Conifer Lodges

Numerous walking trails wind their way through the Galloway Forest Park; some trails are accessible for wheelchairs and pushchairs; ask at a visitor centre for a map with details. Keep your eyes open for red squirrels and roe deer as you walk through mixed woodland to streams, abandoned tin mines and other points of interest. A popular route is the steep climb up to Murray's Monument, seven miles away, to survey the countryside from up above. If you’d like a spot where you’re almost guaranteed to see some wildlife, take the 15-minute drive up to the Wild Goat Park and neighbouring Red Deer Range, where the animals congregate and can be seen from the viewing area and hides. Cyclists have a choice of graded trails as well, from family-friendly flat paths to the Big Country Ride, a testing 58-kilometre route along forest trails and quiet public roads. Mountain bikers in search of a thrill should tackle one of the courses at Kirroughtree. For an altogether more calming time, take your fishing rod along to Palnure Burn, 20 minutes away (enquire about special deals for guests before you leave). In town, pop into the small Newton Stewart Museum, which is packed with various local bits and bobs from across the ages: tools, kitchen kit, clothes and loads more. Learn about history from a more aristocratic angle at Cardoness Castle, 20 minutes away – wander around the 15th-century tower house before imagining life in the pit prison down below.