Tailburn Bridge, Grey Mare's Tail, Loch Skeen and Lochcraig Head

The walk ascends steeply from the eastern side of the road bridge across Tail Burn, which emerges from the deep gorge it has carved out below the Grey Mare's Tail. Notices request the public not to stray from the path due to soil erosion risks and slipping hazards on the steep heather, grass, and scree slopes.

The path has been repaired with wooden steps on the lower slopes of Bran Law, eventually becoming a long, rocky track heading up to the higher valley. There are excellent views of the falls and down the valley towards Moffat, with the river meandering like a silver thread and forestry plantations clinging to steep slopes above. The path gains height until looking down upon the top of Grey Mare's Tail as it plunges over the lip of the hanging valley into the gorge (named after Tam O'Shanter's grey mare Meg, who lost her tail to witches).

This landscape is a prime example of glacial shaping: a glacier once flowed from the corrie above Loch Skeen to join a larger glacier in Moffat Dale, cutting deeply through a fault line during the last ice age. When the ice melted, a deep glen with a classic hanging valley tributary was left behind.

The gradient relents above the waterfall, continuing past heather moorland and lesser cascades. Eventually the path levels out between glacial moraines before reaching Loch Skeen, surrounded by rolling hills and featuring a tiny islet with a solitary birch tree. The crystal-clear waters contain brown trout, common gulls nest nearby, and ravens, ring ousels, red grouse, dippers, and wild goats inhabit the area.

Acknowledgment: Text derived from the Out and Out Series; Discovering the Countryside on Foot. Pictures courtesy of Wikipedia.