Buster and Charlie visit Mabie Forrest, Dumfies, Scotland

Heading north for our expedition yesterday we arrived at a new place called Mabie Forest.

Situated just outside Dumfries in Southern Scotland, Mabie Forest has been run by the Forestry Commission since 1943.

The old sawmill

It took a little time to find as it is not signposted from Dumfries town centre or the A75. It also didn’t help that dad had reduced in scale the large scale pdf available on the Forestry Commissions website on to a piece of A4 paper. So the print was a bit small for mum to read in a moving car. To help others we will put proper directions at the foot of this post.

After paying our £2 for the pay and display car park, we made our way to the start point near to the toilet block and the old sawmill.

When the Forestry Commission purchased this area, the sawmill was being operated by a man called James Jones and produced railway sleepers and pit props.

Forest path in Mabie Forest

Originally power to operate the saw and work benches was provided by a steam engine. This was replaced by a diesel engine in later years.

The sawmill closed in 1964.

Following the red path

Eager to stretch our legs and go exploring, dad decided that a shortish walk would be best to start with and he chose the red route called the Chimney Field walk.

Poetry in the Woods

Being around one mile in length, it would be just right to build up an appetite for lunch, get a feeling for our surroundings and fill our heads with new sniffs.

Given the recent dry weather, the path was in very good condition and ideal for keeping us clean.

Heading away and uphill from the sawmill we walked alongside a flower meadow. Between us and it, was a high lush green embankment full of green shoots and plants.

Poems in the woods

To our left was a diverse open forest allowing light down to ground level.

Our walk was punctuated with brown wooden noticeboards featuring poems or stories.

Whilst mum and dad read them, we could take a few moments to find some nice grass to chew or take a moment to sit and just watch the world.

Wild Flower meadow

Installed as part of a collaborative project between Forestry Commission Scotland, Dumfries and Galloway Arts Association and supported by Scottish Natural Heritage in 2006-7, the poetry tries to capture the local scenery, sounds or environment.

Although billed as an easy walk it wasn’t long before we started to climb making this walk unsuitable for wheelchairs.

Look at the view

Forest flower

Our path followed around the top of the flower meadow. Looking back towards the old sawmill we had a clear view for miles across the countryside.

Mum loved this part of the walk as she came across many forest plants and flowers.

Amongst the unfurling bracken was this red campion. Broom, aquilegia, ajuga and many other forest and hedgerow plants were also spotted.

Woodland Pond

No sploshing in this pond

Towards the end of this walk we came upon a nature pond.

A boardwalk led to a water filled oasis with loads of bugs, flying things and swimmy fishes.

Mum said we were not allowed to go for a paddle as we would upset the wildlife.

Which route to choose ?

Looking over the edge of the wooden path we could see dark black tadpoles clinging to oxygenating plants.

This got us starting to think about our lunch and after another 15 minutes walk we returned to the car for our picnic.

The big blue walk

Fed, watered and suitably warmed by the summer sunshine, we made our way back towards the Mabie Forest sawmill and it was my turn to choose the walk.

Being a keen observer of such things, due to us having four paws and in effect walking twice as far as humans, I noticed that something was going on with walk distances.

The leaflet states that the

Dalshinnie Glen Walk is 3 miles and will take 2hours

but these signs say the Dalshinnie Glen Walk is 2.25 miles. Almost a mile different, so we will have to see for ourselves -blue route it is.

The recently installed Woodland Garden

One of the first things of note we spotted on this walk was the woodland garden.

Play with me

Tree trunks had been used to create raised beds whilst old stumps had been carved into the shape of animals and insects to be found nearby.

Carved squirrel

Red squirrels are to be found in these woods and a carving of one on the edge of a bench caught Charlies eye.

Even when he woofed at it, it did not move.

This walk had some quite steep parts to it and mum needed both of us pulling to help her up some of the hills.

Giant caterpillar found on forest track

Thankfully seats and benches allowed tired muscles a moment of rest whilst the eyes could feast on a view or the ears immerse in forest sounds.

Bristling with nature

Being an old woodland, dating back to the 1800′s, Mabie Forest has become a haven for wildlife.

Giant caterpillers, butterflies, birds and animals all call this area home.

Marthrown of Mabie complex

One recent study confirms that in this one forest are over 20 of Scotland’s 32 resident butterflies including the

Pearl-bordered Fritillary
Small Pearl-bordered Fritlllary
and the Dark Green Fritillary

After about an two hours or so of woodland walking, including many stops for paddles in streams and mum spotting plants and wildlife, we emerged on to a wider forest gravel road and a few buildings in the distance.

We had just discovered the Marthrown of Mabie complex with its strange looking buildings including a Tipi, Yurt, bunkhouse and roundhouse. They even have a sauna and hot tub hidden in the woods.

7Stanes Mountain bike training area

The roundhouse is an authentic replica of a Celtic Iron Age Roundhouse. It can be hired for around £300 per night, but it does sleep 16 people.

7Stanes

Our path had now become a forest road so we had to take care in case of bicycles, cars or horses.

