Inside Scotland’s highest village: discovering that a visit to Wanlockhead is a worthwhile experience (and not just for the pure gold found in the streams)

From the landscape scarred by centuries of mining to the simple, single-storey whitewashed cottages dotted across the hillside, Wanlockhead doesn’t seem like much of a visitor attraction.

I have arrived in the center of this small Scottish village, surrounded by remnants of its industrial past. It’s a chilly, windswept place lurking among a range of dark, smooth mountains.

But it has great fame, as this scattered settlement, home to just 150 hardy souls, is Scotland’s highest village. It attracts thousands of visitors every year, who come to see what it is like to live 466 meters above sea level.

Like me, they discover that Wanlockhead has a hidden charm that is more than just its position at the top of the height hierarchy.

For outsiders, the first surprise is that Wanlockhead is not in the snowy northern Highlands, but in the little-known south-west corner of the country. Galloway’s southern highlands may sound tame compared to the Grampians and Cairngorms, but they include some serious mountain peaks, ski resorts and this, the country’s most elevated settlement.

Simon Heptinstall visits Wanlockhead – Scotland’s highest village

Wanlockhead attracts thousands of visitors every year – who come to see what it’s like to live 466 meters above sea level

The Lead Mining Museum is much more fascinating than it sounds, says Simon

That makes it easier for visitors. Unlike the remote Highland spots, Wanlockhead is a cinch to get to.

It is located just 11 km from the highway. It takes me less than an hour’s drive from the center of Glasgow. The roads around the village, although winding through spectacular scenery, are wonderfully wide and smooth.

Yet there is a crazy end-of-the-road atmosphere in the village café. I find the Wanlockhead Inn in the trees at one of the highest points in the village, looking out over distant mountains. There’s a replica of a bright orange ‘General Lee’ muscle car from TV’s Dukes of Hazzard at the entrance, a collection of wooden glamping pods in the garden and the feel of a student bar inside.

I see a stolen 60mph speed limit sign on the wall, some motorcycle parts, signed electric guitars and a menu of ‘I Don’t Care Burgers’ with or without cheese for £7.50. Scotland’s highest pub brews its own beer and organizes an annual ‘Jocktober Beer Fest’ with haggis curry sausage. Inside is a sign that says, “Unsupervised children get an espresso and a free puppy.”

Apart from the entertaining inn, Wanlockhead’s main attraction sounds a little heavier. But the Lead Mining Museum is much more fascinating than it sounds.

Wanlockhead is located in the ‘little known’ south-west corner of Scotland

Wanlockhead is a ‘cinch to get to’, writes Simon, as it is less than an hour’s drive from central Glasgow

At the entrance to the Wanlockhead Inn stands a replica of a ‘General Lee’ muscle car from TV’s Dukes of Hazzard

Village café ‘has a crazy end-of-the-road atmosphere’

The pub menu features ‘I Don’t Care Burgers’ with or without cheese for £7.50

A sign in the pub warns parents what will happen if their children are left unattended

It’s essentially a tour of the area around the central museum, which is housed in the village’s old forge. Robbie Burns once stopped in the snow at this historic spot to have his horse re-shod with crampons. He paid for the work by writing the poem ‘Pegasus’ and giving it to the blacksmith.

Nowadays, unfortunately, poems are not enough, you have to buy a ticket. But it’s worth it, because the museum is just part of a route that tells the story of mining for lead, copper and gold here since Roman times. Marked paths wind through the valley to miners’ cottages, an atmospheric reading room and Britain’s only intact water-powered jet engine.

The most exciting part is a short tour of a mining tunnel, complete with helmets and torches.

There are even rows of wells along the babbling village stream, where visitors can pan for gold. It is such a common local skill that this year’s World Gold Panning Championships were held here, attracting expert prospectors from all over the world.

In the unglamorous spot between the car park and the cottage gardens it seems unlikely I would ever find gold. But I later learn that the gravel in many of the burns in the area contains copious amounts of small gold flakes and even the odd nugget.

Some visitors become so enthusiastic that they purchase their own equipment and a license from the museum. There are 30-minute gold prospecting taster courses available or a five-hour course for serious gold diggers with local professional gold prospector Leon Kirk, who found a gold nugget worth £15,000 this spring.

Local gold was used to form the Scottish parliamentary mace. In fact, some of the purest gold ever found in the world was discovered in these cold mountain streams. The 22.8 carat gold from Wanlockhead that was filtered here in the 16th century was considered such a precious specimen that it was used to make the Crown of Scotland.

But gold or no gold, a visit to Wanlockhead is a worthwhile experience.

More information: visitscotland.com.

Where to stay: Wooden glamping pods at the Wanlockhead Inn Start at £20 per person. Visit wanlockheadinn.co.uk/accommodation.

Simon writes: ‘The roads around the village, although winding through spectacular scenery, are wonderfully wide and smooth’