Grey Mare’s Tail
Dumfries & Galloway
Admire the Southern Uplands’ most impressive waterfall on your way to a 500m-high loch, home to fishing ospreys and feral goats.
DISTANCE: 2.7 MILES/4.4KM TIME: 2 HOURS LEVEL: MODERATE ASCENT: 282M TERRAIN: The path beside the waterfall is clear but steep. Walkers wishing to go beyond the loch should have proper kit and strong map-reading skills.
Grey Mare’s Tail is one of Scotland’s grandest natural wonders. In a thundering cascade, this magnificent waterfall plunges 60m through a dramatic gorge into Moffat Water Valley. It also offers a rare opportunity to observe peregrine falcons that nest in the nearby crags.
Climb beyond the falls and the path flattens into a huge glacial valley, dominated by the inky waters of Loch Skeen (or Skene). If you’re lucky you’ll see ospreys hunting on the loch, which is also home to Britain’s rarest freshwater fish, the vendace.
1 BURN BEGINNINGS
Park at the Grey Mare’s Tail car park (£3 charge), where there is a small information trailer run by the National Trust for Scotland. Leave the parking area on the west side of Tail Burn, sticking to the main path for 50 metres to reach a wooden footbridge. On the eastern bank of the river, a viewpoint – built within the walls of an old sheepfold – offers you a glimpse of the upper falls, as well as information about the surrounding Moffat Hills.
2 CLIMB THE CASCADE
Leave the viewpoint via a series of stone steps, climbing steeply yet steadily alongside the northern wall of the gorge. Almost immediately you gain amazing views to the majestic Grey Mare’s Tail waterfall, which is the fifth tallest in Britain. This is a great place to spot peregrine falcons swooping through the valley. A herd of feral mountain goats roams the hills and can often be smelt before they are seen.
After about half a mile of ascent, the gradient relents and you reach a series of pools and waterfalls.
At 60m, Grey Mare’s Tail is the fifth tallest waterfall in Britain
3 HANGING VALLEY
As the ground flattens, the footpath enters the wide hanging valley of Tail Burn. Follow a good path along the right side of the burn. On your left is the rounded top of White Coomb and in front the rounded ridge of Mid Craig. To its right is the near-vertical wall of Lochcraig Head.
4 LUNCH ON THE LOCH
After half a mile you reach the shore of hidden Loch Skeen, whose dark waters are encircled by almost sheer cliffs. The loch contains a thriving population of rare vendace, found in just a few other UK waters.
Beyond this point, the landscape is largely pathless and much wilder. If you are carrying on into the hills, you should have a map, compass, waterproofs and solid boots. Otherwise, the loch makes for a perfect picnic spot, with the added relief of a downhill return.
Once back across the Tail Burn at the base of the gorge, a detour – less than one-mile return – veers off to the left of the river for an alternative perspective of the falls.Flat at first, the trail soon rises on well-graded steps to reach a barrier.D o not proceed beyond this as the slopes are prone to collapse. Return to the car park.
