British Horse Society * Ride UK * Extent

Ride-UK The National Bridleroute Network

UK: Scotland: Dumfries & Galloway: Galloway Forest Park

Explore over 400 miles of forest roads and discover the secrets of wild Galloway. This area is rich in wildlife such as deer and buzzards. It is also home to the more elusive otter, pine marten, eagle and barn owl. The landscape encompasses heather covered hills, lochs and tranquil woodland suitable for riding in all seasons.

Status
In Galloway Forest Park there is open access for horse riders on all the forest roads, by permission of Forest Enterprise. This is a working forest and some parts may be closed to riders when timber operations are taking place.

Contact the local Recreation Forester for Forest Enterprise in Newton Stewart to make sure that access is available to all parts of the forest.

Promotion

A leaflet showing the extent of the Park, places to park horse boxes and useful contact telephone numbers is available from Forest Enterprise. Please send a stamped addressed envelope with your request to:
Forest Enterprise, Creebridge, Newton Stewart DG8 6AJ.

Route Outline
No single route is promoted, but there are numerous tracks that can be ridden. Riders are advised to obtain a copy of the leaflet to see the extent of the riding area.

Ordnance Survey
The horse box parking places can best be identified using the grid references in the Forest Enterprise leaflet and the following Ordnance Survey maps.

Landranger Map 76: Girvan, Ballantrae & Barrhill

Landranger Map 77: Dalmellington to New Galloway

Landranger Map 83: Newton Stewart & Kirkcudbright, Gatehouse of Fleet

Outdoor Leisure Map 032: Galloway Forest Park (1 to 25,000 scale)

Where to stay
An Accommodation list is available with the leaflet described above, on request. A useful book entitled Bed and Breakfast for Horses which lists places to keep a horse overnight can be purchased from The British Horse Society. Local entries include:

Mrs B Gilbey, Rusko Holidays, Rusko, Gatehouse of Fleet, Castle Douglas, DG7 2BS. Tel: 01557 814215 Fax: 01557 814679 Email Website

Further Information
The Galloway Forest Park is in south west Scotland and is just a short trip by ferry (Larne-Stranraer) from Northern Ireland and Eire.

Acknowledgements
The project was set up by Forest Enterprise and BHS (Scotland) with support from Dumfries & Galloway Tourist Board, Groundbase and Scottish Natural Heritage.