Loch Dee

Loch Dee is a freshwater loch in Dumfries and Galloway’s Galloway Forest Park. It sits among the Southern Uplands, surrounded by hills such as Curleywee, Craiglee and Millfore. Five kilometres away lie Loch Trool, Loch Valley and Loch Neldricken, all draining into the Solway Firth via the River Cree. The loch lies on the southern edge of the Loch Doon igneous complex, where granite intrudes silurian sedimentary rock. No public road reaches its shore; the nearest route is the A712 seven kilometres to the south-east. The loch covers one hundred hectares at an altitude of 225 metres. Its six-kilometre shoreline encloses a volume of about four million cubic metres, with a deepest point fourteen metres below the surface. The Dee leaves its north-eastern end and flows sixty-one kilometres to the Solway Firth. The catchment is mainly grassland and woodland, with a small contribution from groundwater. Anglers visit to fish for trout in its clear waters. Visitors reach the loch along forest tracks from the south. The Southern Upland Way passes near the southern shore, offering long-distance walkers a route through open moorland. The surrounding hills rise to more than six hundred metres, giving wide views across the Galloway hills. The still water reflects the slopes of Curleywee and Craiglee on calm days. The area remains quiet, with few buildings nearby, so the loch keeps its remote feel.