Aldouran Glen Leswalt

Circular woodland and countryside walk. 3km/2 miles long, taking around 1 hour to complete. Beaten earth, hard surface path and track, minor road, roadside pavement and steps.

Stout shoes or boots recommended.

Start from the village hall, turn left down the main street then first left into Challoch Crescent. A road immediately on your right takes you along the edge of the playing field and into Aldouran Glen Village. The centre here has wetlands and sensory gardens, designed specifically for those with special needs, but enjoyable for everyone. A path leads through the gardens into Aldouran Glen wood.

Aldouran Glen, acquired by the Woodlands Trust in 1994, was once native woodland before parts of it were planted with conifers after the Second World War. Today, a lot of the ancient woodland has survived and conifers have been replaced with native trees such as oak, ash and birch. Wild garlic lines the path in spring and summer and a burn winds its way down through the glen. At the top end of the glen, the remains of an Iron Age fort sit high above the burn. Continue up through the glen, turning right when you join a track. Follow the track, bearing right to reach a minor road. Turn right and follow the road downhill into Leswalt. Behind you, on the hillside sits Agnew Monument, built in 1850, in memory of Sir Andrew Agnew. The last hereditary Sheriff of Wigtown and commander at the Battle of Dettingen in 1743, he later held Blair Castle in Perthshire against the Jacobite forces.