Brighouse Bay – a Coast Loop, Lunch and the Artists' Town
A day.
The route
Brighouse Bay is a small sheltered bay of sand and rock pools on the Borgue coast, and the council's loop from its car park follows a rocky shore where rare wild flowers grow.
Lunch is at the Selkirk Arms in Kirkcudbright, a short drive away, and the afternoon is the town's free Galleries, hung with the painters who worked in and around it.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
Book lunch at The Selkirk Arms
Book a lunch table at The Selkirk Arms on 01557 330402 or online for about 12.45pm: lunch is served from noon to 2pm every day, and dogs aren't allowed inside.
The day
Brighouse Bay
A loop through the woods and along the rocky shore of Brighouse Bay, lunch on Kirkcudbright's High Street, then an unhurried hour or two among the paintings of the Kirkcudbright artists.
About six hoursAbout 4.5 miles on foot
Brighouse Bay
Brighouse Bay is signed off the B727 south-west of Kirkcudbright. Park in the car park at the head of the bay, where the public toilets open from April to September only. Dumfries and Galloway Council's leaflet gives two loops from here, of 5.5 kilometres or the full 7 kilometres (4½ miles), and says to allow one to three hours. The loop runs through the oak and beech of Graplin Plantation, then along the rocky shore beside the golf course. This stretch is protected for its wildlife, and it's the only place in Scotland where perennial flax grows; on a clear day you can see the Isle of Man. Inland, a bench at a viewpoint looks to the hills of Cairnharrow and Ben John, and the full loop comes back past Cairniehill Loch and down a quiet road to the car park. It's graded moderate, on tracks and grass paths with gates and stiles, so wear boots, and keep a dog under close control by the cattle and sheep. At low tide the bay drains to a wide stretch of wet sand and rock pools, good for children before or after the walk.
6 min on foot
The Selkirk Arms
Lunch
Drive 13 minutes north-east to Kirkcudbright. Park free at Harbour Square, 6 minutes' walk from the Selkirk Arms on the High Street. Lunch tables run from noon to 2pm every day, and the bar, bistro and restaurant share one menu, with dishes such as seared Kirkcudbright scallops, smoked haddock chowder and beer-battered haddock, and real ales in the bar. Book on 01557 330402 or online. Children are welcome, with a children's menu, but dogs aren't allowed inside. If it's full, the Kirkcudbright Galleries' own café on St Mary Street serves lunches until 2pm, Tuesday to Saturday.
About 5 min on foot
Kirkcudbright Galleries
The Kirkcudbright Galleries are a few minutes' walk away on St Mary Street, in the town's red sandstone town hall, and entry is free. The permanent Kirkcudbright Artists' Collection hangs the painters who worked in and around the town, among them Hornel, Jessie M. King, Peploe and John Faed, and the temporary shows change through the year. In winter the Galleries open Tuesday to Saturday from 10am to 4pm and on Sunday from 11.30am, and shut on Mondays; last entry to the main exhibitions is at 3.45pm. In summer they open every day till 5pm. On a winter Monday, the free Stewartry Museum, also on St Mary Street, opens from 11am to 4pm instead. The ground floor is level, a lift serves the three floors above, and the front doors are heavy, so ask at the desk if you need a hand. Only assistance dogs are allowed inside.
If it rains
The coast loop is no fun in heavy rain or a gale: the shore path and the farm tracks turn muddy. On a wet day do the short 5.5km loop or skip the walk, and spend longer in the Kirkcudbright Galleries, which are all under a roof, with the Stewartry Museum on the same street.
Photographs by peter evans, Frank Evans and Kirkcudbright Galleries via Google