In Newton Stewart, a likely gateway to the proposed park, I speak to a retired couple from Surrey who decline to be named. “We are worried about over tourism like you hear about in Venice and in Edinburgh,” they tell me. It seems an odd comparison to make; even with the modest expected rise in visitor numbers, Dumfries and Galloway will still be a world away from Edinburgh’s Royal Mile, or even the Highland hotspots along the North Coast 500.
David Hope-Jones of tourism development body South of Scotland Destination Alliance, views the park more positively. He says: “Tourism brings in almost £500 million a year into the region and countless jobs, but we’ve still got relatively low visitor numbers and we’re often overlooked by people zooming further north or south. The national park would put us on the map.”
Seeking to allay fears, he adds: “We don’t have to be exactly like any other national park. It’s not a binary yes or no choice, there is a desire to work with all parties to get everyone together managing the park for the benefit of all the community in what is a very special place.”
The likely location is indeed a very special place, alive with a rugged oil painting of mountain, loch and moor (and unlike much of the Highlands, alive with thick forest) that is home to an impressive sweep of flora and fauna. It’s a wild and wildly beautiful landscape that easily matches its counterparts in the Highlands. This natural richness has already helped secure Unesco Biosphere status.
Being a Unesco Biosphere means finding better ways to protect the landscape and its nature, whilst helping people thrive within it, traditionally a struggle in a rural Scotland often blighted by depopulation issues. Concerns have been raised about rising property prices in a national park, but local councillors have already declared a “property emergency” anyway, with young people especially struggling to find homes. Gazing further north to Cairngorms National Park, the gateway town of Aviemore has seen new homes built and the population has risen since 2003, with a visibly youthful demographic being both retained and attracted.
John Thompson, chair of the Galloway and Southern Ayrshire Biosphere, which backed the national park bid, says: “The national park would build on our work, bringing in much needed investment and jobs. People and local businesses would be at the very heart of it with more of a say in what happens around them. In the national park there would be ongoing consultation to make sure it delivers for Dumfries and Galloway.”
Over my four days I found a majority of people in favour, but also a strong desire to engage in the consultation, with the Scottish government aiming for the park to open in 2026.
In Stranraer, as Galloway meets the Irish Sea, I meet Allan Jenkins who works on the local oyster festival. “Whichever of the six bids was chosen, concerns would have emerged,” he smiles. “This is a park for the benefit of everyone and it’s important to realise we all have a say in how it works for us if it does go ahead. It would be a shame if it doesn’t.”
How to visit the proposed national park
The boundaries of the Galloway National Park are not finalised, but are likely to be focused on a similar area to the existing Biosphere – essentially an expanded Galloway Forest Park – mainly within Dumfries and Galloway plus perhaps a slice of South Ayrshire. It is a landscape deeply worthy of national park status you can already explore with myriad attractions.
The coast-to-coast Southern Upland Way hiking route scythes through and there is brilliant mountain biking from the hubs at Glentrool and Kirroughtree. It’s a wildscape alive with historic battle sites, castle ruins and Neolithic treasures too. A new national park will, of course, encourage more attractions, with rumours suggesting a new observatory could open to build on the area’s already growing reputation for its Dark Sky status.
Galloway is glorious year-round, though tourist numbers do drop away after summer, despite autumn and winter being a striking time to visit. This is one of the issues the new park is seeking to address.
Dumfries Tours offers bespoke guided experiences that can take in all parts of Dumfries and Galloway, including the areas above. For more tourist information see Scotland Starts Here. NatureScot has an online hub dedicated to Galloway National Park.