Glentrool Camping and Caravan Site
Glentrool in a tent...
Sometimes the best plans are the ones you make as you are walking out the door...
This was the case recently, when I woke up with the idea of going camping with my youngest Son, not in the north of Scotland, but the south. A quick search on the internet and I was soon booked into the Glentrool Caravan and Camping Site in the Galloway Forest Park, Dumfriesshire.
Soon the car was filled with food, cooking gear, a pack of playing cards (essential), plus my trusty old four man tent. The drive down was fun, and being only around ninety miles away from home, wasn't a long journey. The drive through the winding twisting turn of the A714 from Girvan was excellent... with plenty of 'nature' to see along the way.
We soon arrived at the campsite, where we were warmly welcomed by one of the owners, Jenny. We were given a copy of the site rules, a map of walks in the area and our choice of pitch to set up on. Glentrool is a nicely laid out site with spaces for camper vans, tents and statics. We chose a nice spot next to the duck pond. My Son loved the little bothy with it's fridge, microwave and local reading materials.
It always amazes me that you can travel just a few hours down the road and be in a completely different environment.
We took our time setting up our tent, then set up our stove and cooked some supper. The views were stunning. Glentrool is set within Scotland's Dark Skies park. This means that all forms of lighting must be controlled and kept to a minimum - the result being that the skies are dark enough to give you an immense view of the stars, planets and anything else that happens to be whizzing about up there! (weather permitting of course...)
The site was very quiet at night, with only a faint noise from the distant road. It was great to be back out in the wild again and I'm sure my Son enjoyed it as much as I did,
The facilities were immaculate and benefited from free-to-use showers in the toilet block and well maintained sinks and toilets. We were a little unlucky with the midges - but being in a forest area, this was to be expected.
- Close to the Southern Upland Way
- Plenty of walks and trails for all abilities
- Set within the 7 Stanes biking trails
- Only a short drive from Newton Stewart (lots of shops)
- Short walk from the Glentrool Visitor Centre
- Laundry Facilities
- Free Wifi
- On-site shop (for essentials)
- Lovely owners who are very helpful (we had a missing tent pole, so they gave us a tent!)
We loved our 2 night stay at the campsite and will be going back very soon. On the way home we called in at Culzean Castle for some lunch - always a favourite place of ours.
If you are looking to explore the Galloway Forest area, a stay in the Glentrool Campsite is perfect.
http://glentroolcampingandcaravansite.co.uk