Scotland
Meaul
695M
2280FT
About Meaul
Sitting centrally within the Rhinns of Kells, this broad Southern Upland dome offers some of the finest ridge walking in the Galloway Hills. Reached via the old mining tracks from Garryhorn, its grassy slopes lead to a wide summit with a commanding view over the remote Loch Doon and the Silver Flowe.
Key Statistics
Rank
24th Highest in Region
Parent Range
Southern Uplands
Prominence
?
74m
Nearest Town
Lamloch
Geology
You are trekking across a foundation of ancient sandstone and fine-grained mudstone, formed from sediment that settled on the floor of a prehistoric ocean.
Classifications
Find It
OS Grid Reference
NX500909
Latitude
55.1903°N
Longitude
4.3568°W
Did You Know?
- •The name derives from the Gaelic 'maol', meaning a bald or bare hill, which accurately describes the smooth, rounded profile of the summit when compared to the rockier granite ranges further west.
- •As a Donald, it is part of the definitive list of Scottish Lowland hills over 2,000 feet, often bagged as part of a high-level traverse between its neighbours, Bow and Carlin’s Cairn.
- •The summit offers a spectacular perspective of the 'Awful Hand' range to the west, specifically the steep eastern crags of the Merrick and the rugged, indented ridge of the Dungeon Hills.
- •Access from the east follows the Garryhorn Burn, passing through an area with a long history of lead mining before emerging onto the open, often boggy moorland that leads to the main ridge.
- •While 'maol' implies a bald head, the summit often wears a thick, sodden wig of peat hags that can make finding the highest point a surprisingly damp exercise in navigation.