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Dumfries and Galloway.

Mull of Galloway Lighthouse · Dumfries and Galloway
Dumfries and Galloway

Mull of Galloway Lighthouse.

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Dumfries and Galloway

Where to go, eat and stay in Dumfries and Galloway.

Turn left at Gretna and the traffic falls behind. Dumfries and Galloway is a big, quiet corner of Scotland, with sandy coves and painted harbour towns looking over the Solway to the Lake District hills and the Isle of Man.

Castles, abbeys and a lighthouse at the tipPlaces to visitHarbour seafood, old inns and cafésFood and drinkShops, studios and makersShops and makersThe distilleriesWhiskyLodges on an estate by the seaPlaces to stayDays we have driven, stop by stopDays out
The guide

Our guide to Dumfries and Galloway.

All of Dumfries and Galloway, part by part: what is where, how to get round, and where to eat and stay. Photographed by us.

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From our guideWhithornBruce’s Stone, Glen TroolWigtownCairn Holy Chambered CairnsGarlieston Mulberry HarbourNewton StewartMurray’s MonumentKirkcudbrightshireDundrennan Abbey

The history of Dumfries and Galloway.

Dumfries and Galloway’s hills, castles and seas tell tales of drama and intrigue – of Prehistoric nomads, Viking settlers, early missionaries and bloody battles.

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Days outA morningAn evening round Portpatrick harbour and supper by the seaNo car neededA morningA kayak taster on Loch Ken and lunch in Castle DouglasBy carA morningThe Aldouran Glen Art Trail walk near StranraerBy carA morningThe Kirkcudbright Town Trail walkBy carA morningThe Mull of Galloway, Scotland's most southerly pointBy carA morningThe Clints of Dromore walk and the Big Water of Fleet ViaductBy car

New days out in Dumfries and Galloway.

Ready-made days, the newest first, each with its drive times, its stops and somewhere to eat.

See every day out in Dumfries and Galloway
From Issue 13 of Hidden Scotland magazineIssue 131 minute ago

Gretna Green, Where Sparks Fly

How Gretna Green became the home of runaway weddings after the 1754 Marriage Act, from John Edgar and Jean Scott's stormy crossing in 1771 to couples marrying over the anvil today.

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In Dumfries and Galloway13 minutes ago

New trails round Wigtown celebrate the centenary of the Galloway writer Alastair Reid while the book festival is on.

The Ounce Dice Trice Trail takes its words from his children's book, with a woollen piano by the Wigtown Knitters and a new dance, the Wigtown Wiggle. Trail guides are at the festival box office, and the festival runs until Sunday 4 October.

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Quiz39 minutes agoThe printed copy of Issue 06Issue 06Spring / Summer 2023

The name of Wigtown, Scotland's National Book Town, may come from two old words meaning what?

From the magazine51 minutes agoThe printed copy of Issue 03Issue 03Winter 2021

Broughton House in Kirkcudbright, Dumfries and Galloway, once the home of the painter E A Hornel, holds one of the world's largest collections of works by and about Robert Burns.

Hornel was one of the group of painters known as the Glasgow Boys, and his elevated townhouse on the River Dee is a work of art in itself. It has a Parthenon frieze, a glass ceiling and Hornel's own paintings of local children at nearby Brighouse Bay and of his travels in the Far East. His airy studio at the back of the house contains unfinished pieces. The Burns collection fills the shelves of his library, so a visit takes in Scotland's National Bard as well as the painter who gathered it.

See Broughton House & Garden · Dumfries and Galloway
Place of the day1 hour ago

Wigtown.

Scotland's National Book Town, a small town on the Machars with bookshops around its square and a book festival every autumn.

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Did you know1 hour ago

Edward I himself led the siege of Caerlaverock Castle, in Dumfries and Galloway, in 1300.

The siege began in July 1300. The small garrison surrendered within two days of facing the full might of the English king's army. A contemporary account of the siege is one of the most fascinating recorded for any castle in the British Isles.

See Caerlaverock Castle · Dumfries and Galloway
From our guide1 hour ago

Murray’s Monument.

This plinth-like landmark commemorates Alexander Murray, a local shepherd boy who became Professor of Oriental Languages at Edinburgh University. It’s a steep climb to get there, but worth it for the panoramic views across the landscape to Cairnsmore of Fleet. From the top you can follow part of the trail used by pilgrims on their way to Whithorn.

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Did you know1 hour ago

The barnacle geese that winter at Caerlaverock on the Solway were down to fewer than 500 birds in the 1940s.

Every October they fly in from Svalbard, the High Arctic islands, and they stay until April, grazing the fields and the saltmarsh merses of the Solway shore south of Dumfries. Since the 1940s their numbers have recovered to more than 25,000. At WWT Caerlaverock you can watch thousands of them, and the people who know them best say even the finest television footage is only half as good as seeing the huge flocks for yourself.

See WWT Caerlaverock · Dumfries and Galloway
Dumfries and Galloway1 hour ago

The trains have long gone, but the twenty spans of the Big Water of Fleet Viaduct still cross the Galloway moor.

The Big Water of Fleet Viaduct stands on the moors north-west of Gatehouse of Fleet in Galloway. Its twenty spans once carried the Portpatrick Railway across the river. The trains have long gone, and the viaduct now stands on its own in open country, with the hills rising behind it.

Find out more about the Big Water of Fleet Viaduct