2 Best Sights in The Borders and the Southwest, Scotland

The expansive facilities in Galloway Forest Park are evidence of the growing enthusiasm for active vacations in Scotland; it offers chances for cycling, walking, kayaking on the rivers, bird-watching, and mountain-biking. You can walk or bicycle along the paths through moorland and forests, by lochs and over hills—all contained within the 300 square miles of the forest. The Forestry Commission, which manages the forest, has three visitor centers at Glen Trool, Kirroughtree, and Clatteringshaws and also offers exhibits about the region's wildlife, a reconstructed Iron Age dwelling, and 7stanes mountain-biking centers. The forest is designated as a Dark Sky Park; the low light pollution here ensures exceptional stargazing.

With high purple-and-green hilltops shorn rock-bare by glaciers, and with a dark, winding loch and thickets of birch trees sounding with birdcalls, Glen Trool's setting almost looks more highland than the real Highlands. Note Bruce's Stone, just above the parking lot, marking the site where in 1307 Scotland's champion Robert the Bruce (King Robert I, 1274–1329) won his first victory in the Scottish Wars of Independence. A little road off the A714 leads through increasingly wild woodland scenery to a parking lot. The visitor center is open daily. Only after you have climbed for a few minutes onto a heathery knoll does the full, rugged panorama become apparent. Driving is really the only way to get to Glen Trool, which is part of Galloway Forest Park. From Glasgow take the A77 (about 2¼ hours). From Edinburgh take the A702 (about three hours).