Merrick (Galloway)

The Merrick, or simply Merrick, is a hill in the Range of the Awful Hand, a sub-range of the Galloway Hills range, part of the Southern Uplands of Scotland. The highest mountain in the Southern Uplands and southern Scotland, the line of sight from Merrick to Snowdon is theoretically the longest in the British Isles.

Merrick
Highest point
Elevation843 m (2,766 ft) [1]
Prominence705 m [1]
Parent peak
ListingMa,Hu,Tu,Sim, C, D,CoH,CoU, CoA,DN,Y,T100,P600,P500[2]
Coordinates55.1393°N 4.4684°W / 55.1393; -4.4684 
Naming
English translationScottish Gaelic: Finger [3]
Geography
Parent rangeRange of the Awful Hand, Southern Uplands
OS gridNX 42760 85547
Topo mapOS Landranger 77

Line of sight

The 144-mile (232 km) view between Merrick and Snowdon is the longest line of sight in the British Isles , but for geometrical reasons Merrick would be very difficult to observe from Snowdon.

Granite boulders

An interesting feature on the mountain is the presence of several large partly buried granite boulders at about 800 m on the broad west ridge.[4] They are glacial erratics, but the exact mechanism is unclear that has brought them to rest close to the highest point of the Southern Uplands and over 200 m higher than any currently-occurring granite in the Galloway Hills.

Walking

The shortest route of ascent is from the car park in Glen Trool. The car park is located near Bruce's Stane, a monument commemorating the victory of Robert the Bruce over the English forces of Edward II at the Battle of Glen Trool in 1307. The Merrick is a relatively straightforward and easy hill walk from the car park near Bruces Stone. The route climbs past the recently restored Culsharg bothy then up on to Benyellary. After dropping slightly the final climb to the summit trig-point is made. Be aware that if descending in poor visibility a very common mistake is to walk down the west ridge into remote terrain. The total round-trip distance from Glen Trool to the summit and back is just under 8 miles (13 km).

Climbing

Because of the nature of the rock no good rock climbing has been recorded on the Merrick. However, in winter after a good freeze there are a number of good ice climbs of up to 200 m on the Black Gairy, which lies west of the summit.[5]

Subsidiary SMC Summits
SummitHeight (m)Listing[2]
Benyellary719Tu,Sim,DT,GT,DN[6]
Knee of Cairnsmore657Tu,Sim,DT,GT,DN[7]
Meikle Multaggart612Tu,Sim,DT,GT,DN[8]
Ice climbing in the Black Gutter, Merrick

See also

References
  1. "Merrick". www.hill-bagging.co.uk.
  2. "Database of British and Irish Hills: user guide". www.hills-database.co.uk.
  3. https://archive.org/stream/hereditarysheri02agnegoog/hereditarysheri02agnegoog_djvu.txt
  4. Hostile Habitats - Scotland's Mountain Environment, p.68, pub. July 2006, ISBN 0-907521-93-2
  5. John Biggar (2006). "Merrick Icefalls". Archived from the original on 2007-10-26. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
  6. "Benyellary". www.hill-bagging.co.uk.
  7. "Knee of Cairnsmore". www.hill-bagging.co.uk.
  8. "Meikle Mulltaggart". www.hill-bagging.co.uk.
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