Out and About in Southern Scotland
Activities
Solway Coast Heritage Trail
New Abbey is a small village situated on the A710 Solway Coast route approximately 10 minutes drive from Dumfries.
The A710 is also known as the Solway Coast Heritage Trail. The hotel gets its name from the Criffel hill which overlooks the village and is the main hill in Dumfries and Galloway at 1,866 feet.
New Abbey is a scenic and popular destination for outdoor leisure activities such as mountain biking.
Mountain biking
Southern Scotland and the "7 Stanes", a series of man made trail centres are the jewel in the crown of British mountain biking.
New Abbey is in the centre of this area with 5 of the 7 "Stanes" being within one hours drive. Mabie Forest is 10 minutes from the inn and fit people often start their ride from the inn. Dalbeattie is 20 minutes drive along the picturesque Solway Coast.
Richard and Sandra are both keen mountain bikers and own Fat Tread Bikes which is a well known bike shop based in Aviemore, in the North of Scotland. We appreciate the reqquirements of bikers and therefore have bike storage and washing facilties onsite. If you requrie your cycling kit to be washed or your shoes to be dried we can make arrangements for this.
Golf
Scotland is famous for its golf courses and South West Scotland is no exception; there are twenty nine golf courses within Dumfries and Galloway.
Eight of these are within ten miles of the Criffel Inn. The closest course is Southerness which is a Championship Link Course.
ShootingThe area around New Abbey, known locally as the Merse is well known for its wildfowl shooting. Deer stocking is also available locally. Should you require more information please get in touch.
Castles & Historic attractions
The area around Dumfries is famous for its links with Robert Burns and also Robert the Bruce. Within the village there are the beautiful sandstone ruins of Sweetheart Abbey which dates from the 13th/14th centuries.
The Sweetheart Abbey which gives New Abbey its name is famous for its links with John Balliol, a competitor for the throne of Scotland. Across from the Inn is the New Abbey Corn Mill dating from the 18th century.
This is a full working order water powered mill where you can see a demonstration on how it works. New Abbey is also the home of the Shambellie costume museum.
Bird Watching
The Kirkconnell Flow is located a few miles to the north of New Abbey. This is a National Nature Reserve sited on a raised bog.
Mersehead is approximately 7 miles from New Abbey and is a RSPB Nature Reserve offering nature trails along the shore and through the wet meadows. Many species of geese winter here and stop off on thier migrations.
Caerlaverock Wildfowl and Wetland Trust is located near Glencaple on the opposite shore of the River Nith from New Abbey. Caerlaverock offers nature trails and is the winter home to many species of geese. In additon Caerlaverorck castle is very close by.
The RSPB Galloway Kite Trail is approximately 40 minutes away in the area around Loch Ken. This gives fantastic oportunities to see Red Kites in their natural habitat and also more closely at designated feeding stations.