Gracefield Arts Centre – Scottish Art, Crafts and Lunch
A few hours, from Dumfries station and back.
The route
Gracefield is the gallery Dumfries keeps for itself, a red sandstone Victorian villa and a bright modern wing on Edinburgh Road.
Inside are changing exhibitions, a craft shop of work by the region's makers and, in its Studio Café, coffee, home baking and light lunches made from local produce. It's free, close to the station, and a lovely way to spend a quiet or rainy few hours.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
None of ours is close by: the nearest is The Scullery in Yarrow, 38 miles away. Sleeps 2; next free Fri 13 Nov to Sun 15 Nov.
The day
Dumfries
A quiet late morning among paintings and handmade things, and lunch without leaving the building.
About two and a half hours
Gracefield Arts Centre
An attraction
It's 12 minutes' walk from Dumfries station, round the railway, to Gracefield Arts Centre at 28 Edinburgh Road. It's free, and its exhibitions open Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 5pm. The old villa holds the first gallery, with a gentle ramp to its ground floor and stairs to the floor above; the modern wing behind holds the second gallery, the craft shop and the café, all on the level. What's on changes through the year, often with pictures from the council's collection of Scottish art, and works from the stores can be seen by appointment. The craft shop opens Tuesday to Friday, 10.30am to 3.30pm, and on Saturdays until 5pm. There are accessible toilets in both buildings.
The Studio Café
Lunch
Lunch is in the Studio Café, in the modern wing on the level, open Tuesday to Saturday from 10am to 3pm, with table service. It serves coffee, tea, home baking and light lunches made from local produce, and there's no need to book. Then it's 12 minutes back to the station.
If it rains
All of it is under a roof: on a wet day only the 12-minute walks to and from the station are out in it.
