Carrifran Gans

About Carrifran Gans

Rising sharply above the glacial trough of Carrifran Glen, this high point on the Moffat Hills skyline offers some of the Southern Uplands' most dramatic brinkmanship. While often crossed as a subsidiary top on the way to White Coomb, its steep slopes and plunging views into the rewilding valley below provide a rugged sense of scale.

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Did You Know?

• •The name Carrifran is rooted in Cumbric, the ancient Brittonic language of the region, where 'caer' means fort and 'fran' refers to a crow or raven. 'Gans' is a local dialect term for a high ridge or a pass between peaks.
• •This hill provides the best vantage point for the Carrifran Wildwood, a landmark ecological project that has seen over 300,000 native trees replanted in the valley below to restore the landscape to its prehistoric, wooded state.
• •The summit offers an exceptional profile view of the 'Great Yoke' and the craggy eastern face of White Coomb across the deep, U-shaped notch of the glen, a scene that feels more Highland than Southern Upland in character.
• •Most walkers reach the summit as part of the Carrifran Horseshoe, a strenuous circuit that skirts the rim of the glen and avoids the more crowded tourist paths leading to the Grey Mare's Tail and Loch Skeen.
• •It is one of the few hills in the Borders where you are likely to spend more time looking vertically down into the glen than horizontally at the horizon, if only to monitor the progress of the saplings far below.