The roar of falling water reaches you before the Grey Mare Tail comes into view. This spectacular waterfall drops sixty metres from a hanging valley into the wild landscape of the Scottish Borders. The trail climbs steeply alongside the cascade and the spray cools your face even on a rainy day. Above the falls lies a dark loch tucked into a glacial hollow where the water gathers before its dramatic plunge. Wild goats pick their way across the cliffs above. This nature reserve protects one of the finest examples of a hanging valley in the United Kingdom.
The fifth largest waterfalls in the UK can be found within the Grey Mare’s Tail Nature Reserve in Scotland UK. The 60 meter tall waterfall plunges over the Moffat Water Valley from its source at Loch Skeen. There are several amazing viewing areas of the falls including along the slopes of nearby White Coomb.
Those who are adventurous enough can make their way up to the Loch Skeen. The picturesque views of the area surrounding the peaceful loch are worth the almost hour-long walk it takes to reach.
Grey Mare’s Tail, Scotland, UK by Leon Pettit
Geology and Formation of the Hanging Valley
The Grey Mare’s Tail waterfall exists because of glacial activity during the last Ice Age, around 10,000 years ago. Glaciers carved a deep U-shaped valley through the Moffat Hills, leaving a smaller tributary valley suspended high above the main floor. This is a hanging valley, and this reserve protects one of the finest examples in Britain. The waterfall drops over the lip of this valley into the Tail Burn gorge below. The underlying rock is greywacke, a hard sedimentary stone that resists erosion well. Above the falls, Loch Skeen sits in a corrie, a bowl-shaped depression scoured by ice. The loch reaches depths of over 30 metres and supports a unique population of Arctic charr, a relic fish species that has survived here since the end of the ice age.
Wildlife Watching at the Reserve
The reserve covers 460 hectares of upland habitat managed by the National Trust for Scotland. The steep cliffs around the waterfall provide nesting sites for peregrine falcons, among the fastest birds in the world. These raptors can be seen diving at incredible speeds as they hunt for smaller birds in the valley. CCTV cameras near the nesting ledges allow visitors to watch live footage in the visitor centre without disturbing the birds. Wild goats roam the slopes of White Coomb, descendants of domesticated animals released centuries ago. The heather moorland supports meadow pipits, skylarks, and red grouse. In summer, the hillsides are dotted with bilberry, heather, and tormentil. The reserve also protects archaeological features including Tail Burn fort, an Iron Age earthwork fortress on a hill overlooking the gorge, known locally as the Giant’s Grave.
Within the park, you will also find an earthwork fortress that dates back to the Iron Age. Known as Tail Burnt, the old fort was built upon a hill that has become known over the years as the Giant’s Grave.
If you are really up for an adventure, then you will need to bring your hiking boots because the trip up the side of White Coomb is a treacherous one. You may need to make your way through a herd of wild goats that live along the slopes of the hill. But the adventure is worth the effort as you stand over Tail Burn Gorge and simply admire the beauty that is the Grey Mare’s Tail Nature Reserve.
Since not everyone is willing to take the long and tiring trek up to the top of White Coomb, there is a visitor’s center which comes complete with a CCTV system. From the center, you can watch over the nest of a Peregrine Falcon and even see the entire Tail Burn Gorge. Most of all is that the visitor center offers a state of the art interactive system that will help you to learn more about the nature preserve as well as its long and colorful past.
There’s a reason why so many people over the years have made their way to the Grey Mare’s Tail Nature Reserve. The picturesque views of the valley, gorge and loch are definitely one of the biggest reasons to visit the area. Enjoying a peaceful day in the wilderness and a chance to become closer with Mother Nature is another popular reason that so many have visited the park to date.