What Is a Donald?
Donalds are hills of 2,000 feet (610 metres) or more in the Scottish Lowlands, defined as the area south of the Highland Boundary Fault. The list was compiled by Percy Donald of the Scottish Mountaineering Club and first published in the 1935 edition of the SMC's tables. The current list contains 89 Donalds plus a number of subsidiary Donald Tops, covering the hill ranges of the Southern Uplands from the Borders through to Galloway and Ayrshire.
The Southern Uplands
The Scottish Lowlands are far from flat. The Southern Uplands form a broad belt of rolling hills stretching from the Berwickshire coast to the Rhinns of Galloway. The highest Donald is Merrick at 843 metres in the Galloway Forest Park, but many of the finest hill days are found in the rounded but expansive ranges of the Moffat Hills, the Manor Hills above Peebles and the Culter Fells south of Biggar.
Key areas for Donald walking include:
- The Moffat Hills — home to Hart Fell, White Coomb and the dramatic Grey Mare's Tail waterfall
- The Tweedsmuir Hills — Broad Law (the second-highest Donald) and its sweeping ridges
- The Galloway Hills — Merrick, the Rhinns of Kells and the remote Dungeon Hills
- The Moorfoot and Pentland Hills — accessible from Edinburgh for shorter outings
Character and Appeal
Donald walking offers a different experience to Highland hillwalking. The terrain is typically grassy, with fewer crags and more open moorland. Navigation can be challenging in poor visibility because of the rounded, similar-looking summits and lack of distinctive features. Long ridges connecting multiple tops make for satisfying day walks, and you will often have the hills entirely to yourself.
Winter conditions bring a genuine mountain feel to these hills. Snow covers the higher Donalds regularly from December to March, and the wind exposure on open ridges should not be underestimated. Our contour map and elevation profiles help you plan routes that account for the rolling terrain, where cumulative ascent across multiple tops can add up quickly.
Route Planning for Donalds
Use the route planner to plot circuits over multiple Donald summits connected by ridges. The elevation profile reveals how much re-ascent is involved between tops, helping you estimate realistic timings for long traverses across these spacious Lowland hills.
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