Helen Rose's Outdoor Diary: Kippford.

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Helen Rose’s Outdoor Diary: Kippford.

October 2024

Kippford is an unusually narrow village in the South West of Scotland on the shore of the estuary of the River Urr on the Solway coast. It is popular with yachtsmen. This was our base for a circular walk with the Bearsden and Milngavie Ramblers A coach had been arranged for the return journey of about two and a half hours to Dumfries and Galloway area..

New Abbey

On route we stopped at New Abbey, a village near the English Border, to visit Sweetheart Abbey ruins. The abbey, located on the banks of the New Abbey Pow (river), was founded by Dervorquilla of Galloway, daughter of Alan, Lord of Galloway in memory of her husband, John de Balliol in 1275. After his death, she kept his embalmed heart, contained in a casket of ivory and silver, with her for the rest of her life and it was buried alongside her when she died. In line with this devotion to her late husband, she named the abbey Dulce Cor (Latin for Sweet Heart).

When she had dinner, a place was also set for her late husband and the food was later given to the poor. Balliol College in Oxford University was founded in 1263 by John de Balliol, a loyal lord of King Henry III of England during the Barons’ War of 1258–1265. Their son, also John, became King of Scotland, but his reign was tragic and short. After a coffee stop at the Visitors Centre, we were back on the bus to Kippford.

Kippford to Rockcliffe

solway boats

We left the bus at Kippford with its riverside marina which opens on to the Solway Firth. It is now a desirable holiday place but had been a fishing village in the 1800s. It is a charming waterside location and from Kippford we walked on the Jubilee footpath to the pretty village of Rockcliffe where there is a sandy beach.

The weather was dry but cloudy so no sunbathing on the beach, although, there was the ubiquitous ice cream van!

Nelson’s Grave

We walked through bracken on a narrow path inland to reach Nelson’s Grave. This is the grave of Joseph Nelson, a sailor from Cumbria. In January, 1791, his ship sank at this point. Joseph drowned and was buried here. The Ann went down with all hands whilst involved in smuggling operations between the Isle of Man and Scotland. He was the only one washed ashore and the authorities refused a burial and grave as he was a smuggler. His wife arranged the memorial. It was the custom of local people to bury bodies close to the place that they washed ashore and mark the place with a crude headstone.

Castle Point

The walk continued to open ground and then uphill to Castle Point for our picnic lunch with good views all round and down to a beach with dramatic breakers at Port O’Warren Bay.

Castle Point is the site of an Iron Age fort and was believed to have been occupied from 400 BC for 2000 years. That takes occupation up until the Tudor times.

Mote of Mark Hill

After lunch, we walked downhill on a good path across moorland to start the ascent to Mote of Mark Hill. There was an ancient Fort on the top. The rampart was probably built in the second half of the 6th century (i.e. after AD 550). The Mote of Mark appears to have been occupied continuously for roughly 120 years. It was occupied around the same time as the first rampart was built, or perhaps slightly earlier. Excavations in 1913 uncovered the remains of two dry stone huts within the ramparts. There were also large numbers of flints, Roman glass, Samian ware pottery, Early Christian moulds for casting brooches and a later piece of Mediterranean glass circa 9th century. The most interesting discovery, however, was that the Mote of Mark had been used for large-scale metalworking. Gold, silver, iron and copper were all worked here. Fragments of 130 crucibles were found, and pieces of 482 moulds. Study of these moulds revealed that intricate, highly decorative items were produced as well as mundane things like pins and studs.

Rough Island

From the top of Mote of Mark Hill, we had good view of Rough Island, a small uninhabited island on the Solway Firth owned by the National Trust for Scotland. Visitors can access Rough Island, home to a fantastic bird sanctuary, on foot at low tide – it’s a haven for oystercatchers and ringed plovers. We noticed some people walking across the causeway so let’s hope they checked the tides first!

Horse Orienteering

On our walk we passed several horse riders on the paths and noticed the riders had maps and compasses. Some of the paths were narrow and difficult for the horses to pass by. A rider had to be helped by one of our group as she was on the wrong path. We enquired about the number of horses around and were told it was the National Championships of Horse Orienteering. It is formally called Mounted Orienteering and seems to have a wide following. Not an easy task trying to follow a map and control a horse simultaneously with not a mobile phone in sight!

We arrived back in Kippford with no time for a beverage in the Anchor Inn as it was a long way home on the bus and we had to pick up the other two groups who had been on the harder walks. It was a great day out and we saw so much of interest. Luckily the weather held and we boarded the bus dry. Stewart, our bus driver from Allander Coaches, did a great job on navigating the narrow roads in the area and was rewarded by buying the last box of fresh eggs at the farm!

Thanks to Pam for leading the walk with Frank and Sue as middle and back markers. Pam gave well researched talks when we stopped at places of interest.