The Minnigaff 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 ...

. A southerly range, they are perpendicular to the Range of the Awful Hand, Dungeon Hills and Rhinns of Kells to the north. 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 second lowest of the Galloway Hills with the highest hill, Lamachan Hill, reaching 717m, but cover a much more circular area. They are located entirely within

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 ...

and, despite the name, are most commonly ascended from nearby Glen Trool to the north, albeit more steeply, rather than

Minnigaff Minnigaff is a village and civil parish in the historic county of Kirkcudbrightshire in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. Lead was discovered there in 1763 and mined about two miles from the village until 1839. Etymology The name ''Minnigaff' ...

itself to the south. A common round takes in Lamachan Hill and Curleywee with the option of Larg Hill, however the most easterly and isolated

Donald Donald is a masculine given name derived from the Gaelic name ''Dòmhnall''.. This comes from the Proto-Celtic *''Dumno-ualos'' ("world-ruler" or "world-wielder"). The final -''d'' in ''Donald'' is partly derived from a misinterpretation of the ...

, Millfore, is normally ascended on its own. The higher summits broadly form an 'N' shape and contain far more divergent satellite ridges and individual hills than the other three ranges. From west to east (excluding all satellite ridges) 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 ...

Cairnbaber, lies on the northeast slopes of Millfore and is an example of a SNH priority habitat, Inland Rock Outcrops.

Etymology

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 ...

influence is clear on a number of hills in the range; '

Curleywee Curleywee is a hill in the Minnigaff Hills, a sub-range of the Galloway Hills range, part of the Southern Uplands of Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the nor ...

' is said to come from ''cor le gaeith'' (hill in the wind) and '

Millfore Millfore is a hill in the Minnigaff Hills, a sub-range of the Galloway Hills range, part of the Southern Uplands of Scotland. It lies northeast of Newton Stewart in Galloway Forest Park Galloway Forest Park is a forest park operated by Forest ...

' from ''meall fuar'' (cold round hill). 'Larg Hill' may derive from

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

: ''learg'' (slopes of a hill). An area of land was historically given to the Mackie of Larg by

Robert the Bruce Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (Scottish Gaelic: ''Raibeart an Bruis''), was King of Scots from 1306 to his death in 1329. One of the most renowned warriors of his generation, Robert eventual ...

; known still as Cumloden, just north of Minnigaff and 5 miles from Larg Hill itself. 'Lamachan Hill', historically 'Lommachan', may derive from Irish: ''loma'' (bare).

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