They form a roughly rhomboidal or lozenge shape on the map with the acute angles being to north and south.
[2] Derivation from the early Irish lothur meaning "a canal, a trench",[2][3] in this sense "a pass between hills",[3] has been suggested.
This corridor between the hills carries the main route running northwards into Scotland on its west side.
It carries both the west coast railway line and the M74 motorway and has been the main route north over centuries.
It is the only pass enlarged by ice into a U-shaped glacial trough, hence the road has to climb up the steep side to gain the head.
The Lowther Hills are composed of resistant Ordovician shales, heavily compressed and contorted in the Caledonian mountain-building orogeny.
The Duke of Buccleuch,[12] the largest private landowner in Britain,[13] owns much of the land for many miles around this area and has a castle at Drumlanrig on the west bank of the River Nith some 5 kilometres north of Thornhill.
The archaeological dig which revealed this was the winner of the 1997 Pitt Rivers Award for amateur archaeologists.
Also, just to the south is the source of the River Clyde[17] which flows north through Lanarkshire and passes through the City of Glasgow.
Notably, it has produced some of the world's purest gold (22.8 carats) which was used in the manufacture of the Scottish Crown Jewels[18] - dating from the 15th and 16th centuries.
The Southern Upland Way passes over the top of Lowther Hill - the highest point of the entire route.
[21] The southern portion would generally be taken to mean the lower but more expansive hills which lie between the Dalveen Pass and the Forest of Ae, the highest point of which is Queensberry.
Mitchellslacks, on the northern edge of the Forest Ae, and which provides access to Queensberry, along with nearby Locherben, were the homes of the Harknesses involved in the Covenanter ambush.
Since the 1920s skiing in the Lowther Hills has been organised intermittently by a succession of local residents as well as several non-for-profit sports clubs.
View looking north into the Dalveen Pass from Capel Hill in the Durisdeer Hills with Steygail on the left, Lowther Hill left of centre and Cold Moss right of centre, Upper Dalveen House in the valley catching sunlight, Southern Uplands of Scotland.
View into the Dalveen Pass (looking South) from Cold Moss in the Lowther Hills, Upper Dalveen House right foreground, Southern Uplands of Scotland.
Heading north on the ancient bridle path to the Enterkin Pass with Lowther Hill on left edge, Pettylung (Durisdeer Hills) on right and the Dalveen Pass between them. Southern Uplands of Scotland.
Roman Fortlet from Durisdeer Rig - Southern Uplands of Scotland.
Durisdeer Hills from the A702. Durisdeer Village nestles into the foot of the glen in the middle of the picture and the Roman fortlet is at the foot of the glen just beyond the village. The hill catching the sunlight is Penbane with Well Hill beyond it also in sunlight, Black Hill is to the left and Durisdeer Hill to the right with its shoulder Durisdeer Rig running towards us. Durisdeer Hills Southern Uplands of Scotland.
Source of the River Clyde (on the left of the picture) where the Daer Water (coming in from the top right) meets the Potrail Water (coming in from the middle of the right side), The A702 and Glenochar Farmhouse are in the foreground. Glenochar Bastle and Fermtoun are just out of the picture on the bottom right. Southern Uplands of Scotland.
Lowther Hills from Scaw'd Law in the Durisdeer Hills. Lowther Hill (with ball on top) left of the ridge and Cold Moss in front of it, Green Lowther middle of the picture (also with masts on top), Dun Law one third in from right and Lousie Wood Law on right. Well Hill is the very prominent hill running across the picture much nearer to us and the Roman road also runs across the picture below Well Hill. The Roman road meets the A702 beyond Well Hill on the right of the picture. Potrail Water (one of the principal sources of the River Clyde) rises from little burns running out of the glen leading down from Scaw'd Law in the immediate foreground. The Southern Uplands of Scotland.
