Geo-Trips :: Looking for a railway
Garlieston
A walk from Mill Road Crossroad, Mon, 28 May 2012 by Bill Nicholls
A short walk from Garliston to trace an old railway that ran there, taking in a church and finding some new benchmarks but failing on the ROC post which had been demolished.
On the map below, the grey line is the GPS track from this trip. Click the blue circles to see a photograph taken from that spot and read further information about the location. The blue lines indicate the direction of view. There is also a slideshow of this trip. ( )
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Looking out of the Forest
View out of the entrance to Kilsture Forest which is not a place I want to revisit.
Start of a walk
The start of a woodland walk in Kilsture Forest near Garlieston.
Map of the forest
Map of the Kilsture Forest which I admit I had to refer to whilst on the walk,... more
Markers for the trail
Couple of markers you can follow round Kilsture Forest; the Deer Trail is the long one.
Bluebells in the Forest
Some of the Bluebells you can see in Kilsture Forest
Path through the Forest
View along part of the path going through Kilsture Forest
Looking back to the start
View back towards the start and carpark in Kilsture Forest
Marker on the Bend
One of the Markers you follow on the path through Kilsture Forest
Opening fronds
Could have been a better shot of the fern fronds opening in Kilsture Forest
Back through the forest
Looking back through Kilsture forest trail towards a bend and a hide in the distance.
Heading on deeper
Heading on deeper through Kilsture Forest with me wee dog sneaking into the picture.
Bluebells in the forest
View of more bluebells in Kilsture Forest
Down with the bluebells
Shot from low down with the bluebells in Kilsture forest.
Fern in the Forest
A young fern in Kilsture forest
Note on the post
A small sign on top of one of the marker posts in Kilsture Forest.
Post on the Path
View along one of the Kilsture Forest paths with a marker post on the right.
Crossroads on Mill Road
The crossroads on Mill road, the B7004 is on the left going to Wigtown and... more
Mill road towards South Crescent
Looking along Mill Road towards South Crescent Garlieston.
The B7004
The B7004 which will take you to Wigtown from the bridge near Garlieston crossroad.
Crossing Cottage
I had thought this a station but found out it was the crossing house for the... more
Garage at Garlieston
One of the few garages I have come across in the area, this one is near Garlieston... more
Supports in the burn
The owner of crossing cottage kindly showed and let me get a couple of photos of... more
Land for development
From the look of things this plot of land is being developed into new housing just... more
Garage near the crossroad
Not sure of the name but the garage is on the B7004 by the crossroad at Garlieston
Railway crossed here
The old railway that went to Garlieston would have crossed the road at this point... more
Retaining wall and supports
View over the burn at Crossing cottage showing the bridge supports and retaining wall.
No sign remains
The railway that ran through here to Garlieston has been totally eradicated so... more
The road out
The road leading out of Garlieston which runs beside the dismantled railway.
Over the bank
Looking over the bank along the road from Garlieston you can see the small... more
Looking towards Mill Road
Looking down the road to Garlieston towards Mill Road.
Towards the Junction
View along the road from Garlieston towards the Junction on the B7052
Towards Home farm
Looking over the pasture land near Garlieston towards Home Farm
Junction ahead
The junction with the B7052 in the distance.
The line to Garlieston
This point is where the rail line to Garlieston would have gone and run beside the... more
Line across the bend
Far as I can see the railway would have gone across the bend here and across the... more
Towards the embankment
View along the roadside hedge towards the rail embankment which is in the tree line.
Bridge in the distance
In the distance you can see a bridge that took a railway over a burn near Garlieston.
Path to the church
More of a track but will take you to Sorbie church
Name of the house
Think this is the name of the house beside Sorbie church which was probably the rectory.
Sorbie Church
Bit off the beaten track and well outside Garlieston
Gate to the rectory
Now a private house but was this once the rectory of Sorbie church
West end of Sorbie Church
View of the west end of Sorbie church, one thing I noticed was the lack of... more
Belltower on Sorbie Church
Built on the west end of the church as normal but off to the south side.
The Prespartory
Not sure if that is right but is on the east end of Sorbie Church.
Building at the back
A stone faced building with a locked door in the back of Sorbie Churchyard.
View of the building
Mortuary chapel or groundsman's hut but it's in the grounds of Sorbie Church.
