Kirroughtree Forest is located near

Newton Stewart Newton Stewart (Scottish Gaelic language, Gd: ''Baile Ùr nan Stiùbhartach'') is a former burgh town in the historical county of Wigtownshire in Dumfries and Galloway, southwest Scotland. The town is on the River Cree with most of the town to ...

Dumfries and Galloway Dumfries and Galloway (; ) is one of the 32 unitary council areas of Scotland, located in the western part of the Southern Uplands. It is bordered by East Ayrshire, South Ayrshire, and South Lanarkshire to the north; Scottish Borders to the no ...

, southwest

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

and overlooks the

Irish Sea The Irish Sea is a body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel and to the Inner Seas off the West Coast of Scotland in the north by the North Ch ...

. It is managed by Forestry and Land Scotland and is part of the Galloway Forest Park. It has been developed as a centre for

mountain biking Mountain biking (MTB) is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability ...

trails. Palnure Burn is a small river which runs through the forest and on into the River Cree. The forest is home to red squirrels, red deer and ospreys.

Tourism

Kirroughtree attracts about 78,000 visitors a year.

Mountain biking

Kirroughtree is a

centre, which is one of 7 venues of the 7Stanes project throughout the

Scottish Borders The Scottish Borders is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It is bordered by West Lothian, Edinburgh, Midlothian, and East Lothian to the north, the North Sea to the east, Dumfries and Galloway to the south-west, South Lanarkshire to the we ...

and Dumfries and Galloway. 7stanes was started by the

Forestry Commission The Forestry Commission is a non-ministerial government department responsible for the management of publicly owned forests and the regulation of both public and private forestry in England. The Forestry Commission was previously also respons ...

in 2001. Chris Ross of the Forestry Commission led the design and construction of the Kirroughtree trails. Glentrool is another 7 stanes site within Galloway Forest Park, an officially designated Dark Sky Park area. The Gem Stane at Kirroughtree - geograph

The Gem Stane at Kirroughtree - geograph

Known as the 7stanes because each venue features a 'stane' ( Scots for stone), created by artist Gordon Young. The 'Gem Stane' at Kirroughtree is a 1.75 ton stone sculpture made from Scottish pink quartz. Kirroughtree's trails are known as the 7stanes' hidden gem, and the forest is close to the Creetown Gem Rock Museum. Kirroughtree was winner of ''MBR Trail of the Year'' in 2010. A new trail centre with restaurant and bike shop/hire was opened in 2014. Kirroughtree has several cross-country XC trails (graded for varying levels of experience) and a skills area for practising mountain biking techniques: * Bargary Wood: green (easy), 3.8 miles (6.0 km), 10% singletrack * Larg Hill: blue (moderate), 6.3 miles (10.0 km), 50% singletrack, with Doon Hill extension: 2.5 miles (4.0 km), 10% singletrack * The Twister: red (difficult), 10.6 miles (17.0 km), 85% singletrack * Black Craigs (an extension to The Twister loop): black (severe/expert), 8.7 miles (14.0 km), 75% singletrack. The highlight is the unique 'McMoab' granite outcrop, with its huge slabs and ridges linked by boulder causeways. McMoab is named after the world famous mountain biking area at

Moab Moab () was an ancient Levant, Levantine kingdom whose territory is today located in southern Jordan. The land is mountainous and lies alongside much of the eastern shore of the Dead Sea. The existence of the Kingdom of Moab is attested to by ...

, Utah in USA. The gruelling climb of 'Heartbreak Hill' leads on to several downhill sections including the challenging 'Hissing Sid'. McMoab at Kirroughtree MTB Trail June 2007

McMoab at Kirroughtree MTB Trail June 2007

Long distance cycle route

National Cycle Route 7 (running 200 miles from Glasgow to Carlisle via Dumfries and Glen Trool) winds through the Forest Park.

Fishing

There are several locations for fishing in the Forest Park (mostly for

brown trout The brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') is a species of salmonid ray-finned fish and the most widely distributed species of the genus ''Salmo'', endemic to most of Europe, West Asia and parts of North Africa, and has been widely introduced globally ...

and pike), at Loch Braden, Loch Dee, Black Loch, Spectacle Loch and Garwachie.

References

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External links

7Stanes
Forests and woodlands of Scotland Mountain biking venues in the United Kingdom Tourist attractions in Dumfries and Galloway Cycleways in Scotland