Auldgirth Bridge – Dalswinton Barony Church loop from Keir Mill
Auldgirth Bridge – Dalswinton Barony Church loop from Keir Mill
29
riders
Auldgirth Bridge – Dalswinton Barony Church loop from Keir Mill
02:30
57.1km
380m
Road cycling
Moderate road ride. Good fitness required. Some segments of this route may be unpaved and difficult to ride. The starting point of the route is accessible with public transport.
Last updated: May 10, 2026
Tips
The surface for a segment of your route may not be suitable
Some segments of your route comprise a surface that may not be suitable for your chosen sport.
After 9.59 km for 238 m
Waypoints
Start point
Bus stop
Get Directions
9.71 km
Holmhead Wood
Forest
10.1 km
Auldgirth Bridge
Highlight • River
Tip by
13.8 km
Dalswinton Barony Church
Highlight • Monument
The owner of the Dalswinton Estate at the time, Mrs McAlpine-Leny, was unhappy with the larger Kirkton Parish Kirk and so bought her own for Dalswinton. At the first service, 300 people attended!
These churches were made in kit form in Edinburgh and Glasgow and exported overseas as well as being used frequently in Scotland. Corrugated iron buildings were frequently used at this time in new and remote communities especially, due to the material’s quick and inexpensive qualities. The six-bay church has Gothic windows and a bellcote with a steep spire at the east gable. There is a small porch at the north-east corner. The interior of the church is timber-lined, and features original pitch-pine pews, pulpit and panelling, and has an open roof. A chancel was formed between a vestry and laird’s pew at the west end. Stained glass windows were added in 1950 and 1975. The earlier window is a one-light window of David, while the 1970s one is a semi-abstract window, with scenes of King David.
Tip by
25.8 km
Devorgilla Bridge
Highlight • Bridge
All the land to the west of the River Nith traditionally formed part of Galloway, which only truly became part of Scotland during Alexander II's reign in the 1230s. Dumfries was therefore a frontier town for much of its early history and had grown up on the east side of a ford that provided the lowest crossing point of the River Nith. By 1186 the town was sufficiently well established to be made a Royal Burgh.
According to some sources the first bridge was built across the River Nith at Dumfries during the 1260s by Devorgilla, Lady of Galloway. No trace of this bridge has ever been found, and if it existed at all it seems very likely that it was made of wood.
There is rather more evidence for the immediate predecessor of the bridge you see today. Construction began on a stone bridge in about 1430, and a papal indulgence of 1432 recorded the Pope's approval for a call for subscribers to pay for the completion of the bridge. This bridge survived for a little under two centuries before being partially destroyed in a major flood in 1620 or 1621. Once more accounts differ, but it seems that the east half of the bridge was swept away and what was left might well have been severely damaged.
undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/dumfries/devorgillabridge/index.html
Tip by
40.3 km
Craigloft Wood
Forest
57.1 km
End point
Bus stop
Way Types & Surfaces
Way Types
52.5 km
4.00 km
536 m
< 100 m
< 100 m
Surfaces
50.2 km
6.38 km
325 m
280 m
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Elevation
Highest point (110 m)
Lowest point (10 m)
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Weather
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Saturday 23 May
18°C
9°C
0 %
Additional weather tips
Max wind speed: 15.0 km/h
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Our route recommendations are based on thousands of hikes, rides, and runs completed by other people on komoot.