|
|
Town and Villages in
Dumfries and Galloway
|
|
You may view the information for ALL the towns and villages
in Dumfries and Galloway (the page may be very large)
or
You can view your
preferred location from the list on the left.
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
King Street, Castle Douglas -
Photo: Great Scot |
7 Stanes Cycling Project -
Photo: Forest Enterprise |
|
|
[back
to top] |
|
|
|
|
|
Dalbeattie was founded in 1780
on the Water of Urr. Largely built of granite, it
was an important port in the 19th
century, its main purpose being to export the rock
mined from quarries on Craignar Hill. These would
form the basis for the Thames Embankment and
Liverpool Docks. The 12th century Motte
of Urr is said to be the largest and possibly the
best-preserved Norman motte and bailey earthworks
in Britain. The town itself is surrounded by
rolling countryside and offers the visitor many
fine walks.
|
|
[back
to top] |
|
|
|
|
|
New Abbey Road, Dumfries - Photo: Visit
Scotland |
It was here in 1306, among the
local sandstone buildings, that Robert the Bruce
sparked the Scottish wars of independence by
slaying the Red Comyn, his rival for leadership of
the Scots, before seeking out an army to fight the
forces of the Crown. The poet Robbie Burns, who
latterly worked as an excise man, searching the
coves for smugglers, and lived here in what is now
Burns Street. The house and his farm are still
here, as is the mausoleum in which he was buried
in St Michael’s churchyard. It was also here that
JM Barrie was inspired to write Peter Pan. |
|
Once a significant port,
Dumfries is dominated by a tower and a midsteeple
and has many attractive features. Among them is
the Devorgilla Bridge, the oldest surviving
multiple-arched bridge in Scotland; and Scotland’s
oldest working theatre. Here, too, you will find
the largest diameter stone circle on the mainland
of Scotland, The Twelve Apostles. |
Tower of Midsteeple, Dumfries - Photo:
Visit Scotland>
|
|
|
[back
to top] |
|
|
|
|
|
The main street of the now
quiet village of Ecclefechan was once a busy
thoroughfare. For over 250 years the main road
from London to Glasgow passed through here and
brought with it considerable traffic. The
re-routing of the A74 and its later upgrading to
the M74 mean that this once bustling place is now
a quiet backwater, with motorists rushing north
from Carlisle catching but a fleeting glimpse as
they flash by.
In the days of stage-coach
travel, the Glasgow to London coach on its six-day
journey would pause at a coaching inn, now the
Ecclefechan Hotel, boosting the local economy and
increasing the village's importance.
As the road signs proclaim,
Ecclefechan was the birthplace of Thomas Carlyle,
famous philosopher and historian. He was born in
1795. At the age of 11 months, in response to the
tears of another child, it is claimed that he said
his first words: "What ails we Jock?". The cottage
where he lived as a child is now run as a museum
by the National Trust for Scotland and houses a
recreation of an 1800s cottage.
|
|
[back
to top] |
|
|
|
|
|
Gatehouse of Fleet - Photo:
Toby Speight
CCL |
This is where Scotland’s Bard,
Robbie Burns, is said to have composed ‘Scots Wha
Ha’e’’. He was inspired to write it while out
walking but only committed the famous words to
paper when he reached the Murray Arms Hotel. The
Murrays were an important local family and
established a number of cotton mills along the
riverbank. What started out as a tiny hamlet with
just one building – the eponymous gatehouse – has
now grown into a small, pleasant holiday centre.
Visitors will find the full story at the Mill on
the Fleet Museum. |
|
|
[back
to top] |
|
|
|
|
|
The most southerly point of
Scotland, Gretna is a comparatively ordinary town
with an extraordinary reputation. Until 1856
English couples could legally marry here without a
licence, banns – or even a priest. All that was
needed was a marriage declaration in front of
witnesses. Such declarations were usually made to
the local blacksmith or pub landlord. The town’s
smithy is preserved as a museum and couples still
visit Gretna to exchange vows for purely
sentimental reasons. Close to Gretna, at the head
of the Solway Firth, stands the Neolithic
Lochmaben Stone, believed to date from 3,000 BC.
|
|
[back
to top] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Pronounced ‘Kir-coo-bree’ (the
Church of St Cuthbert), this fascinating port on
the River Dee is dominated by a church spire, a
castle and the Gothic tower of a 15th
century tollbooth which was used to humiliate
criminals by exposing them to the townsfolk. One
of those inmates was John Paul Jones, the great
naval hero of the American Revolution. The cottage
where he lived can be found at Arbigland Gardens.
