Standing high and stark above the flat lands in the south-east corner of Kirkcudbrightshire, Criffel seems out of place. It is as if the people hereabouts had called over the Solway to the folk of the Lake District and asked “Fine fells ye have there that we can see – d’ye mind if we have one, if ’tis going spare?”
Burns mentions Criffel in a song he wrote for the Dumfries Volunteers, so it has fame indeed (“The Nith shall run to Corsincon, And Criffel sink in Solway, Ere we permit a foreign foe. On British ground to rally!“).
The hill is a popular climb, the path leading up from New Abbey. There main path is signposted from the village, although there is another known route, that leads also over neighbouring Knockendoch, its subsidiary top.
We began, on a dry and bright day from Sweeheart Abbey in New Abbey. A short way down the main road is a signpost pointing south-south-west, between fields and then into woods. This leads to a pleasant village walk in itself – some of the year. Following finger-posts and up steps we came to the path behind houses – and came to a stop. We had found the right route (we later learnt), but the way shown appeared completely clogged up with brambles. A local dog-walker directed us to an easier way round, back onto the main road, past the kirk and up a residential road to the farm where we would have emerged. Apparently they have volunteers to clear the path every so often but, as wil th most volunteers schemes, they are getting on in years and not so able to battle the vegetation.
The path southwards is well signposted, along and round and to the shore of the local loch, Loch Kindar (which looks as if it has some history behind it). A large and determined herd of bullocks eyed us and started trotting not at us but for a gate in the field despite our being in the way. (On the way back they came at us to get into the loch. Each time it seems they reacted to our standing between them and the more adventurous of the herd who had gone to the next field or into the water.) After the loch, the path begins the climb and enters woodland.
There is a clear, well-marked path through the woods, plodding on until the wee Craigrockall Burn, running down the fell. There we turned uphill, up a proper fellside, woodland path, steeply climbing beside the burn. The woods are pretty here.
At the top, the path goes through a gate and emerges on the bare top part of Criffel. Still a long way to got. In contrast with the lush woodland, this part of the climb is windswept heather. We could not see the top from here: a cloud had descended on the summit and stayed stuck there.
The path is still clearly defined, and up we went. There is little to say until we entered the cloud. Inside the cloud, distances are hard to just: just walk on following the path as it appears beneath you. Eventually the huge summit cairn appeared. We stopped for lunch.
There is a beautiful view from the summit of Criffel, over the Solway to Skiddaw and Blencathra and out to sea – or so the books say, for a clear day.
It is a popular climb, and we met other walkers on the way up and down. (We had to reassure two teenage girls, afeared that the path would never end, that they were in fact within a few yards of the summit – they would see the cairn when they came to it.)
The plan had been to follow the alternative path down: from the cairn to the trig point beside it, and on to another cairn, then turn north on top of the ridge to Knockendoch, and then essentially due north on the ridge until it descends to the level again. We were told by another walker that it is a very pleasant walk. However the cloud was very heavy: the trig point might be next to the summit cairn, but we could barely see it. The path it not so well defined, and we could not see far enough ahead to judge which was the path and which way was just deeper into the marsh.
In the event, we retraced our steps the clear path and descended the way we came, which is a good walk in itself. It just means that another expedition is need in a future year.
