Estate Coast

What We Offer >> Explore The Estate >> Estate Coast

The estate's coast and adjoining coastal stretches together form a major chunk of the National Scenic Area called "East Stewartry Coast".

We don't want to make the details too public, but if you're staying with us we'll give advice and instructions on access!

There's a wild and unspoilt peninsula, protected as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), a richly diverse ecosystem - you might meet a researcher counting rare bugs. One of the main attractions is its magical ancient woodlands which are a locus classicus for the Galloway Oak, a strain of small oak which is unique to the region.

At the edge of Orchardton Bay you can disappear into a secret world: sit on a rock, contemplate the view over the bay towards Screel, and listen to the hauntingly plaintive cries of the Curlews and other waders which abound on the glistening mudflats when the tide is out (picture on the Flora And Fauna page in this section). See also Winter At Gelston, in the section When To Come >> Through The Seasons.

Hestan Island can be reached from the estate's coast by a natural mussel-encrusted causeway exposed at low tide (please do not attempt this without getting instructions from us: there are important seabird nesting areas which should not be disturbed, and more seriously there are people in recent years who have made mistakes and drowned, having got cut off by the fast incoming tide and stuck in the sinking sand and mud). For more on Hestan see External Links (in menu above).

There are also two of the prettiest sandy beaches in Scotland, but if you want them to remain deserted, come and stay with us and don't tell anyone else where they are!

Explore The Estate, next ...

1. Orchardton Tower