable power has been in production for several decades: the Galloway hydro-electric power scheme was built between 1930 and 1936. More recently a number of wind farms have been developed on upland sites. Tourism and recreation are of increasing importance: walking, fishing and grouse shooting are traditional pursuits and mountain biking has become popular in recent years. The textile industry employed large numbers in many of
3726-513: The majority of the Donalds and a substantial number of Corbetts and Grahams . Some of the more notable peaks in the Southern Uplands are: The Southern Uplands are home to the UK's second highest, and Scotland's highest, village, Wanlockhead , 430 m (1,410 ft) above sea level. The region is drained by numerous rivers, the most important of which are Scotland's third and fourth longest,
3795-420: The name Lowther . Derivation from the early Irish lothur meaning "a canal, a trench", in this sense "a pass between hills", has been suggested. It is some 30 kilometres across the rhomboid as the crow flies from the town of Sanquhar just to the west of the Lowthers to the towns of Beattock and Moffat on the east and some 28 kilometres from the town of Thornhill near the southern apex to Abington near
3864-537: The northern one. Sanquhar and Thornhill lie on the River Nith , Moffat on the River Annan and Abington on the River Clyde . Annandale and Clydesdale taken together, form a corridor between the Lowther Hills and the Moffat Hills (which lie to the east.). This corridor between the hills carries the main route running northwards into Scotland on its west side. It carries both the west coast railway line and
3933-462: The oldest subscription library in the UK (founded by miners in 1741), and was the birthplace of the 18th century poet Allan Ramsay , whose son, also Allan Ramsay , was the leading portrait painter in Britain in the mid 18th century. The Leadhills & Wanlockhead Railway is a preserved former industrial narrow-gauge railway line. The Lowther Hills can be split into a northern and southern section. The northern section would generally be taken to mean
4002-426: The regions of Strathclyde and Lothian. Within each of these regions were districts with their own district councils. Historically, i.e. prior to 1974, the region comprised the counties of Wigtown , Kirkcudbright , Dumfries , Roxburgh , Peebles , Selkirk and Berwick together with parts of Ayrshire , Lanarkshire, Midlothian and East Lothian . The geography of the region has caused it to be sparsely populated,
4071-459: The rich variety of minerals to be found here, this area became known as "God's Treasure House in Scotland". Notably, it has produced some of the world's purest gold (22.8 carats) which was used in the manufacture of the Scottish Crown Jewels - dating from the 15th and 16th centuries. The name "Leadhills" testifies to the fact that this area was chiefly known for its lead mining; and there is a lead mining museum in nearby Wanlockhead. Leadhills has
4140-408: The school and was cut off by the railway, but it used to directly run from Enterkinfoot with another route from the south branching off from the Dalveen Pass road. The present-day path, going east from Wanlockhead passes around the west side of Stake Hill and joins the road to the radar station, leaving again to run south to the Enterkin Pass between Lowther Hill and East Mount Lowther. The path down
4209-577: The site due to robbing the lay of the land shows it to have been a place of considerable strength. It was seized by the Douglas's of Morton Castle and attached to the clans land holdings. Enterkinfoot lies in Nithsdale, a natural communication corridor that has resulted in the main A76 road passing through it and railway the cutting through it a higher level with the Drumlanrig Tunnel near by. The Dumfries to Ayr road runs through on its way to Sanquhar from Carronbridge. The Duke of Queensberry constructed around 22 miles (35 km) of new road and in addition
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#17327720403754278-443: The south in the vicinity of the old Carronbridge railway station at NS880012. The 111 ft (34 m)-high Enterkin Viaduct with its four arches runs above Enterkinfoot and a substantial retaining wall lies just to the north. The 219 ft (67 m) long viaduct, built of red ashlar by John Miller , has had a Category B listing since 26 June 1986. The impressively engineered Enterkinfoot retaining wall (NS 8527 0482)
4347-449: The south of Scotland, from the heart of the Scottish Borders to Dumfries and Galloway. They are on Forestry Commission land and along with schemes in Wales are regarded as the benchmark by which further trails in the UK should be developed. They are known as the 7stanes because each venue features a 'stane' ( Scots for stone) somewhere along the forest trails. The Seven Stanes: The Southern Uplands and especially those areas adjacent to
4416-435: The string of tops lying between the Dalveen Pass and the Mennock Pass and running south eastward from near Elvanfoot over Lousie Wood Law , White Law, Dun Law, Dungrain Law, Peden Head, Green Lowther , Lowther Hill , East Mount Lowther , Thirstane Hill and Steygail which dominates the steepest part of the Dalveen Pass on its northern side. Green Lowther is the highest point of the Lowther Hills area and, like Lowther Hill, has
4485-458: The towns of the Scottish Borders in the 19th and 20th centuries. Stocking frames were introduced in Hawick in 1771 and Galashiels ' first woollen mill was built in 1800, but textile manufacture had a long history in the area: linen production had been a major industry since the Middle Ages. The textile industry declined in the late 20th century, with 7,800 people employed in 1981 and only 4,400 by 1998. However, it continues to be significant both to
4554-440: The troops firing a single volley before surrendering their prisoners. It is reported that there were casualties on both sides. Five of the Covenanters, including Thomas Harkness, involved were caught soon after and executed at Edinburgh's Grassmarket, however James Harkness escaped to Ulster in Northern Ireland and his grave and story is still to be seen at Dalgarnock near Thornhill where his memorial read :- Here lyes
4623-427: The two largest arterial routes northwards into the west side of the Central Belt of Scotland. A string of small towns have long since developed along these routes. Most of the Lowther Hills lie in the Administrative County of Dumfries and Galloway , though part in the administrative county of South Lanarkshire moves into them around the village of Leadhills and the Daer Reservoir. There is some obscurity surrounding
4692-436: The west and Cockburnspath in the east. There is some good rock climbing in the Southern Uplands, particularly in the western portion, the Galloway Hills. The majority of the climbing is on good quality granite, often slabby and sometimes a bit broken in nature. In cold winters there is good ice climbing on the hills of Craignaw , Merrick and Cairnsmore of Fleet . The 7stanes are seven mountain biking centres spanning
4761-429: Was the old mill with associated buildings, the school and the famous Enterkin Pass and path that followed the course of the Enterkin Glen to Wanlockhead and from there to Edinburgh . The site features the A76 that runs through the centre of Enterkinfoot, the River Nith and the Enterkin Burn that once powered the mill before joining the Nith. The area is famous for its association with the Covenanters . The village
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