The River Stinchar runs from the Galloway hills to the sea at Ballantrae through one of the least-visited valleys in south-west Scotland, and Colmonell is its village — a single street of cottages, a church, a bridge, and hills closing in on both sides. Ten minutes off the A77 and you are somewhere that feels an hour away.
In and around the village
Colmonell Church holds stained glass associated with the Burne-Jones and Morris workshop — an unexpected thing to find in a village this size, and worth timing a visit for if you can get in. Beside it stand the ruins of Kirkhill Castle, a Kennedy tower house. Across the river, Craigneil Castle sits on a limestone crag above the Stinchar, roofless and precarious; it is on private land and best appreciated from the road.
Rising behind everything is Knockdolian, a shapely conical hill known as the false Craig, because sailors coming up the firth mistook its outline for Ailsa Craig and steered by it to their cost. Its shape is the signature of this whole valley.
The river
The Stinchar is a noted salmon and sea-trout river, running low and clear in summer and rising fast after rain, with the best of the fishing in autumn. Permits for some beats can be arranged locally — see river fishing. Even if you never lift a rod, the bridges at Colmonell and Pinwherry are good places to stand and watch the water.
The valley drive
This is the reason most visitors come. From Girvan take the A77 south to Ballantrae, turn inland up the Stinchar through Colmonell and Pinwherry, continue to Barr, and return over the hill to Girvan — about 35 miles of single-track and quiet B-road with barely a car on it. Add the climb over the Nick of the Balloch from Barr and you have one of the finest drives in southern Scotland. It is equally good on a bike, with the caveat that the hills are real.
Practical notes
About 11 miles from Girvan, roughly 20 minutes. Facilities in the village are limited and can change, so do not count on finding food — carry a flask. The valley road is single track in places with passing places; use them properly, and expect farm traffic. Mobile signal is patchy throughout the valley.
