Merrick
843 m
United Kingdom
Also known as Beinn Mheurach, Меррик (гора)Also known as
Beinn Mheurach · Меррик (гора)
- Elevation
- 843 m
- Prominence
- 705 m
- Difficulty
- 2/10
- Hike
- Best Season
- May–Jun
- Routes
- 1
Routes
1The popular 'Merrick Trail' from the car park near Bruce's Stone above Loch Trool: up beside the Buchan Burn and through forestry past the Culsharg bothy, then a rough ridge path beside a wall to Benyellary (719 m) and along the Neive of the Spit to the summit trig point. 13.25 km return, 875 m of ascent, 4–5 hours.
Elevation Profile
approximate line- Distance
- 6.5 km
- one way
- Ascent
- +774 m
- −78 m lost on the way up
- High Point
- 843 m
- Time Up
- 3h 33m
- DIN 33466
- Time Down
- 2h 37m
- DIN 33466 · same way back
Park near the end of the public road up Glen Trool, a short walk from Bruce's Stone, the 1929 memorial to Robert the Bruce's victory at the Battle of Glen Trool in 1307. Take the path signed 'Merrick Trail' slanting uphill high above the Buchan Burn, through a kissing gate, and on into a conifer plantation. Out in the open again the path reaches the Culsharg bothy, then climbs steeply through trees to a forestry track; turn right over a bridge and immediately left back onto the path. Above the trees the path rises gently over open ground to a kissing gate in a fence; the built path then becomes a rough trod climbing beside a wall to Benyellary (719 m), whose cairn lies just right of the path. The Merrick appears ahead. Follow the narrower connecting ridge, the Neive of the Spit, and from its low point climb the open slope directly to the whitewashed trig point in a large tumbledown cairn. Return the same way. In poor visibility a very common mistake is to descend the broad west ridge into remote, pathless country; check your bearing towards Benyellary. Experienced walkers can return by the Loch Valley, a pathless and very boggy alternative.
Start
Bruce's Stone car park144 m
- None to the start.
- Parking at the trailhead
Stages
| Day | Stage | km | m ascent | m descent | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bruce's Stone car park → Merrick | 6.5 | 774 | 78 | 3h 33m |
Waypoints
- Parking: Bruce's Stone car park144 m
Grid reference NX414803
- Bivouac: Culsharg268 m
- Shoulder: Benyellary713 m
- Summit: Merrick843 m
Key Passages
- Climb beside the wall to Benyellary
- Neive of the Spit
- Summit plateau: take care with direction in mist
Equipment
0/4 packedDownloads
Route confidence 85%Overview
The highest hill in southern Scotland (843 m), the high point of the Range of the Awful Hand in the Galloway Hills. A straightforward 4–5 hour walk from Loch Trool past the Culsharg bothy and over Benyellary, with views to Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man.
The Merrick (Gaelic Beinn Mheurach) is the highest summit of the Southern Uplands and of Scotland south of the Highlands. It is the main 'finger' of the Range of the Awful Hand, a line of hills running north from Loch Trool in the Galloway Forest Park, with wild and empty country stretching away to the east and north.
The usual ascent from the car park near Bruce's Stone at Loch Trool is a waymarked hill path: 13.25 km and 875 m of ascent, 4–5 hours return, through forestry past the Culsharg bothy and up a rough ridge path over Benyellary. The summit has a whitewashed trig point in a large tumbledown cairn.
The view on a clear day takes in much of Galloway, the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, and the line of sight from the Merrick to Snowdon (232 km) is said to be the longest in the British Isles. Large granite erratic boulders lie on the west ridge at about 800 m. In winter the Black Gairy west of the summit holds ice climbs up to 200 m after a hard freeze.
Climbing Notes
Any reasonably fit hillwalker can do the Loch Trool route in summer: allow 4–5 hours, wear boots for the boggy and rough sections, and carry waterproofs, a map and a compass. In mist the broad summit is easy to leave in the wrong direction: the common error is to descend the west ridge into remote ground, so take a bearing back towards Benyellary. In winter the hill can be snow-covered and icy; take an ice axe and crampons and allow for short daylight. The Galloway Forest Park is a Dark Sky Park, worth a night's stay.
History
Bruce's Stone at the start of the walk, a cairn erected in 1929, commemorates Robert the Bruce's ambush of an English force at the Battle of Glen Trool in 1307, an early victory in the campaign that ended with Bannockburn in 1314.
Season
Best May–Jun- January: Possible
- February: Possible
- March: Good
- April: Good
- May: Best (best window)
- June: Best (best window)
- July: Good
- August: Good
- September: Best
- October: Good
- November: Possible
- December: Possible
- Jan
- Short days; snow and ice possible on the summit
- Feb
- Winter conditions possible; Black Gairy ice climbing after hard frosts
- Mar
- Lengthening days; late snow possible
- May
- Long days, usually before the worst of the midges
- Jul
- Midges low down; busy
- Aug
- Midges; bracken
- Oct
- Shorter days
- Nov
- Short days; wet and windy
- Dec
- Short days; winter conditions possible
Access & Permits
- Rules
- Scottish Outdoor Access Code applies
- Land managed by Forestry and Land Scotland; no deer-stalking restrictions on the route (Walkhighlands)
- Getting There
Newton Stewart
Glasgow Prestwick (PIK); Glasgow (GLA)
- Car: A714 north from Newton Stewart to Bargrennan, then the minor road through Glentrool village to the end of the public road at Loch Trool and the car park near Bruce's Stone
- Public transport: none to the start
Hazards
- Weather
- Remoteness
Huts & Shelters
1- 268 m
CulshargBivouacUnstaffed