Craignaw

Rising from the heart of the Galloway Forest, this rugged granite peak offers a surprisingly alpine character. Its complex summit is defined by the Deil's Bowlin' Green, an unusual pavement of glacial erratics. Navigating its craggy eastern slopes feels more like the Highlands than the typical rounded hills of the Southern Uplands.

• •The name likely stems from the Gaelic Creag na h-Ath, meaning 'Rock of the Ford,' likely referring to a crossing point over the nearby Cooran Lane.
• •The hill is home to the 'Deil’s Bowlin’ Green,' a fascinating geological curiosity where rounded granite boulders are scattered across flat, polished rock slabs like abandoned gaming pieces.
• •A small memorial on the western side marks the site of a 1979 crash involving a US Air Force F-111E; wreckage from the aircraft can still be found amongst the granite outcrops.
• •The summit offers a premier view of the Silver Flowe, a globally important blanket mire that glitters with complex pool patterns between Craignaw and the massive bulk of the Merrick.
• •Navigating the 'Galloway Knee' — the specific ache caused by the region's relentless tussocks — is briefly forgotten on Craignaw, where the grippy granite slabs offer the rarest of local luxuries: a firm footing.