Scotland’s 300-mile coastal route

If you’re looking for a new adventure, you’ll find one in Scotland. Their newest coastal route is a 300-mile driving route through the South West of Scotland, and it loops through Dumfries, Galloway, parts of Ayrshire, and Wigtown; the latter of which is celebrated for its annual book festival.





Aptly named the “South West Coastal 300 route”, this drive of just over 300 miles in South West Scotland is just stunning. There are a multitude of interesting towns and villages along the way, and you could easily spend a couple of weeks on the South West Coastal 300 and only scratch the surface of what the new route has to offer. As the South West Coastal 300 is roughly circular, you can start wherever along the route you want to and spend as long as you like exploring the diverse natural beauty on display along the quiet coastal roads.



Much of the new route follows miles upon miles of beautiful coastline, but you’ll also have the opportunity to explore Scotland’s hills, glens, forests and lochs. This coastal drive is only one of two in Scotland – the other being the North Coastal 500 route.



The new route was inspired by the North Coast 500, which is Scotland’s other famous touring route up in the Scottish Highlands. The smaller, more manageable South West Coastal 300 is a coastal and inland circular route taking that allows any driver to take in some of the most stunning roads in Scotland. Below you’ll find some of the highlights of the route to keep you going in the right direction if you do decide to take on the challenge:

The Solway Coast –



From Craigbittern or Rosewall Cottage continue along the Solway Coast to the marina at Kippford, and on to the Artists’ Town of Kirkcudbright before heading further west on the A75 to the Rhins of Galloway and the Mull of Galloway Experience.

The Dalveen, Crawick and Mennock Passes –



The Dalveen Pass runs from Carronbridge on the A76 just north of Thornhill to Elvanfoot near the M74.



The Mennock Pass will take you across the B797, through the historic lead mining villages of Wanlockhead and Leadhills.



The Crawick Pass, which goes from Crawick to Crawfordjohn and on to the M74 is the shortest of the three passes.

Galloway Forest –



Galloway Forest is a small detour off of the SWC300, but worth it. You’ll be close and personal with the forest’s stunning red deer.



There are several main access points onto the South West Coastal 300 route, despite the fact that you can enter the route wherever you’d like. If you’re looking to get directly onto the route, though, you can access it quite easily from any of these locations: Stranraer (where there is a railway service from Glasgow), Alloway (which is near Ayr with road and rail links from Glasgow), Sanquhar (which has a rail service to Carlisle, Newcastle and Glasgow), and Dumfries (which is close to the A74 and M6).