The Merrick is the culmination of the Range of the Awful Hand — the five-fingered ridge that gives the Galloway hills their shape — and at 843 metres it is the highest ground between the Highlands and the Lake District. It is the big day out from Girvan, and on the right day it is a very good one.
The route
The usual way starts at the Bruce's Stone car park in Glen Trool. The path climbs beside the Buchan Burn, past the ruined Culsharg bothy, through forest and out onto the open hill, then up the long shoulder of Benyellary — the 'hill of the eagle' — before the connecting ridge known as the Neive of the Spit leads to the summit.
About eight miles return, five to six hours, and 700 metres of ascent. The path is good by Scottish hill standards and clear for most of the way, but this is a mountain and it should be treated as one.
The view
On a clear day the summit gives you the whole of the Firth of Clyde with Ailsa Craig and Arran, the coast of Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man and — to the south-east — the Lake District fells. Below, the Galloway lochs and the great empty middle of the forest park.
It is a genuinely remarkable panorama, and the reason people come a long way for a hill of this modest height.
Taking it seriously
The summit is exposed and featureless, and in cloud it is easy to walk off in the wrong direction. Carry OS Explorer 318, a compass and the ability to use them — a phone is not a substitute, particularly given there is no signal for much of the route.
Take full hill kit: waterproofs, warm layers, food, water and a head torch. Galloway weather comes in off the Atlantic and changes fast. Check the mountain forecast rather than the town one, and be prepared to turn back.
Boots, not trainers — there is bog, rock and steep ground.
Practical notes
About 45 minutes from Girvan via the A714 and Glen Trool. Pay-and-display at Bruce's Stone, reached by a narrow single-track road. Facilities and a café are at the Glentrool visitor centre lower down the glen, not at the start of the walk.
For a shorter day in the same hills from the Girvan side, see Shalloch on Minnoch and Cornish Hill. For the loch-level alternative, the Loch Trool circuit is about three hours.
