Grey Mare's Tail Waterfall
The Grey Mare's Tail near Moffat in Dumfries and Galloway is the fifth highest waterfall in Britain, a spectacular fall of approximately 60 metres where the Tail Burn plunges from the hanging valley of Loch Skeen above the main valley of the Moffat Water in a great cascade of white water visible from the road below and accessible by a well-maintained path that provides one of the finest waterfall walks in southern Scotland. The National Trust for Scotland manages the site and the combination of the waterfall, the hanging valley above and the upland landscape of the Southern Uplands creates a natural heritage destination of considerable quality.
The hanging valley of Loch Skeen above the falls was created by the differential erosion of the main glacier in the Moffat Water valley, which deepened the main valley faster than the tributary glacier could erode its own valley, leaving the tributary valley suspended above the main valley floor with the waterfall marking the point where the Tail Burn drops from the hanging valley to the main valley below. The path to the loch above the falls provides the walk that takes the visitor from the drama of the waterfall to the relative tranquillity of the high moorland loch.
The upland landscape above the falls, with its moorland, high plateau and the Southern Upland Way long-distance path nearby, provides excellent walking in the characteristic landscape of the Southern Uplands. The peregrine falcons that nest on the cliffs above the falls and the upland birds of the moorland above provide wildlife interest to complement the geological and hydrological drama of the waterfall itself.