Glen Trool Loch Trool is renowned as having some of the finest scenery in southern Scotland. Lying in the heart of the Galloway Forest Park it offers the visitor a perfect example of the unspoilt and untamed nature of Galloway as you circumnavigate the loch on the Glentrool Trail.

Sitting in an elevated position above Loch Trool lies the evocatively named Bruce's Stone, commemorating the famous battle of Glentrool between the Scots loyal to Robert the Bruce and the tyrannical English forces. Also towering above the loch is the highest peak in southern Scotland, the Merrick. Popular with climbers and hikers alike there is a clearly defined pathway to the summit by way of Benyellary. Those who make the effort are well rewarded on a clear day with full 360 degree views of Galloway and Ayrshire.

   
Some three miles from Loch Trool is the Glentrool Visitor Centre which acts as the trailhead for one of the world famous 7stanes mountain bike trails. Also nearby are the small hamlets of Glentrool Village, a village created to house the once many forest workers and their families and now a popular provider of holiday homes and self catering properties and Bargrennan, home of the famous House o' Hill Inn a welcome halt on the 212 mile Southern Upland Way.
Glentrool Visitor Centre is the gateway to the Galloway hills, where you can pick up maps and information on the hill ranges. The Merrick, South Scotland's highest mountain at nearly 2,800ft can be climbed from Bruce's Stone.

Sample the Highlands of the Lowlands and sit by the stunning water of Minnoch and falls, beside the visitor centre which offers information, refreshments and gift shop.

There are waymarked trails, cycle routes and picnic areas.

http://www.forestry.gov.uk/website/recreation.nsf/LUWebDocsByKey/ScotlandDumfriesandGallowayNoForestGallowayForestParkGlentroolVisitorCentre