The town has always attracted artists and has
numerous galleries as well as the Stewartry
Museum. |
Kirkcudbright - Photo: Allan Devlin
|
Kirkcudbright’s churchyard
contains a monument to Billy Marshal, the
self-styled ‘king of the Galloway tinkers’ who
died in 1790 at the age of 120 (or so it is said)
having had seven wives.
It was in the Cistercian
Dundrennan Abbey where Mary Queen Of Scots spent
her last night on Scottish soil. The abbey was
founded by David l and stands in a small, secluded
valley.
|
|
[back
to top] |
|
|
|
|
|
View Of Langhholm - Photo: Great Scot |
The River Esk, Wauchope Water
and Ewes Water come together at this spot and are
spanned by a series of bridges, one of which was
worked on by a young apprentice who turned out to
be the great bridge-builder Thomas Telford. He was
born nearby. The town is an important textile
centre with a number of thriving mills and is not
only the birthplace of the poet Hugh MacDiarmid
but also the home of the Armstrong family whose
famous relation, Neil, became the first man on the
moon. Nearby Eskdalemuir is home to Britain’s only
Buddhist temple. Each summer Langholm hosts a
festival designed to assert the right of locals to
cut peat and bracken.
|
|
|
[back
to top] |
|
|
|
|
|
Lochmaben guards the route
from England into Annandale and has always held a
strategic position. Robert the Bruce may have been
born and spent his childhood at Lochmaben Castle
(contrarily, it may also have been at Turnberry
Castle) on the south shore of Castle Loch.
Although the castle is now just a magnificent
ruin, it has a powerful, sentimental atmosphere.
The area itself is a paradise for walkers. In the
town are statues of both Bruce and William
Paterson, founder in 1694 of the Bank of England. |
Castle Loch at Lochmaben - Photo:
Lynne Kirton
CCL |
|
|
[back
to top] |
|
|
|
|
|
Bankshill, Near Lockerbie - Photo: David
Morrison |
This market town grew up
around the Johnstone Tower, once the local jail.
It is famous for sheep sales and a lamb fair held
since 1680. More recently, on 21 December 1988, it
was the scene of a horrific plane crash when a
Boeing bound for New York was blown up by a
terrorist bomb. All 259 passengers were killed
together with 11 local people. |
|
|
[back
to top] |
|
|
|
|
|
Of great strategic importance,
Moffat lies at the crossroads of key routes to the
awesome Devil’s Beeftub and on to Edinburgh, or
through the steep-sided Moffat Water towards the
Yarrow Valley. In the 19th century it
became a famous spa town, attracting aristocrats
such as the Empress Eugenie of France. It was also
an important wool centre, which is why the
life-like statue of ram stands in its main street.
This pretty town also boasts the shortest street
in Scotland (Chapel Street) and the narrowest (Syme
Street), not forgetting the narrowest hotel!
The man who invented tarmac,
John McAdam, is buried here while Lord Dowding,
head of Fighter Command in World War II, was born
here.
|
Moffat - Photo: Visit Scotland |
|
Grey Mares Tail Waterfall - Photo: Visit
Scotland |
A short drive from Moffat is
the magnificent Grey Mare’s Tail Nature Reserve,
full of slopes and corries, which has an
awe-inspiring waterfall at its centre and the
White Coombe mountain as its highest point (821m). |
|
|
[back
to top] |
|
|
|
|
|
Moniaive sits at the
confluence of three rivers, which together form
Cairn Water. Nearby is Maxwelton House, the
fortified home of the Earls of Glencairn and the
birthplace of Annie Laurie. She died here in 1764
and is buried in Glencairn churchyard. The town is
also the birthplace of James Renwick, the last
prominent covenanter to be martyred.
|
|
[back
to top] |
|
|
|
|
|
It was Charles l who put this
market town on the map by making it Scotland’s
smallest ‘royal’ burgh. To the southwest is Cairn
Edward Forest, which was named in tribute to
Robert the Bruce’s brother Edward. He held the
fort here while the great warrior Bruce went off
in search of support for his fight for Scottish
independence.
