Castle Douglas – Breakfast in the Food Town and the Loch
A few hours.
The route
Castle Douglas calls itself the region's Food Town, and its long main street is full of butchers and independent food shops.
Streetlights is a friendly, family-run coffee house on King Street, loved for its breakfasts and home baking, and a few minutes' walk away the street ends at Carlingwark Loch, with a lawn and a path along the water.
The day
Castle Douglas
A good breakfast on Castle Douglas's main street, then a stroll down to the loch at the bottom of the town.
About two hoursAbout 1.5 miles on foot
Streetlights Coffee House
Breakfast
Park in the council's free Market Hill car park at the north end of Castle Douglas, then walk 8 minutes down King Street to Streetlights at number 187. It's a family-run coffee house with a teal front, serving breakfasts, lunches and home baking from 10am. On a Sunday, ring first on 01556 504222. Dogs are made very welcome.
12 min on foot
Carlingwark Loch
Afterwards, carry on down King Street for 6 minutes to Lochside Park at the bottom of the town, a wide lawn with a path along the shore of Carlingwark Loch and the Galloway hills beyond. You can walk along the water as far as you like before turning back. On the way back up King Street, the town's butchers and independent food shops are worth a look. It's 12 minutes' walk from the park back to the car.
If it rains
Breakfast is indoors, so on a wet morning linger over it and keep the loch to a look from the park's edge; the shops on King Street are all under a roof.
Where to eat
Streetlights Coffee House, a café in Castle Douglas.
Designs Gallery and Cafe, a café in Castle Douglas.
Photograph by Phil Halson via Google