The Dungeon Hills are a range of hills in the

Galloway Hills The Galloway Hills are part of the Southern Uplands of Scotland, and form the northern boundary of western Galloway. They lie within the bounds of the Galloway Forest Park, an area of some of largely uninhabited wild land, managed by Forestry an ...

range, part of the

Southern Uplands The Southern Uplands ( gd, Na Monaidhean a Deas) are the southernmost and least populous of mainland Scotland's three major geographic areas (the other two being the Central Lowlands and the Grampian Mountains and the Highlands, as illustrated ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. The central of three parallel ridges, they are neighboured by the Range of the Awful Hand to the west and the Rhinns of Kells to the east. The range is also perpendicular to the

Minnigaff Hills The Minnigaff Hills are a range of hills in the Galloway Hills range, part of the Southern Uplands of Scotland. A southerly range, they are perpendicular to the Range of the Awful Hand, Dungeon Hills and Rhinns of Kells to the north. In total, ...

range, immediately south. In total, these four ranges are part of the

Galloway Forest Park Galloway Forest Park is a forest park operated by Forestry and Land Scotland, principally covering woodland in Dumfries and Galloway. It is claimed to be the largest forest in the UK. The park was granted Dark Sky Park status ("Galloway Forest D ...

The Hills

The hills of the range are the lowest and craggiest of the Galloway Hills with the highest, Mullwharchar, reaching 692m. They are split between

East Ayrshire East Ayrshire ( sco, Aest Ayrshire; gd, Siorrachd Àir an Ear) is one of thirty-two council areas of Scotland. It shares borders with Dumfries and Galloway, East Renfrewshire, North Ayrshire, South Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire. The headquart ...

and

Dumfries and Galloway Dumfries and Galloway ( sco, Dumfries an Gallowa; gd, Dùn Phrìs is Gall-Ghaidhealaibh) is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland and is located in the western Southern Uplands. It covers the counties of Scotland, historic counties of ...

along the Mullwharchar-Dungeon Hill col, following the Pulskaig Burn. Often regarded as the roughest hills in the Southern Uplands, walks can frequently take longer than anticipated due to the underfoot conditions of tussocks and bog. The range is the most remote of the Galloway Hills as the nearest road link to the north is approximately 2 miles away at Craigmalloch on the banks of Loch Doon, requiring an approach along an unclassified road. As a result, many hillwalkers begin their walk at the Glentrool Visitor Centre to the southwest and follow the path past Loch Trool to then ascend opposite the Gairland Burn and eventually to Loch Valley and Loch Neldricken. A longer but initially easier path can be followed from the same start point, following the path to the Merrick, but cutting right at Culsharg bothy and following the Buchan Burn to Loch Enoch for a clockwise round instead. From north to south the hills are:

Ecology

The

SSSI A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

Ramsar Ramsar may refer to: * Places so named: ** Ramsar, Mazandaran, city in Iran ** Ramsar, Rajasthan, village in India * Eponyms of the Iranian city: ** Ramsar Convention concerning wetlands, signed in Ramsar, Iran ** Ramsar site, wetland listed in ...

Silver Flowe, lies directly east of the range, and is a blanket mire, described as the least-disturbed area of acid peatland in southern Scotland. It forms part of the Silver Flowe-Merrick Kells Biosphere Reserve, which incorporates a considerable portion of both ranges to the west and east, and is a

Natura 2000 Natura 2000 is a network of nature protection areas in the territory of the European Union. It is made up of Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas designated under the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive, respectively ...

site. The area is very popular with invertebrates and swarms of

Odonata Odonata is an order of flying insects that includes the dragonflies and damselflies. Members of the group first appeared during the Triassic, though members of their total group, Odonatoptera, first appeared in Late Carboniferous. The two comm ...

, Syrphidae and

Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) is an order (biology), order of insects that includes butterfly, butterflies and moths (both are called lepidopterans). About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera are described, in 126 Family (biology), families and 46 Taxonomic r ...

during summer are common. Most of the surrounding lochs suffered severe acidification in the past, however have made partial recoveries and

Brown trout The brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') is a European species of salmonid fish that has been widely introduced into suitable environments globally. It includes purely freshwater populations, referred to as the riverine ecotype, ''Salmo trutta'' morph ...

populations, often restocked, remain stable. The rivers Doon,

Cree The Cree ( cr, néhinaw, script=Latn, , etc.; french: link=no, Cri) are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people. They live primarily in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada ...

and Dee all either originate or have tributaries originating from the range.

Etymology

A number of the surrounding landmarks have peculiar names not found anywhere else in Scotland. Names include: the Rig of the Jarkness, Clints of the Buss, Lump of the Eglin, the Wolf Slock and Seggy Gut. Most of the hill names are of

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...

origin, such as Mullwharchar (''Maol Adhairce'').

References

{{coord missing, Dumfries and Galloway Mountains and hills of the Southern Uplands Mountains and hills of Dumfries and Galloway Mountains and hills of East Ayrshire