Beattock Drove Roads, Forest of Ae Show path on map

Start location: Ae village ( NX 982 894 )

End location: Beattock ( NT 078 028 )

Geographical area: Dumfries and Galloway

Path type: Drove Road, Leisure Path

Path distance: 25km

Accessibility info: Suitable for bikes, Suitable for horses, Suitable for pedestrians

Route Description

From Ae Bridgend on the A701 Beattock to Dumfries road (bus route), a public road goes 4.5km northwest to Ae village. This route mostly follows forest and windfarm tracks, but not all of it is accessible for cyclists and equestrians, so variants are described below.

The route to Beattock is signposted and waymarked from 1km north of Ae village, where a forest road strikes off to the right and goes up the west bank of the Water of Ae for 3.5km to cross it by a bridge. Continue up the east bank, rising steadily to NY010964 from where two routes are suggested:
(a) To continue directly to Beattock (not cycleable, and last reported as overgrown and impassable on foot), carry on north then northeast to leave the forest by a gate at NY017974. Follow the forest boundary eastwards by an old drove road and in 2km re-enter the forest to join a green ride and go northeast to Stiddrig Cairn (long cairn and cairn), a prominent structure. Continue through the forest to join a track to Stidriggs farm and from its road end join the public road to Beattock.
(b) Alternatively, and if cycling, turn left at NY010964 to follow the Romans and Reivers Route (R&RR). Go northwest, north and east for 2km to reach the Blue Cairn. Continue easterly and contour northeast round Mount Haul to pass an old quarry on the left-hand side before reaching a sharp right bend in the forest road at NY024994. If cycling, at this bend stay on the forest road following the R&RR. Otherwise, although the forest road turns sharp right, instead here turn left onto a green ride (may be overgrown) northeast past the Shepherd’s Cairn (NY022996) to gain a track (again, possibly overgrown) at NY021997 which leads north out of the forest to the Lochan Burn. This burn must be forded, but approach to former crossing point may be waterlogged; one possible more practical place is about 200m upstream from Lochanhead cottage. Once over the burn, strike east to the cottage, then head north along its farm track to the gate at NT021005. Continue northeast along this track towards Kinnelhead and the public road at the bridge across the Kinnel Water. Finally, follow the ‘Crooked Road’ which is joined by the R&RR at NS041017, all the way to Beattock.

To pass through the Forest of Ae by horse, the R&RR is recommended instead. It overlaps only in part with the older routes described here, but similarly links Ae village with Beattock and should be fully accessible since it was developed by the British Horse Society Scotland.

OS Landranger 78 (Nithsdale & Annandale)

Heritage Information

These old routes pass through a landscape which changed dramatically in the twentieth century with the planting of the Forest of Ae, now one of the UK's largest forests. Ae village itself was only built in 1947 to house forestry workers, but some sources indicate planting started earlier in the 1920s.

Prior to the forestry, the routes which existed were relatively few. Most were affected by the planting, but there are the remnants of old routes towards Beattock including a drove road. Unfortunately, some of the non-overplanted section of the drove road has become very overgrown. The old network is partly used by promoted cycle and equestrian routes through the Forest of Ae, and is augmented by its extensive forest tracks.