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north. The flanks of the heavily glaciated
Dalveen Pass and of 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.
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running across the picture much nearer to us and the Roman road also runs across the picture below Well Hill. The Roman road meets the A702 beyond Well Hill on the right of the picture. Potrail Water (one of the principal sources of the River Clyde) rises from little burns running out of the glen leading down from Scaw'd Law in the immediate foreground. The
Southern Uplands of Scotland.
425:, 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 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
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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
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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 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
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Durisdeer Hills from the A702. Durisdeer
Village nestles into the foot of the glen in the middle of the picture and the Roman fortlet is at the foot of the glen just beyond the village. The hill catching the sunlight is Penbane with Well Hill beyond it also in sunlight, Black Hill is to the left and
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Source of the River Clyde (on the left of the picture) where the Daer Water (coming in from the top right) meets the
Potrail Water (coming in from the middle of the right side), The A702 and Glenochar Farmhouse are in the foreground. Glenochar Bastle and Fermtoun are just out of the picture on the
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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
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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
468:
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 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
449:
Lowther Hills from Scaw'd Law in the
Durisdeer Hills. Lowther Hill (with ball on top) left of the ridge and Cold Moss in front of it, Green Lowther middle of the picture (also with masts on top), Dun Law one third in from right and Lousie Wood Law on right. Well Hill is the very prominent hill
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in 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
37:, 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 (
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is an outlier 11 kilometres north of Abington. The south east boundary of the hills is formed by the Forest of Ae which 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
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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 the Forest of Ae, the highest point of which is
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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
434:. 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,
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The Lowther Hills can be split into a northern and southern section. The northern section would generally be taken to mean the string of tops lying between the Dalveen Pass and the Mennock Pass and running south eastward from near Elvanfoot over
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64:
View looking north into the Dalveen Pass from Capel Hill in the Durisdeer Hills with Steygail on the left, Lowther Hill left of centre and Cold Moss right of centre, Upper Dalveen House in the valley catching sunlight, Southern Uplands of
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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.
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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
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en route and reaches 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.
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Heading north on the ancient bridle path to the Enterkin Pass with Lowther Hill on left edge, Pettylung (Durisdeer Hills) on right and the Dalveen Pass between them. Southern Uplands of Scotland.
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The north west boundary of the hills runs up the Crawick Water in a north easterly direction from where the Crawick Water runs into the River Nith. This boundary follows the B740 road through
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which flows north through Lanarkshire and passes through the City of Glasgow. Where the Daer and Potrail Waters confluence, the River Clyde begins. The Daer Water has its head waters near
318:
The village of Durisdeer sits at some distance from the A702, nestling tightly into the foot of Durisdeer Hill at the bottom of the pass through the hills that the Romans used. The
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running in 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.
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museum in nearby Wanlockhead. Leadhills has the oldest subscription library in the UK (founded by miners in 1741), and was the birthplace of the 18th century poet
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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
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381:- 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
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129:(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
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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
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View into the Dalveen Pass (looking South) from Cold Moss in the Lowther Hills, Upper Dalveen House right foreground, Southern Uplands of Scotland.
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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
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649:"ROCK SLOPE FAILURE CLUSTERING AND SPARSITY IN THE BRITISH MOUNTAINS | David Jarman | 5 updates | 4 publications | Research Project"
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Society of Antiquaries of Scotland Proceedings of the Society Feb 11th 1924 ANCIENT BORDER HIGHWAYS p. 219 by Harry R G Inglis
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Society of Antiquaries of Scotland Proceedings of the Society Feb 11th 1924 ANCIENT BORDER HIGHWAYS p. 221 by Harry R G Inglis
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Durisdeer Hill to the right with its shoulder Durisdeer Rig running towards us. Durisdeer Hills Southern Uplands of Scotland.
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Approaching Elvanfoot on the A702, Glenochar farmhouse is reached. Just to the north, there is Glenochar Bastle and
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statues of him and his wife Mary dating from 1713 though there has been a church on this site since medieval times.
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centre runs three ski lifts above the villages of Leadhills and Wanlockhead for beginners and intermediate skiers.
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243:. The B797 reaches to a height of 467 metres as it leaves Wanlockhead - which is the highest village in Scotland.
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Andrew K.M. and Thrippleton A.A. (1972) The Southern Uplands. The Scottish Mountaineering Trust sbn 901516 57 0
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before it meets the Potrail. The head waters of the Potrail are on the north east side of Durisdeer Hill.