This part of our walk felt a bit strange and a bit utilitarian as the rest spaces with seats were missing. It also lacked the comfort of the woods as you were now exposed to a man made environment.

With our path continuing to fall back, hopefully to the car park, we started to hear the sounds of joyful screeches and bike brakes squeaking.

'Pod' cabins at Mabie House Hotel

To our right was the training area for the 7Stanes mountain bike trails. This large area is ideal for learning how to handle your mountain bike and features loads of instruction boards and training scenarios.

Pod cabins

The blue marker posts led us back in to the forest for a few hundred metres before we emerged facing a welcome sign saying cafe to our right.

Below us, in the rear of the Mabie House Hotel, dad spotted these unusual camping pods. A sign nailed to a nearby tree indicated that they could be hired for around £35 per night.

Skirting around the rear of the hotel our sniffers picked up on the smell of food. The cafe and an ice-cream were nearby.

Dad found a seat on one of the many park benches nearby whilst mum went to see what was available.

Two tubs of Cornish ice cream with small blue spoons suited the bill. Whilst mum talked shop to a number of cyclists over from Ireland for the weekend we helped dad finish of his reward for bringing us out for the day.

Until next time

Buster and Charlie

Further information

Directions to Mabie Forest

From Dumfries, follow the A710 New Abbey road. The forest is signposted four miles south of Dumfries.

Please note that ‘Mabie Farm Park’ is signposted just before the entrance to the forest, but there is no vehicle access to the forest from here.

The nearest train station is in Dumfries.

OS Grid Reference: NX9371 Use postcode DG2 8HB, which will take you to the car park at Mabie forest.

Further directions available here

Walking trails available in Mabie Forest

Orange path - 1 mile – A handy path that also links the Nith View(yellow waymarkers) and Lochaber (brown waymarkers) walks – making a longer route all around the forest.

Nith View walk - 4.5 miles – The longest walk in Mabie Forest, climbing up to a level forest road which runs around the top of the hill where numerousviewpoints open out towards Dumfries and beyond.

All abilities trail – 0.5 miles - A pleasant route taking in some interesting features. With wide, even paths to suit everyone. Look out for the poetry trail, ‘Garden Wood’sensory garden, and forest pond along the way.

Dalshinnie Glen Walk – 3 miles - The Dalshinnie Glen Walk is a nice extension to the (red) Chinney Field Walk, heading further up the valley and eventually reaching the Nith viewpoint and a picnic spot. Marthrown of Mabie, situated just below the Nith viewpoint, is an outdoor centre and bunkhouse. They also have a reconstruction Iron Age roundhouse which can be hired!

Lochaber Walk - 4 miles - This walk heads towards Lochaber Loch, passing through Mabie Nature Reserve. There is a variety of wildlife along the way. There are also incredible views from Craigbill Hill looking out towards Criffel and the Solway estuary. A hide on the edge of Lochaber Loch provides an opportunity to view birds such as Mute Swan and Great Crested Grebe. In the summer you may be lucky to witness Ospreys fishing in the loch. Please note that the hide is not on the walk. Directions to the hide: at a junction of forest roads, where the Lochaber walk turns left (NX 926705), keep straight on down the hill. Turn left at the next road junction, and after passing along the edge of the loch take a right turn at the next junction. After about 100m, turn right down a grassy track. The hide is at the end of this.

Chimney Field walk - 1 mile - A short walk on good paths, circling the Chinney Field, and returning to the car park over the Mabie Burn. Take a moment to visit the old sawmill which was once used to process timber from Mabie Forest.

7Stanes routes in Mabie Forest

The Mabie Forest car park is the starting point for a number of walks as well as the trailhead for the 7stanes mountain bike trails.

The green-graded Big Views and the blue-graded Woodhead loops are a great introduction to mountain biking and Mabie’s striking surroundings. Mostly on forest roads, with a few sections of easy singletrack, there are plenty of ups and downs, but the gradients are not too steep.

Big views loop – (green Grade) trail map available here
Woodhead Loop – (blue grade) trail map available here

The 23km Purple Trail - Lochbank Loop is a mixture forest road and some b-class public road (hence its forest road and similar grading). Making the most of the hills, the route has its fair share of climbing, but just like the Big Views Loop the rewards are there. Enjoy the peaceful roads through the forest and revel in the views that you come across.

Mabie Purple Trail – Lochbank Loop – trail map available here

The skills area lies a short distance from the cafe near the trail head. If you are a new or intermediate rider, its blue- and red-graded features are ideal for practising your skills before riding the trails or prior to moving up a trail grade. The area includes a fantastic 300m freeride line with plenty of sections for you to practise your jumping technique.

The red-graded Phoenix Trail is a classic mountain bike route – great riding through mixed woodland and wonderful scenery. This 17km ride has testing climbs, fast descents, berms and water splashes. If you like fast, flowing, twisty trails with a few rocky, rooty sections and some jumps, this is your mountain bike heaven.

Phoenix Trail (red grade) – trail map available here

Mabie’s Kona Dark Side is a 3.8km orange bike park-graded trail. Mostly on narrow elevated wooden “North Shore” sections and spiced with outcrops of granite, it is firmly for the experts among us.