Enjoy Dumfries & Galloway with some of the best access rights in the world

As outdoor enthusiasts we are very lucky, here in Dumfries & Galloway, to enjoy some of the best access rights in the world. 

Which is fantastic for the many people who come here to enjoy the amazing biodiversity and recreational facilities Dumfries & Galloway has to offer. The Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 gives the public the right to be on most land and inland water for recreation, education and going from place to place, providing they act responsibly. 

The "Scottish Outdoor Access Code" (as it's known) provides guidance on access rights and responsibilities but  it is not in it'self an authoritative statement of the law, although it has been approved by Ministers and the Scottish Parliament. As I understand it, the code is more of guidelines that, if followed, help you observe the law and are an example of good practice when out-and-about in the countryside.

Many of our guests are keen walkers, birders, cyclists or dog owners and most come from outwith Scotland. As Scottish access rights are different to other countries they are often  hesitant when going out and about, as I was when I first came here. I grew up in Yorkshire where the only option to explore the countyside was to use a permissive footpath so although I love the freedom,  I am still sometimes uncomfortable 'roaming free'. With this in mind I looked up the  Scottish Outdoor Access Code when I moved here and always check my rights over my chosen route before I go.

Guests often ask about the Scottish right to roam when exploring our beautiful countryside so I thought it would be a good idea to do a post about the "Scottish Outdoor Access Code" as a handy reference. This is just intended as a quick overview, there are links to official publications at the bottom.

The Land Reform  (Scotland) Act 2003 gives you the right to enjoy:

• Informal pastimes such as walking, camping, picnicking and sightseeing

• Active pursuits including cycling, mountaineering, canoeing and horse riding

• Dog walking, provided your dog is under proper control

• Taking part in recreational and educational trips

• Simply going from one place to another

NOTE: Motorised activities (unless for disabled access) and hunting, shooting and fishing are NOT included.

... over most of Scotland including:

• Urban parks

• Hills and woods

• Most grass fields and field margins

• Beaches

• Lochs, rivers and canals

However, in the interests of safety and to encourage goodwill between the public and to land owners and managers, it is equally important to note the places where you CAN NOT exercise this right. 

The main places where access rights do not apply are:

• houses and gardens, and non-residential buildings and associated land

• land in which crops are growing

• land next to a school and used by the school

• sports or playing fields when these are in use and where the exercise of access rights would interfere with such use

• land developed and in use for recreation and where the exercise of access rights would interfere with such use 

• golf courses (but you can cross a golf course provided you don’t interfere with any games of golf)

• places like airfields, railways, telecommunication sites, military bases and installations, working quarries and construction sites

• visitor attractions or other places which charge for entry

The Code: is based on three key principles which apply equally to both parties, the public and land owners or managers. These are simply, in my opinion, basic common sense and are second nature to most countryside lovers/users and wildlife enthusiasts so are not onerous to abide by.

1. Respect the interests of other people. 

Which means acting with courtesy, consideration and awareness. If you are exercising access rights, make sure that you respect the privacy, safety and livelihoods of those living or working in the outdoors, and the needs of other people enjoying the outdoors. If you are a land manager, respect people’s use of the outdoors and their need for a safe and enjoyable visit. 

2. Care for the environment. 

If you are exercising access rights, look after the places you visit and enjoy, and leave the land as you find it. If you are a land manager, help maintain the natural and cultural features which make the outdoors attractive to visit and enjoy.

3. Take responsibility for your own actions. 

If you are exercising access rights, remember that the outdoors cannot be made risk-free and act with care at all times for your own safety and that of others. If you are a land manager, act with care at all times for people’s safety.

There are also places where, although not specifically excluded,  you are expected to exercise basic common sense; these include bird nesting sites such as wetlands and shingle beaches which should be given a wide berth during the breeding season in late Spring. An example of this locally is Rough Island (an island bird sanctuary just off Rockcliffe/Roughfirth with nesting oystercatchers and ringed plovers.)  There are signs asking people not to visit during the breeding season in May and June.

I hope that this post is useful as knowing the code gives me the confidence to explore freely. 

You can get more extensive guidance and download several documents here:

The Scottish Outdoor Code website

These include:

The Scottish Outdoor Code Summary Leaflet

The full Scottish Outdoor Code

I hope this helps you to enjoy the wonderful diversity Dumfries & Galloway has to offer to the full, particularly in this Year of Natural Scotland

Source: Scottish Natural Heritage - http://www.outdooraccess-scotland.com/

It's blooming well Spring!

After a stressful day of thrashing around Tescos and crashing away at my poor computer I felt I deserved a treat so around 17.30 donned my walking boots, scooped up Murphy the Wonder Dog and parked up at Colvend Village Hall car park.


