Cairnsmore of Fleet

Cairnsmore of Fleet is an isolated mountain in the Southern Uplands of Scotland. The mountain forms an unafforested granite massif, whose highest point is about ten kilometres (six miles) east of Newton Stewart. It is the highest of the "Solway Hills" sub-range, and the southernmost of Scotland's 219 Grahams, thus making it, or rather its subsidiary top, Knee of Cairnsmore, the most southerly mountain in Scotland. The view to the south takes in the Cree Estuary and Wigtown Bay, and extends as far as the Lake District, the Isle of Man and Snowdonia. The highest summits of the Galloway Hills can be seen to the north, and Ireland is in the view to the west. It is home to the most extensive area of open moorland in Galloway, and has been designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). The summit and eastern flanks of the mountain (an area of 1,922 hectares) are designated as a national nature reserve, which is managed by NatureScot. Cairnsmore of Fleet lies in the south of the council area Dumfries and Galloway, and in the historic county of the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright.

Neighbouring summits