| Galloway Forest Park | |
|---|---|
 Corserine and the Rhinns of Kells as seen from Craignaw in winter, showing areas of Sitka Spruce plantation. | |
 A map showing the location of the Galloway Forest Park (in red) in south west Scotland. | |
| Location | Dumfries and Galloway |
| Area | 774 km2 (299 sq mi)[1] |
| Established | 1947 |
| Governing body | Forestry and Land Scotland |
| Website | Galloway Forest Park |
55°07′26″N 4°25′26″W / 55.123861°N 4.423901°W Galloway Forest Park is a forest park operated by Forestry and Land Scotland, principally covering woodland in the historic counties of Kirkcudbrightshire and Wigtownshire in the administrative area of Dumfries and Galloway. It is claimed to be the largest forest in the UK. The park was granted Dark Sky Park status ("Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park") in November 2009, being the first area in the UK to be so designated.[2]
The park, established in 1947, covers 774 square kilometres (299 sq mi)[1] and receives over 800,000 visitors per year. The three visitor centres at Glen Trool, Kirroughtree, and Clatteringshaws receive around 150,000 each year. Much of the Galloway Hills lie within the boundaries of the park and there is good but rough hillwalking and also some rock climbing and ice-climbing within the park. Within or near the boundaries of the park are several well developed mountain bike tracks, forming part of the 7stanes project.
As well as catering for recreation, the park includes economically valuable woodland, producing 500,000 tons of timber per year.
Galloway Forest Park and the people who visit it and work in it were the subject of a six-part BBC One documentary series aired in early 2018 entitled "The Forest".[3]
- ^ a b "National Forest Estate Forest Parks GB". Scottish Government Spatial Data Infrastructure. 21 September 2017. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
darkskywas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ ""The Forest" BBC TV series". 8 January 2018.