As soon as we heard about the walk to Rough Island, we looked forward to exploring the island. (We’ve previously done a similar walk to Davaar Island off Campbeltown, Kintyre.)
This area of the Solway Coast has such shallow seas that there are vast mudflats when the tide is out.
Rough island is about 3 miles / 5km from from Serenity 22 Barend “as the crow flies”.
⚠️ Check when to avoid crossing as the causeway is underwater for 5 (five) hours during high tide.
The island is opposite Rockcliffe beach, but there’s a hard causeway from a beach near Kippford. So, we drove about 10 mins, parked in Kippford and then walked along the sea front and across the causeway.
On the beach at Kippford is the Woodland Trust’s UK Tree of the Year 2021 winner.
What Time of Year to Walk
Rough Island is a small tidal island in the Rough Firth. Walkers are discouraged during bird nesting season (the busiest time for nesting birds is from 1st March until 31st July). This is to avoid disturbing the nesting oystercatchers and ringed plovers.
So it’s best to walk it between August and February. On the day we walked it in December, low tide was around 1pm, so we set off from our car at about 11:45am. This gave us around 2½ hours of the lowest tide to get there and back. This was plenty of time, including a picnic on the island.
The Crossing
There’s hard ground to walk the crossing, so you can (mostly) avoid the softer mud. Wellies are strongly recommended, but if you haven’t brought any with you, you should be OK with walking boots, but we’d recommend a change of footwear for the drive home!
When we got to the island we couldn’t immediately see a path to the top, so we headed round to the right. We found out later that this was the more sheltered side on the day we visited. We stopped on the beach and enjoyed a picnic looking out across the estuary.
After lunch we walked around to the other side of the island, where it was a bit windier and from there you can see the beach at Rockcliffe. With your wellies on, you can probably nip across the sand from there.
Path to the Top
Just before heading back, we had another look for a path to the top of the island. It’s reasonably easy to see once you know it’s there!
It’s a short walk up the path to the highest point on the island, through the bracken.
At the top there’s a cairn of rocks that other walkers have collected. There’s also plenty of space to have a picnic up there instead of on the beach if you prefer.
After that brief excursion we headed back across the causeway and sand to Rockcliffe.
Our walk, including going around the island, was just over 4 miles (around 7km) and took just over 2 hours in total.
Book your self catering accommodation near Kippford, Rockcliffe and Rough Island: Book Now
Links & Reviews
www.scottish-places.info/features/featurefirst17136.html
For more walks in Dumfries & Galloway see our Walking/Hiking post.
Planning Your Visit
5 miles WSW ~11 min drive DG5 4LB (to Village Hall Car Park)
The car park is free, but a donation toward its upkeep is appreciated. Just push your donation through the slot on the door of the Village Hall.
Village Hall on What3Words: ///viewers.giving.supposes
See our walk on www.alltrails.com
Rough Island on Google Maps: goo.gl/maps/1xCC7n7MRrUF5yyF9
Rough Island on What3Words: w3w.co/yards.dealings.regulator