Along the Chancel end
View along the back of Sorbie Church near Garlieston [[2984568]]
Found the Benchmark
Did not expect to see a flush bracket but welcome none the less on Sorbie Church.
Close up of Sorbie Church Benchmark
Close up of the flush bracket on Sorbie Church. [[2984567]]
Sorbie Church
View from the North West side of Sorbie Church near Garlieston.
Passing on the bend
Couple of large trucks pass on the bend near Sorbie church.
Reason for removal
This is the reason many bridge decks have been removed from these old rail... more
One side of the bridge
One side of the old dismantled rail bridge near Garlieston, the gate to the left... more
Road to the right
More of a farm track leading round to some buildings and probably a good yard from... more
Benchmark on the bridge
A good result finding this benchmark on the old rail bridge near Garlieston.
Close up of the benchmark
Close up of the benchmark on the old rail bridge near Garlieston. [[2987559]]
Looking back through the bridge
Looking back through the old rail bridge on the B7052 near Garlieston
Towards Kilfillan Burn
View over the hedge towards Kilfillan Burn and in the distance the line of the old... more
Line from the bridge
View of the embankment leading from the old Rail Bridge near Garlieston.
The B7052
Panoramic view through the old rail bridge with the embankment going off to the right.
Millisle Station
Millisle Station as it is shown on the map, this would have served Garlieston as... more
Station over the field
View over the field beside the B7052 towards the old station, the railway would... more
Entrance to Millisle Station
The entrance to Millisle station now a driveway to the residence there.
Bridge over Kilfillan Burn
A short walk over a meadow brings you to Kilfillan Burn and the old rail bridge there.
Sides of the bridge
View of the sides of Kilfillan Rail Bridge
The rail bed
View of the rail bed on Kilfillan bridge, not one of my better ideas climbing the... more
Kilfillan Burn from the bridge
View of Kilfillan Burn from the old rail bridge that spans it.
From the bridge to the road
Kilfillan Burn flowing away from the old rail bridge towards the road.
Railbed looking south
View along the old railbed looking south from near Kilfillan Burn, not sure of the... more
Fence in the way
Not sure what is going on here with the small fence over the line on Kilfillan Rail Bridge
Bit impassable
Heading towards the road you find the line is impassable with nettles and... more
Second view
Second view of Kilfillan burn flowing through the old railway bridge near Garlieston.
Nail in the gate
On the way back I thought I might see if I could get up the embankment from near... more
Handrails going up
Looking up the embankment you can see handrails beside the path to help in the... more
Footpath mark on the post
At the top you find a small sign with an arrow pointing the way of a footpath... more
That's the path
That is the direction the footpath takes along the embankment from the old bridge... more
Wall at the end
The wall you see past the nettles here mark the bridge and where it has been... more
Faded church sign
The paintwork now faded through age but informed you of Sorbie Church and the... more
View along the line
Can't help but think there would have been a couple of level crossings here at the... more
Right to Sorbie Church
View along a section of the B7052 which turns left ahead going to the right takes... more
Kilfillan Bridge benchmark
It's a rivet but I think it may have also been a bolt at one time with that big... more
Second view of the bridge
A view of the old rail bridge looking across the meadows near Kilfillan bridge.
Heading away
View of the old rail line heading away along the tree line as it passes Pouton.
B7004 towards Pouton Wood
View along the B7004 looking towards Pouton Wood which you can see on the left in... more
Entrance to Galloway House
The main entrance to Galloway House near Garlieston.
Benchmark on the Bridge by Mill Road
View of the benchmark on the bridge on the B7004 by Mill Road in Garlieston; the... more
Look by the post
If you are looking for the benchmark on this bridge it is by the post, crossing... more
Another burn
This one is Pouton Burn and closes near Kilfillan Burn (over the road) before... more
Galloway House entrance lodge
View over the Pouton Burn bridge at Garlieston towards the lodge at the entrance.
Along Forteviot Gardens
Which is the estate on the left; to the right is where the railway ran towards the... more
Part of the campsite
This is the last section the railway ran before reaching the harbour. The road you... more
Crossing by the gate
This road lead to the old estate sawmill with local level crossing that crossed... more
All images © Bill Nicholls and available under a Creative Commons licence .