11 miles NE ~20 min drive DG2 8DH
Criffel is a hill in the historical county of Kirkcudbrightshire, Dumfries and Galloway, south-west Scotland. It qualifies as a Marilyn.
The moderately strenuous climb is well worth the effort, rewarding you with stunning views of the surrounding countryside.
It is 569 m (1,867 ft) high. On a clear day it can be seen from the northern Lake District. This walk takes you near Loch Kindar at the foot of the hill.
The owners of Ardwall Farm kindly provide free parking, where there’s also an honesty box available for donating to Moffat Mountain Rescue.
The path is easy to find from the car park and clearly marked and well maintained along the way. A good section of the first half of the climb is alongside a stream and is particularly picturesque.
There’s a stone cairn that clearly marks the peak. On the day that we climbed it the top of the hill was in cloud so sadly we didn’t get a view from the top. However, the views during the climb were fantastic and there is something atmospheric about climbing up into the clouds.
This climb would be easy for experienced hill walkers and challenging but very achievable for inexperienced walkers and young children.
We walked at a relatively slow pace and so the whole walk up and down took us about 2h 20mins, including stopping a few times to take photos and catch our breath.
We definitely recommend this picturesque and enjoyable walk, and plan on going back to do it again soon.
Afterward we went to the Steamboat Inn, but found it’s closed on Mondays! So instead, we went back past Criffel to Abbey Cottage Tearoom where we had a light lunch and browsed their small shop.
Scottish Peak Categories
Scottish peaks are categorised in the following hill lists. A peak may qualify for inclusion in more than one list.
- The Munros are the most significant hills in Scotland over 3,000 feet (914.4 m), according to original compiler Sir Hugh Munro. There are currently 282 peaks.
- The Corbetts are hills in Scotland between 2,500 and 3,000 feet (762 and 914.4 m), with a relative height of at least 500 feet (152.4 m). There are currently 222 Corbetts.
- The Grahams are hills in Scotland between 2,000 and 2,500 feet (609.6 and 762 m), with a relative height of at least 150 metres (492 ft). The list of hills fitting these criteria was first published by Alan Dawson in The Relative Hills of Britain.[15] under the provisional name Named Grahams after Fiona Torbet (née Graham), they were formerly provisionally named Elsies (LCs, short for Lesser Corbetts). The current total of Grahams stands at 221.
- The Donalds are hills in the Scottish Lowlands over 2,000 feet (609.6 m). The list was originally compiled by Percy Donald. There are 89 summits and 51 subsidiary tops, giving a total of 140 Donalds.
- The Marilyns are hills in the British Isles that have a relative height of at least 150 m, regardless of distance, absolute height or merit. There are 1,216 Scottish Marilyns.
For more walks and hikes near Dalbeattie, Dumfries & Galloway see our Walking & Hiking post or the Walking and Hiking tags.
Contact, Links & Reviews
https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/galloway/criffel.shtml
https://www.geograph.org.uk/of/criffel
https://www.alltrails.com/en-gb/trail/scotland/dumfries-and-galloway/criffel (you don’t need to take the detour shown on the AllTrails walk).
Planning Your Visit
11 miles NE ~20 min drive DG2 8DH
Plenty of free parking at Ardwall Farm, with an honesty box available for donating to Moffat Mountain Rescue.
Please note that there are no toilet facilities at the car park so make sure you go before you leave the lodge!
Google Maps: https://maps.app.goo.gl/zxaLNDE3CgWvxZrQ8
