General Information

The Southern Upland Way is 212 miles long and on average takes 14 days to traverse as a whole but this can be reduced or extended from 10 to twenty days depending on fitness and experience.

It does includes some very demanding stretches, with the Lowther Hill summit rising to 2378ft (725) and over 80 more rising past 1000ft (305 metres) and as with any walking activity, it is important to be properly equipped, and to take heed of advice and warnings. See Hints & Tips

The best way to walk the Southern Upland Way is from West to East, this means that the sun, wind (and rain) are at your back. The weather in Southern Scotland - particularly on high ground - can change rapidly, so take precautions for all conditions.

This site is not here to provide you with detailed descriptions of the route sections, we will leave that to the experts like Alan Castle, who recently walked the SUW and has, via Cicerone Press, provided an excellent account of the route which we highly recommend. The purpose of this site is to show you how to make the route more manageable and guide you across with local information not normally supplied by guide books or official organisations.