Looking Ahead
Talnotry
2026

Back to Galloway

Every ten years, the OMM finds its way back to Galloway. It's been that way since our first visit in 1976, and this October we're keeping the tradition going with the 57th OMM at Talnotry.

It's a particularly fitting year to return, marking fifty years since our first visit to Galloway, and twenty years since the KIMM became the OMM.

This year's event takes us to a quieter corner of southwest Scotland, along the Queen's Way between Newton Stewart and New Galloway.

Talnotry is perhaps best known for Grey Mare's Tail waterfall and Murray's Monument, which stands above the surrounding forest. There's also The Quorum, a collection of carved stone faces hidden among the walls of old sheep pens, part of Galloway Forest Park's outdoor art programme.

It's not one of Scotland's better-known mountain destinations, but there's some surprisingly rugged country in this part of the Southern Uplands. Those who've spent time in the Galloway Hills will know there's rather more to them than their modest altitude might suggest.

Before we get into this year's entries, here's a little more about the area we're returning to.

A landscape of forests and hills

One of the most noticeable features of this part of Galloway is the contrast between the extensive forestry and the hills beyond it.

Talnotry sits within Galloway Forest Park, Britain's largest forest park, covering more than 300 square miles. In 2009, it also became the UK's first International Dark Sky Park, recognised for its exceptionally low levels of light pollution. On a clear night, thousands of stars can be seen with the naked eye, with the Milky Way often visible overhead.

Commercial forestry occupies much of the lower ground, while elsewhere in the wider region there are open hills, exposed rock, heather moorland and scattered lochs.

The geology has a lot to do with the landscape. Granite intrusions, older sedimentary rocks and successive periods of glaciation have helped shape the hills and valleys. Some of the uplands are broad and rounded; other areas are much more broken, with steep slopes and rocky outcrops.

It's quite a varied part of Scotland, and one that deserves a little more attention than it gets. Although those who enjoy having the hills to themselves might disagree.

What to expect from Galloway

The height of Galloway's hills doesn't necessarily tell you much about the ground itself.

Across the wider uplands, rough grassland, heather, peatland and exposed rock are all common. Galloway's wet climate and areas of poorly drained ground have allowed blanket bog to develop, while glacial erosion has left a mixture of rounded slopes and more irregular, rocky terrain.

The hills around the Merrick and Rhinns of Kells are good examples of the latter, with rocky outcrops, steep-sided slopes and small lochs scattered across the uplands.

Two stretches of ground might look much the same on a map, but differences in vegetation, drainage and surface conditions can make them quite different to travel across.

Those more familiar with the well-used paths of the Lakes or the grassy hills of the Howgills may find parts of the wider Galloway uplands rather less accommodating.

There's a considerable difference between running quickly and moving efficiently over difficult ground. It's a distinction anyone who's spent time on rough Scottish hills will recognise, usually after learning it the hard way at least once.