Moffat's Magic Waters

The walk begins at Station Park (a contributor to Moffat's numerous 'Best kept village in Scotland' awards in Britain in Bloom competitions), featuring a boating pond and a memorial to Moffat-born Air Marshal Lord Dowding, who directed Fighter Command during the Battle of Britain.

The High Street features the Star Hotel (narrowest detached hotel in Britain) and the old graveyard where John Loudon Macadam, the civil engineer who revolutionised road construction, is buried alongside Covenanting refugees who died during the 17th-century 'killing times'. Further up stands the Ram Statue (given in 1875 as a watering place for travellers and animals; local legend says sculptor William Brodie committed suicide upon realising he forgot to carve ears on the ram!).

Across the road is the Town Hall (former baths and pump room hosting grand balls and concerts) and the splendid Moffat House Hotel designed by the Adam family. Gallow Hill to the north (crowned by beech woods) was once an execution site, while Beechgrove hosts the South of Scotland Lawn Tennis Championships predating Wimbledon.

To the northwest lies Gardenholm Linn beauty spot. Golden eagles have been spotted in the Moffat Hills recently, and as you head toward Moffat Well the hills ring with the cries of feral goats and ravens.

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