Green coastal walks

Best for flourishing nature

This wonderful round walk to Caerlaverock Castle finishes in a hide at Caerlaverock Wildfowl & Wetland Trust. Once seen, the massed flight of the barnacle geese at dusk is never forgotten.

Difficulty ● ● ●

Duration 6 miles

Route From the WWT Centre, take the road to the shore; along floodbank for a mile; inland through Castle Wood to the castle; up Ward Law Hill; back down, then on to WWT Centre via Blackshaw.

How long? Allow three hours plus bird-watching time.

Green credentials Barnacle geese were hunted almost to extinction on the Solway merses, or marshes, by the mid-20th century; since then, the establishment of Caerlaverock National Nature Reserve (www.nnr-scotland.org.uk) and Caerlaverock Wildfowl & Wetland Trust (www.wwt.org.uk/gallery/117/caerlaverock.html) has seen numbers boom.

Look out for...Caerlaverock Castle (01387 770244, www.historic-scotland.gov.uk), a triangular stronghold of the Maxwells. Grim and fascinating, with a bloody history. Inside the castle walls stands the picturesque ruin of a 17th-century gentleman's residence.

Where to stay Cavens, Kirkbean (01387 880234, www.cavens.com) - a classy country-house hotel. Double B&B from £150. Caerlaverock, Dumfries

How to get there Bus 371 (www.stagecoachbus.com) from Dumfries. B725, off A75 Carlisle-Dumfries road.

OS Maps APS OS Explorer 314; Landranger 84 and 85. Click here for the Ordnance Survey Get-a-map Service to see your chosen area online.

For more info Dumfries TIC (01387 253862, www.visitdumfriesandgalloway.co.uk).