The air was balmy, the sky blue and the sun dipping towards the West. With a wag of an enthusiastic Collie tail we set off along the track to the Eastern end of Dalbeattie Forest that runs alongside White Loch and on to Clonyard Loch. 


Not a Crossbill in sight which was unusual but the Green Woodpeckers were making thier presence known with their distinctive Yaffle (call). There seem to be a good number about this year, I've heard them in Kippford, Sandyhills and Colvend this week. Far more around than usual - a very good sign!


As it was late we kept it short and looped around Smithland Hill and back to the car park.


The whole walk was a joy, due to the display of Spring flowers we spotted along the way... hope you enjoy them too.

Ended with Blossom back at Colvend Village Hall

These are a few of our favourite things.........

As it's the Easter Holidays I thought it would be a lovely idea to hand over our seasonal blog post to a post done by children. So, for all  families and those young at heart visiting the area here is Dumfries & Galloway through younger eyes. Enjoy!

Strange goings on?

On returning to the car park after my morning constitution at 9.30 on Saturday 17th (well it was such a lovely day I could hardly stay indoors, could I?) I spotted two very unusual, and hopefully rare, birds on the RSPB Mersehead Reserve. The strangest plumage you have ever seen and not of the usual size. Were they some migrants blown in by seasonal storms or just two weary birds on passage?


Before the Twitchers amongst grab your identification books and plan a trip to Mersehead, I think you better see them for yourselves. Luckily, although they were shy little creatures I did manage to get a photo of each of them.

Apparently this is a Barnacle Goose...

and this is a Puffin.

It turns out that these brave souls were helping out at a sponsored walk on the reserve so deserve a round of applause.


Over 60 walkers were raising money and set off on a blissfully sunny morning at about 10.30. The walk went to parts of the reserve not normally open to the public and was organised to help raise vital funds for the continuing conservation work at Mersehead.


Looks like they had a lot of fun!

31 March - 15 April: D&G Wildlife Festival - Great for a budget family holiday

It might be hard to believe it's come around again so quickly but between 31 March and 15 April is the ninth Dumfries and Galloway Wildlife Festival - two weeks jam packed with wildlife inspired events and activities. It's great for folks of all ages but especially families with young children as the events are fun as well as educational, not all events require booking and unless otherwise indicated,  all events are free to attend. It's a great way to keep the youngsters happy and entertained on a budget.

Photo courtesy of www.wildlifefestival.org.uk/

Peter Norman, Dumfries & Galloway Biodiversity Officer says, of this years event:

"This year there are more than 80 events over two weeks with some new exciting additions to the festival. Look out for the new exhibition about ferns at Logan Botanic Gardens, "Pteridomania" running for the whole festiva;l or the Wild Food Forage in Langholm with a cooking demonstration and free lunch! Another event with a difference this year is making a Tattie bogle (or scarecrow to you and me) at Cairnsmore of Fleet NNR. Popular activities held again this year include the Stars and Stripes badger watches at WWT Caerlaverock, the hatchery open days by both Galloway Fisheries Trust and the Nith Catchment Fishery Trust and a whole range of Family activities for Easter. Events across the whole of Dumfries and Galloway with something for everyone to enjoy!"

Our particular favourite activity is 'Dusk on the Dunes', an evening walk to the high dune at RSPB Mersehead where you will be able to watch geese heading to the sand flats to roost.

You can find out more information on the website: http://www.wildlifefestival.org.uk/

Accommodation:
B&B Rockcliffe: Millbrae House (4 Star)

Self catering Colvend: Loch View Cottage (Sleeps 4, double and twin, dogs welcome)

Self catering Kippford: Riverview Lodge (Sleeps 4, double and twin, log stove, sea views, dogs welcome)

Self catering Rockcliffe: Craig Roan Garden Apartment (Sleeps 4, double and twin)

Drumburn Studio Apartment (Sleeps 2, dogs welcome)

Where are they going?

For the past week we have seen Herons heading West each morning. Why? What are they doing? Where are they going? They are usually in pairs or small groups. If anyone could enlighten me I would be grateful. I have a mental image of a really happening rave somewhere out East, with Herons partying all night long.


Yesterday afternoon the Canada Geese on White Loch were getting flirty and pairing off - maybe they had been to the same party?

Branta Canadensis courting By JerryFriedman (Own work) [GFDL (www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Or... maybe it's just that time of year?

A chilled Chablis of a day...

It was such a beautiful day we just could not resist getting up and getting out. Visibility was superb, the sun bright, the sky a cerulean blue and the air intoxicating. It was a morning as crisp, clear and bursting with flavour as a glass of chilled Chablis - every sight, sound and scent, fresh, vivid and clear. Paradoxically, it was what I think of as the perfect Autumn day.


8.30am saw us at the RSPB Mersehead Reserve at Southwick. The Visitor Centre (a converted traditional, whitewashed Galloway cottage) looked pretty as a postcard in the morning sun.