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and has been the main route north over centuries. Nithsdale to the west of the Lowthers carries both the
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there is a track for walkers into the centre of the hills. The Enterkin Pass was the location of a 1684
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Scottish Hill and Mountain Names: The Origin and Meaning of the Names of Scotland's Hills and Mountains
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Dalveen Pass is the most southerly and the longest pass within the Lowther Hills. It runs from
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Ordnance Survey Landranger Maps no. 78 Nithsdale and Annandale and no. 72 Upper Clyde Valley
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on the west bank of the River Nith some 5 kilometres north of Thornhill. In the church at
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on the east and some 28 kilometres from the town of Thornhill near the southern apex to
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meaning "a canal, a trench", in this sense "a pass between hills", has been suggested.
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Williams, David (1989) A Guide to the Southern Upland Way. London: A Constable Guide
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45:) which carry the two largest arterial routes northwards into the west side of the
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Marsh, Terry (1988) On Foot in Southern Scotland. Devon: A David and Charles Book
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near the M74 and carries the A702 trunk road. The road passes near the village of
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and Clydesdale taken together, form a corridor between the Lowther Hills and the
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It is some 30 kilometres across the rhomboid as the crow flies from the town of
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and one of the main ancient routes northwards through the Southern Uplands.
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world's purest gold (22.8 carats) which was used in the manufacture of the
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Turnbull, Ronald (1999) Walking the Lowther Hills. Cicerone Press Cumbria
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The Lowther Hills are one of the birthplaces of Scottish winter sports.
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There was another pass from Durisdeer through to Wanlockhead called the
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moves into them around the village of Leadhills and the Daer Reservoir.
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Prentice, Tom (1995) 25 Walks - Dumfries and Galloway Edinburgh HMSO
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149:. The next range of hills to the west beyond the River Nith is the
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there is a mausoleum to the first Duke of Buccleuch complete with
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Roman Fortlet from Durisdeer Rig - Southern Uplands of Scotland.
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is a preserved former industrial narrow-gauge railway line.
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Geographical object in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, UK
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near the northern one. Sanquhar and Thornhill lie on the
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97:just to the west of the Lowthers to the towns of
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501:Drummond, Peter; Stuart, Donald William (1991).
413:, White Law, Dun Law, Dungrain Law, Peden Head,
29:, are an extensive area of hill country in the
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53:, though part in the administrative county of
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505:. Scottish Mountaineering Trust. p. 63.
74:There is some obscurity surrounding the name
1165:Mountains and hills of Dumfries and Galloway
1175:Ski areas and resorts in the United Kingdom
1135:Mountains and hills of the Scottish Borders
1130:Mountains and hills of the Southern Uplands
347:bottom right. Southern Uplands of Scotland.
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427:Southern Upland Way
338:Source of the Clyde
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127:Moffat Hills
92:
82:
75:
73:
47:Central Belt
26:
22:
20:
18:
1150:Covenanters
1109: /
1072:Tower house
1010:Housesteads
1005:Haltwhistle
995:Chillingham
772:10 November
542:10 February
432:Queensberry
404:Hillwalking
362:Queensberry
358:River Clyde
237:Wanlockhead
191:Hill Passes
119:River Clyde
115:River Annan
80:early Irish
1124:Categories
1067:Peel tower
1055:See also:
985:Beltingham
935:Birdoswald
798:2 November
473:References
455:Snowsports
324:Drumlanrig
295:pilgrimage
275:Covenanter
147:Kilmarnock
111:River Nith
39:Clydesdale
1015:Ninebanks
597:Roots Web
440:Annandale
436:Nithsdale
328:Durisdeer
241:Leadhills
225:Durisdeer
221:Elvanfoot
184:Auldgirth
123:Annandale
70:Etymology
65:Scotland.
43:Nithsdale
1025:Scotland
874:Archived
633:Archived
582:Archived
353:Fermtoun
299:Whithorn
143:Dumfries
139:A76 road
133:and the
107:Abington
99:Beattock
95:Sanquhar
35:Scotland
27:Lowthers
1094:55°24′N
1057:Barmkin
927:Cumbria
917:in the
461:Curling
76:Lowther
1097:3°44′W
954:Durham
852:
842:
832:
822:
509:
466:skiing
386:mining
332:marble
205:passes
103:Moffat
83:lothur
533:(PDF)
179:Tinto
850:ISBN
840:ISBN
830:ISBN
820:ISBN
800:2017
774:2009
544:2019
507:ISBN
438:and
383:lead
239:and
101:and
21:The
442:.
145:to
33:of
1126::
535:.
521:^
491:^
421:,
417:,
153:.
121:.
906:e
899:t
892:v
802:.
776:.
651:.
546:.
515:.
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