Mull of Galloway Promontory Fort

About Mull of Galloway Promontory Fort

The tip of the Rhins peninsula is cut off at its narrowest point at Tarbert ( Gaelic, meaning boat-haul, a place for boats to be dragged across land to avoid the tidal race around the Mull point) by an earthen rampart which is still clearly visible. Travelling further on the road to the Mull lighthouse, a second series of banks and ditches cross the land mass from east to west, showing the scale of the Iron Age constructors' ambition. Recently, AOC Archaeology conducted surveys which show that between the two defensive structures, there may have been others - an enclosure and even roundhouses. They also confirmed that the defences were multi-phase, comprising several episodes of building and refurbishment. There is evidence of still earlier activity at the Mull, with a cup and ring marked rock and a cairn, close to the lighthouse.
William Todd, a 19th Century local antiquarian and schoolteacher at Drummore, recorded a local tradition that this stronghold was the place where the secret of making heather ale was lost forever, when the last two of the Picts - a father and son - were driven to the extremity of the Mull by the King of Scots, who killed the son and was defeated by the father, who threw himself off the cliffs rather than tell the secret. Robert Louis Stevenson immortalised the legend in a poem - appropriately enough, since the Mull lighthouse was built by his grandfather, Robert Stevenson - one of six lighthouse engineers in the same family. It took two years to build; work commenced in 1828 and the Lighthouse was first lit on 26th March 1830. It is now automatic and monitored remotely by the Northern Lighthouse Board; however, you can still visit it on weekends and school holidays and ascend the "Stevenson Tower" for magnificent views and vertiginous heights above the cliffs.
As well as being an Iron Age fort, the Mull is also an RSPB nature reserve. You may be able to spot Guillemots, Razorbills, Kittiwakes, Shags and Black Guillemots, or even raven and peregrine falcons The Scar Rocks, visible out to sea in the Solway, are home to thousands of gannets. The Mull of Galloway visitor centre is open from Easter to October. Nearby, Gallie Craig coffee shop is a welcome stop with breath taking views and a grass roof!
You can walk round the Mull on the Mull of Galloway Trail and continue on the Rhins Coastal Path on either side of the peninsula. The East Tarbert bay still has the remains of the jetty and small stone store where paraffin supplies used to be delivered for the light by ship. On the western coast, you can find an unusual Broch site at Doon Castle, or visit the beautifully-tended Logan Botanic Gardens.