|
|
[back
to top] |
|
|
|
|
|
A pretty market town, Newton
Stewart has a fine bridge over the River Cree and
was founded in the 17th century by
William Stewart, third son of the Earl of
Galloway. Twelve miles east is ‘Bruce’s Stone’,
not to mention some beautiful views beside Loch
Trool. It was from Newton Stewart that Robert the
Bruce launched his attempt to rid Scotland of
English rule, ambushing an English army before
fleeing into the hills. Bruce’s Stone was
unveiled in 1929 on the 600th anniversary of his
death and today marks the start and finish of many
walks in the Galloway Forest Park, among them a
rather serious climb to the top of Merrick, the
highest summit in Scotland’s south west. Nearby is
the Galloway House historic gardens which were
created in the 1740s by Lord Garlies, elder son of
the 65th Earl of Galloway.
|
Loch Trool - Photo: Visit Scotland
|
|
View of Merrick - Photo: Allan Devlin |
Like many other towns in
southwest Scotland, Creetown’s prosperity in the
19th century came from the exporting of
granite. Today it has a museum dedicated to gems
and minerals. Close by is Carsluith Castle, the
well-preserved ruin of a four-storey tower house,
and the 15th century Cardoness Castle. |
|
|
[back
to top] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Once famous for its knitting
industry, Sanquhar has the oldest post office in
Britain (dating from 1763) and a 1735 tollbooth
inside which is a museum. It also boasts a granite
monument to remind visitors of two controversial
declarations made by the Covenanters in the late
17th century renouncing their loyalty
to both Charles II and James VII of Scotland. The
famous Admiral Crichton was born in a tower house
two miles from Sanquhar. Something of a genius,
his name was used by James Barrie in his famous
play.
|
Ruins of Sanquhar Castle - Photo:
Paul Ashwin
CCL |
|
|
[back
to top] |
|
|
|
|
|
View towards the Lighthouse at Southerness
across the Golf Course - Photo:
Richard Webb
CCL |
Sorry, no information
currently available
|
|
[back
to top] |
|
|
|
|
|
Sheltered by the Rhinns of
Galloway, a promontory lying to its west,
Stranraer sits at the head of beautiful Loch Ryan
and is a busy ferry port linking Scotland with
Northern Ireland. Archaeologists believe it may
also have been a naval base in Roman times. Close
to the town centre is the 16th century
Castle of St John, once the local jail for
Covenanters, while the a local – built to look
like a ship - was the one-time residence of Sir
John Ross, the Victorian explorer who established
the true position of the Magnetic North Pole.
On the outskirts of the town
is Port Logan Fish Pond, a 200-year-old pool
created by a blow hole in the Ice Age which is
used to store live sea fish.
The grand Castle Kennedy
Gardens was the creation of the Earl of Stair in
the 18th century. It has ruins, lakes
and woodland walks and is a near-neighbour of the
remarkable Logan Botanic Garden.
|
|
[back
to top] |
|
|
|
|
|
Knowing the local terrain it
may come as no surprise to learn that this is
where the bicycle was invented by blacksmith
Kirkpatrick MacMillan in 1839. No doubt he wanted
a machine that would save his energy as he
traversed the nearby hills.
|
The town itself has
two picturesque boulevards lined with old lime
trees and a column bearing the winged horse emblem
of the Queensferry family. Erected in 1714 it was
restored in 1955 following a severe storm.
Drumlanrig Castle, Gardens and
Country Park is the home of the Duke of Buccleuth
and Queensberry. Built between 1679 and 1691, it
is one of Scotland’s most important pieces of
architecture. Made out of pink sandstone it has a
renowned art collection.
|
Drumlanrig Castle - Photo: Andrew Shennan |
|
|
[back
to top] |
|
|
|
|
|
Isle of Whithorn - Photo: Allan Devlin |
This is one of the oldest
Christian centres in Britain - it was here in
397AD that St Ninian built Scotland’s first
Christian church, the white-plastered Candida
Casa. It became the destination for tens of
thousands of pilgrims, including Robert the
Bruce and Mary Queen Of Scots. While a local
museum has exhibits related to the saint, the
present ruin dates from the 13th
century. |
The oldest Christian monument,
the latinus stone, can also be found at Whithorn.
Nearby is the picturesque Isle of Whithorn, which
has its own harbour and a 12th century
chapel dedicated to St Ninian.
|
|
[back
to top] |
|
|
|
|
|
Lying to the west of Wigtown
Bay, this distinctive town – divided by a garden
and a bowling green – has become famous for its
myriad bookshops. Ironically, it was a book that
led to a different kind of notoriety in the 19th
century. Two local women had refused to accept an
English-style church and prayer book. Their
punishment was to be tied to stakes in the River
Bladnoch and left to drown as the tide came in. |
Drummers at the Wigtown Brook Fair - Photo:
Roger W Haworth
CCL |
|
|
[back
to top] |
|
|
|
|
