Sporting Hobbies

Having a holiday caravan or lodge at Sandgreen is a great opportunity to try new sporting hobbies to make the most of leisure time that can be so hard to find at home.
Through sports we can not only improve our health and fitness, but meet new friends and create lots of memories.
With so much on our doorstep, here are some sporting hobbies to try while staying at your holiday home. These are all easy to begin and suitable for all abilities.

Golf

With so many great golf courses to play in Dumfries & Galloway, you’ll be spoilt for choice!

Golf has seen a huge surge in popularity over the past 10 years, especially during the pandemic as people looked for socially distanced ways to socialise and exercise, and it still continues to grow.

With a selection of local 9 hole and 18 hole courses, you will be able to start with a few lessons with the club pro before taking to the greens.

Golf has so many benefits. It can be played from childhood to old age and helps with accuracy, focus, concentration and fitness. As it’s also a very sociable sport, it ticks all the boxes!

Local courses include; Gatehouse of Fleet (9 hole), Kirkcudbright (18 holes), Castle Douglas (9 hole), Newton Stewart (18 holes), Wigtownshire County (18 holes), Stranraer (18 holes) and Dumfries & County (18 holes).

Hiking

Not to be confused with ‘going for a walk’, if you rebrand it as a ‘hike’ the whole family will want to get involved!

Sandgreen is surrounded with some breathtaking hikes, with the walk to Gatehouse of Fleet being a popular choice. To find more hiking routes, a good app to use is “AllTrails”, giving access to new things to see like waterfalls, beaches, views and the best swimming spots.

Hiking can be as gentle or strenuous as you like and it’s a great way to slowly improve your fitness. There’s also minimal equipment needed and it’s a great way to discover more of our stunning surroundings.

Visit https://stunningoutdoors.com/walks-dumfries-galloway-scotland/ for 10 stunning walks in Dumfries & Galloway. One of the best things about the area is that Dumfries & Galloway still feels undiscovered, with plenty of spaces awaiting to be explored.

Paddleboarding

One of Sandgreen’s stunning features is our gentle sloping beach, and one of the main reasons we love paddleboarding so much is that it’s a great outdoor activity and one that the whole family can get involved in.

Paddleboarding has become a much more accessible sport with the rise of inflatable boards. They are so easy to inflate and deflate, transport and store away so you don’t need to worry about roof racks or storage sheds. ‘Aquaplanet’ are one of the biggest paddle board manufacturers in the UK with a great range of boards for all abilities.

It’s a sport the whole family can enjoy, from small children simply jumping off the board into the sea or sporty family members paddling for miles along our coastline.

For more information and safety tips check out our publications ‘Hints & Tips for Safe Paddleboarding’, ‘A Few Thoughts’ and our annual ‘Boat Rules’. Copies available from Reception.

Wild Swimming

Wild swimming is another sport that took off during the pandemic as we all searched for an outdoor activity.

Swimming in cold water is not for everyone, but investing in a good swimming wetsuit can be a game changer and make the experience so much more enjoyable.

Known to boost our immune system, improve circulation, and reduce pain and inflammation, cold water swimming releases endorphins and is great way of reducing stress and anxiety.

You may have noticed mobile saunas popping up around many beaches and lakes this Summer. This new trend is thanks to lots of research proving saunas have great health benefits and it’s great to combine a sauna session with a wild swim!