Kirroughtree

Galloway Forest Park’s gateway centre

Whatever the season, there's always something to see and do at Kirroughtree. Even at night, when the stars put on a show!

Relax in the visitor café, enjoy the view and fuel up for the trails. Wander to the Wild Watch Hide to spot red squirrels and birds, or meander to Bruntis Loch. There's adventure play, mountain bike trails and quiet forest roads for gentle family cycles.

Kirroughtree and Glentrool forests: recreation investment consultation

In February, we showed you our ideas. Thanks to the feedback from groups, individuals and organisations in and around Kirroughtree and Glentrool, we’re ready for the next step.

After drop-in sessions were held in Glentrool and Newton Stewart in early September, the updated ideas and feedback questionnaire are still available online until Thursday 16 October at: www.research.net/r/kirroughtree-glentrool2

We’d love to get your thoughts.

Opening hours

• The car park and trails are always open 
• The café is open daily 10:00 am to 5:00 pm daily 

Car parking information

The charges to park at Kirroughtree are:

• £2 for up to 1 hour
• £3 for up to 3 hours
• £4 for all day
• £14 for minibus or coach all day

Blue Badge holders park free. Please display your Blue Badge clearly.

Payment can be made using coins, card or RingGo.

Annual parking passes are available for this site, visit our parking page for more information.

Please park with care and consideration. In particular please park in designated parking areas only and do not block entrances or gates. Nearby car parks with free parking can be found in our Forest Search.

More about parking

Bike hire and repairs

Bikes can be hired from the The Break Pad bike shop. You can book your bike online before you visit. The shop also offers repairs, safety checks and friendly advice.

The bike shop is open 7 days a week from 10:00 am - 5:00 pm.

You can contact them on 01671 401303, email info@thebreakpad.com or message them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/thebreakpad.

Dogs

Dogs are welcome in the visitor centre and café.

Stay the Night

Our Stay the Night scheme now runs right through the year. This means self-contained motorhomes and campervans will be able to park overnight for one night in some of our car parks.

There is a £10 charge to Stay the Night at this car park. Payment can be made through RingGo with details of how to do this at each car park.

To help plan your stay, please see the details below:

• Height barrier – No
• Motorhome capacity of car park – 30
• Suitable for large vehicles/caravans – Yes
• Parking notes – Paved car park. Caravans, please unhitch and park in a bay rather than across multiple bays.

Please visit our Stay the Night page for full details, participating locations, best practice, and terms and conditions of use.

Stay the night

Accessibility

Kirroughtree is well signposted from the A75 at Palnure, about 1.5 miles east of Newton Stewart.

Using SatNav?

DG8 7BE is the nearest postcode. Despite what your satnav may suggest, we strongly recommend you stay on the A75 until Palnure and turn off to Kirroughtree there.

Public transport

There are regular buses between Dumfries and Stranraer, via Newton Stewart and Gatehouse of Fleet. Get off at Palnure and follow the signs to Kirroughtree – it's about 1 mile (2 km) away on foot. Plan your journey at Traveline Scotland.

Get directions

Kirroughtree is well signposted from the A75 at Palnure, about 1.5 miles east of Newton Stewart.

Using SatNav?

DG8 7BE is the nearest postcode. Despite what your satnav may suggest, we strongly recommend you stay on the A75 until Palnure and turn off to Kirroughtree there.

Public transport

There are regular buses between Dumfries and Stranraer, via Newton Stewart and Gatehouse of Fleet. Get off at Palnure and follow the signs to Kirroughtree – it's about 1 mile (2 km) away on foot. Plan your journey at Traveline Scotland.

Get directions

Wild Watch

Kirroughtree is brimming with wildlife. Explore the displays in the café to discover what lives in the trees, waterways, open hills - and even high in the trees! It’s a short distance from the centre to the Wild Watch Hide, where you might catch red squirrels and woodland birds feeding. You might even spot roe deer.

Fun for the whole family

The play park at Kirroughtree is a great place for the kids to burn off some energy, and there are several trails suitable for little legs and pushchairs. You could also try out our orienteering trail – work as a team or compete against each other.

Dark Sky Park

Scotland has some of the darkest skies in Europe, and Galloway Forest Park is one of the darkest places in Scotland – which is why it’s the UK’s first Dark Sky Park. Kirroughtree is a brilliant place to enjoy the night sky – look out for information panels in the café which will help you spot the stars.

Long distance cycle route

National Cycle Route 7 (Glasgow to Carlisle via Dumfries and Glen Trool) also winds through the Forest Park, linking Kirroughtree and Glentrool. You might not want to tackle the whole 200 miles, but get a taste of the experience on scenic stretches of the route.