Everything about The Southern Uplands totally explained
The
Southern Uplands is the southernmost of
Scotland's three major geographic areas (the others being the
Central Belt and the
Highlands). They lie South of the Southern Uplands fault line that runs from
Girvan on the
Ayrshire coast in the West to
Dunbar in
East Lothian on the
North Sea coast. The Southern Uplands is the least populated of the 3 major Scottish geographic areas.
Hills and peaks
The Southern Uplands are a range of hills almost 200 kilometres (125 miles) long, interspersed with broad valleys.
The Southern Uplands includes among others the cross border
Cheviot Hills shared with the
Pennines that form the "backbone of
England". The Southern Uplands and Pennines are of a similar size both in terms of area covered and height. Although the summits are not as high as many in the Scottish Highlands (
Ben Nevis and
Ben Macdui both rise 1300 m above sea level) nor other famous mountain regions, the Southern Uplands is remote and mountainous, containing about 120
marilyns.
Some of the more notable peaks in the Southern Uplands include:-
Rivers
A number of rivers run through the Southern Uplands. These include the:-
Cree
Nith
Annan
Esk
Tweed (4th longest in Scotland at 97 miles)
Clyde (3rd longest in Scotland at 106 miles)
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Lochs
There are numerous lochs in the Southern Uplands such as:-
Loch Ken
Loch Trool
Loch Ettrick
St. Mary's Loch and the adjacent Loch of the Lowes
Forestry
Large areas of the Southern Uplands are covered with forests such as:-
Forest of Ae
Mabie Forest
Galloway Forest
Transport
The nearest international passenger airports are:-
Glasgow Prestwick International Airport (PIK)
Glasgow International Airport (GLA)
Edinburgh Airport (EDI)
There are 4 railway lines that pass through the Southern Uplands all in a North South direction. These are:-
The Stranraer Glasgow line via Girvan and numerous other stations
The Glasgow Kilmarnock Carlisle line via Dumfries and numerous other stations
The West coast mainline linking Glasgow and Edinburgh to the North with Carlisle and the rest of England to the South with a station in the Southern Uplands at Lockerbie
The East coast mainline running from Edinburgh to the North via Dunbar to Berwick upon Tweed, Newcastle upon Tyne and the South
There are a number of primary roads for travelling through the Southern Uplands. These generally travel in a North South direction with the most notable exception being the A75. The most significant of these roads is the M74. The M74 is the only motorway connecting Scotland and England. These roads include
A77 - This runs from Stranraer towards Kilmarnock shortly after which it becomes the M77 to Glasgow
A76 - This runs from Dumfries towards Kilmarnock
M74 - This runs from the Scottish border near Gretna to connect with the rest of the Scottish motorway network just outside Glasgow. To the South of Gretna is the A74 that connects the M74 with the English motorway network near Carlisle
A701 - This runs from Dumfries towards Edinburgh via Moffat and the Devil's Beef Tub
A7 - This runs from Carlisle to Edinburgh via Hawick and Galashiels and the Scottish Borders
A68 - This runs from Edinburgh via Jedburgh in the Scottish Borders to the English counties of Northumberland and Durham
A1 - This is the primary East coast cross border route running from Edinburgh towards Newcastle Upon Tyne and beyond
A75 - This runs from Gretna through Dumfries and Galloway to Stranraer
Ferries operate between Stranraer and Cairnryan in Scotland to Belfast and Larne in Northern Ireland respectively
Regional government
The Southern Uplands comprises primarily (but not exclusively) of 2 regions (ie Scottish local government council areas):-
Dumfries and Galloway to the West
Scottish Borders to the East
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The largest town in the Southern Uplands is Dumfries. The largest town in the Scottish Borders is Hawick.
Walks
There are numerous walks through the Southern Uplands.(External Link)(External Link) These include the Southern Upland Way, a 212 mile (340 km) coast to coast walk between Portpatrick in the west and Cockburnspath in the east.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Southern Uplands'.
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