South Scotland MSP Colin Smyth has welcomed the news that more than £660,000 of funding has been secured to take forward plans for a coastal footpath around Scotland’s most southerly tip.

The funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund will go to the 64-mile Rhins of Galloway walking route, which will link the existing Mull of Galloway trail creating an 83-mile circular route.

The support is the latest grant which now takes the total to £1.1m for the project being led by Dumfries and Galloway Council.

Colin Smyth said, “This is excellent news and will open up what is unquestionably one of the most beautiful parts of Scotland to more visitors. It’s real frustration that the tourism potential of the area hasn’t been fully utilised but initiatives such as this will help put the Rhins of Galloway on the map, making it more accessible and that is fantastic news for the local economy. I would challenge anyone to find a more stunning landscape anywhere in the country than the one we are lucky to have in and around the Mull of Galloway but we need to attract far more people to the area to enjoy it.”