We decided to head East for a change as the sun was still so high. (Later in the day it's better to set off West) Despite the sun, last nights' frost spangled the grass and made artwork of the puddles as we strode out along the lane towards the Sulwath centre and the two hides. (It was a day made for striding - Brisk and invigorating).

Recent hedge trimming had revealed the remains of a last years Long Tailed Tit nest along the lane, there is a healthy population of them around here and I love it when around 12 - 15 all try to get on the same fatball. It always makes me laugh as it looks like some outlandish Xmas tree decoration.


We decided to visit Meida hide as you can usually spot Deer to the East of the wetland area in front of it so set off through the woodland. Unfortunately we didn't see the Treecreper who is usually about (maybe he was having a lie in?)

From the point when we left the car we had Barnacle Geese flying sporadically overhead. Their distinctive calls, described by some as like a dog barking, punctuating the whole 2 hour walk. Large numbers of the Svalbard population arrive at Mersehead in the Autumn and can be seen grazing the wet areas in densely packed flocks throughout the Winter months. I am always sad to see them go. There are 9,000 Barnacle Geese this year, a lower number than last year but still a fantastic spectacle. Not to be missed.   

After 20 mins in Meida Hide where we spotted all the usual suspects (waterfowl) we then went out onto the beach, Murphy's favourite place. Being a stick hound he loves the wide open space where he can chase sticks to his hearts content. The view was amazing. The East Stewartry Coast from Southwick along to Castle Point at Rockcliffe at the end of the long sandy beach. The dunes are very special and protected along with the rest of this coastline which is designated as a SSSI and a National Scenic Area.

Our bird list this morning included Barnacle Geese, Curlews, Phesant, Pink Footed geese, Chaffinch, Green Finches, Yellow Hammer, Snipe, Mallard, Widgeon, Teal, Pintail, Coot, Gadwall, Mute Swans, Lapwing, Skylarks to name a few.  It was a fantastic walk, one I will not forget. You can see the route here:

You can do the circuit in about an hour but today we lingered and savored the day. At the Visitor Centre you can get Fairtrade coffee and tea and Chocolate Muffins and Brownies to go with it or even a tub of delicious Cream O' Galloway ice cream. There are a couple of big squadgy sofas where you can sit in the sunshine and watch the birds on the feeders or borrow Binis' to look out over the Lapwing nesting area. The team of permanent and volunteer staff on the reserve are always on hand and are a great bunch of people. They do a fantastic job so a big thank you to them for all their hard work.

31 degrees: No wonder it's called the Scottish Riviera

What a difference.. today the sky is blue, big, white fluffy clouds line the horizon and the sun is beating down. The visibility is fantastic but I can't quite see the Isle of Man today yet. I am typing this blog entry in a vest top and have the door open for some, cool, air. Dundrennan weather station (just along the coast) says we have a temperature of 10 degrees but when I popped my own indoor weather station out side in the sun (out of the wind) it registered a whopping 31 degrees centigrade. How brilliant is that? Bikinis out ladies! The solar collectors are registering 57.7 degrees on the roof: amazing... think of all that hot water and it's only early February. 


As you can see on this solar radiation map of the UK (below) Kippford, Rockcliffe, Castle Douglas, Kirkcudbright and most of Dumfries and Galloway are in the yellow area and so benefit from the same amount of solar radiation as towns much further south. (Contrary to the popular belief in England that the weather in Scotland is cold, wet and miserable.) It's no wonder that the coast here is known as the Scottish Riviera and palm trees can be seen in local gardens.

During the cold snap last week, when much of the UK was crippled by snow and ice, here in Dumfries and Galloway we had no snow, very little ice and relatively mild temperatures. Talking to friends in Devon and Gloucestershire on the phone is always amusing as they assume, without fail, that they are having better weather than we are - how wrong they are!


This is bourn out by the guests that stayed in Riverview Lodge last weekend. They left a lovely note on departure which read  "we have had a good birdwatching weekend despite the foggy weather (It's much warmer here than in Yorkshire) we will have to come in the summer." I hope they do!


Not that chilly weather is a problem in the lodge, our guests say that the wood burning stove keeps it really cosy and warm, as examples of comments left in the guest book by recent visitors testify:
"Enjoyed the log burner"  September 2011
"Log burner kept us toasty warm"  October 2011
"A warm, cosy and comfy cabin with a wonderful view." October 2011
"Arriving to find the fire lit and the Christmas lights on was welcoming indeed. Cabin is cosy and warm." December 2011


We love reading the guests comments as it's always nice to hear that visitors to the area have enjoyed themselves. One guest, who stayed with us in 2010, loved the area so much they bought their own holiday home in Kippford shortly after. I hope they enjoy it for many years to come.