The Original Mountain Marathon
Off the Beaten Track
Rob Howard / 25.10.2007
One of the attractions of entering the OMM is that you never know where you will be racing, and the chances are you will get to visit some hills and valleys you might not have heard of and would never otherwise have visited. For many competitors that is likely to be the case this year – how many will have heard of the ‘Lowther Hills’ before the venue was announced I wonder?There have been some adventure races based at nearby Drumlanrig Castle this year, and these used the castle grounds and the low hills to the west leading up into the Carsphairn Forest. Veterans of past KIMM’s may even remember the 1993 venue was at Drumlanrig with courses in ‘Upper Nithsdale and the Queensbury Hills’ so the event has been in this little visited area before.
The river Nith runs south through Dumfries and Galloway and into the Solway Firth, and the A76 trunk road follows the Nith valley, running parallel to the main A74 trunk road. Between these two roads lie the Lowther Hills, an extensive area of the Southern Uplands. Lowther Hill itself is the highest point on the Southern Upland Way long distance path at 725m (2377 feet).
The event centre at Durisdeer lies on the East bank of the Nith Valley (opposite Drumlanrig Castle) at the foot of the Lowther Hills and on the route of an old roman road. It is a tiny farming hamlet with a remarkably ornate church largely thanks to the Dukes of Queensbury, and the southern part of the Lowthers are often called the Durisdeer or Queensbury hills.
Queensbury Hill is the highest of these at 697m (2285 feet) and the whole area is sheep farming country, characterised by rolling (but steep) grassy slopes, sometimes compared to the Howgills.
The main part of the Lowther hills are further north and central to these is the village of Wanlockhead, which at 1,531 feet above sea level is said to be the highest village in Scotland. This area has a great history of lead and gold mining, and pure Scottish gold can still be found at Mennock Pass if you have the time to prospect for it.
Who knows, when the courses are given out on Saturday racers may even find an overnight camp is in this area and they can watch for nuggets of gold while rinsing their cooking pots!
[There is a good selection of photos of the Lowther hills on the Hillwalking in South West Scotland website.]See All Event Posts
