Museums
Galleries
Visitor Attractions
Visitor Information - Dumfries & Galloway
History and Heritage
Castles
Activities
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Museums
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Visitor Attractions Visitor Information - Dumfries & GallowayHistory and Heritage |
Castles
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Out and About: |
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Dumfries and Galloway, in the south west of the country contains some of Scotland's best-kept secrets. There are over 200 miles of coastline and vast areas of remote hills and forest - including Galloway Forest Park - stretching eastwards to the Southern Uplands. Dumfries is the largest town in the area. The Southern Upland Way coast to coast route is popular with walkers and one end of it is in Portpatrick. The area is increasingly a favourite with cyclists and the National Cycle Route 7 passes through the area on its Glasgow to Carlisle section. Golf and fishing are well-established activities.
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Historic Buildings and Castles: |
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Caerlaverock Castle
South east of Dumfries. Considered one of the strongest castles in Scotland, Caerlaverock was probably built around 1300. It is said to be the only triangular plan castle in the UK |
Threave Castle Threave Castle is a massive tower built in the late 14th century by Archibald the Grim, Lord of Galloway. It is on an island in the river Dee, a couple of miles west of Castle Douglas, and can only be reached by ferry. |
Dunskey Castle Near Portpatrick in a dramatic cliff-top setting. |
Glenluce Abbey Located about one mile north west of the village of Glenluce, Glenluce Abbey is now in the care of Historic Scotland. It was founded by the Earl of Galloway in 1192 for the Cistercian order. |
Museums and Galleries: |
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Dumfries Museum is centered around the eighteenth century windmill which stands above the town. Fossil footprints left by prehistoric reptiles, the wildlife of the Solway marshes, tools and weapons of the earliest inhabitants of the area and stone carvings. There is also a camera obscura. |
Museum of Lead Mining Wanlockhead. Tour of lead mine and period cottages. Gold panning. Visitor centre, restaurant and shop. |
Castle Douglas Art Gallery Temporary exhibitions, predominantly featuring the work of local art and craft groups but also including touring exhibitions. |
Tolbooth Art Centre kirkcudbright. The story of the kirkcudbright Artists colony. Audio-visual show and displays of paintings, crafts and photographs. |
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Near Kirkbean, SW of Dumfries on the A710. Cottage houses a museum dedicated to the 'father of the American navy'. Views over the Solway to the Lake District. |
Ruthwell, east of Dumfries. The museum is housed in the place where savings banks were started in 1810 by the Rev Henry Duncan. |
One of the earliest Christian sites, founded by St Ninian. A museum is home to a number of early carvings, including the Monreith Cross. |
We are a small friendly art gallery, located in the captivating seaside village of Rockcliffe, with panoramic views over the open sea to the hills beyond. We act as a conduit to visual artists working in south west Scotland, and also exhibit the works of national and international artists. Admission is completely free, and the art gallery is open 7 days a week from 9am to 9pm. |
Parks and Gardens: |
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Mabie Forest Near Dumfries. Marked walks, cycle trails and adventure play area. |
Castle Kennedy Gardens Near Stranraer. Famous for the displays of rhododendrons, azaleas and embothriums. The monkey puzzle tree avenue is quite unusual and is thought to be over a hundred years old. |
Wildlife Park Kirkcudbright Zoological park and wild animal conservation centre. Tearoom, shop, picnic area. Guided tours, pet-handling sessions. |
Dunskey Garden Near Portpatrick. Woodland walks, 18th century walled garden and greenhouse. |
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Crichton Estate Dumfries. Parklands and gardens set in what was an Edwardian psychiatric hospital. Displays of former patients' artwork. |
Dunragit, east of Stranraer. Exotic plants in gardens having views to Luce Bay and the Mull of Galloway. |
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Visitor Attractions: |
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Colvend Coast The stretch of coast between Kippford Harbour and Rockliffe - the Jubilee Path - is among the most attractive in the region. |
Glen Trool The Glen Trool Visitor Centre has information about forest walks and cycle trails. Bruce's stone is nearby with fine views over the loch. |
Tibetan Centre
The Samye Ling Tibetan Centre is located near the village of Eskdalemuir. Temple and riverside grounds. Guided tours, shop. |
St Ninian's Cave Near Whithorn. The cave is reputed to have been used as a retreat by St Ninian. Whithorn itself is the site of the first Christian church in Scotland, founded by St Ninian in the 5th century. |
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The Visitor Centre is housed in a building dating from 1817. Scotland's most southerly distillery. |
Scotland's National Book Town - a book lover's haven - and with over quarter of a million books to choose from, old and new, it is impossible to escape empty handed. |
Cream O'Galloway Visitor Centre Near Gatehouse of Fleet. Family-run farm making a range of organic ice cream. Nature walks and adventure playground. |
4 miles south of Dumfries. Play farm with activities including grass sledging, quad bikes, water slides and pedal go-karts. |
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On the A713 north of New Galloway. Permanent display and themed exhibitions. |
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Sport & Leisure: |
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Equestrian Daleside Equestrian Centre offers riding lessons. |
Fishing Broom Fisheries, near Annan, has fly and coarse fishing and can offer instruction. |
Watersports Loch Ken Marina can arrange boat hire and has facilities for fishing and water skiing. |
Multi Activities
Near Annan. Westlands Activitiesoffers outdoor activities such as horse riding, go-karting, quad biking, crazy golf, clay shooting, fishing and paintball shooting. |
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Damsel Fly Fishing offers full day guided tuition on both still waters and rivers in South West Scotland is again proving very popular with foreign visitors and UK clients alike. I can collect you from convenient railway stations and supply all tackle required. |
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Tours: |
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Offering self-led or guided cycle tours in the region. Luggage transfer and accommodation. |
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Other Services: |
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Haig is based in Dumfries, Scotland but provides entertainment through the Borders, Central Belt of Scotland and the North of England and perhaps you would like to consider booking Haig to entertain at your private function or if you are a club, pub, or hotel owner, your customers. He specialises in wedding entertainment, and can assure you of a great night. Haig can perform music from the 50s through to the present day charts using top quality equipment and state of the art computer generated music files. |
Sue Macniven. World Class Handspinning Teacher, knitter, feltmaker and experimental textile designer. Courses available here in Twynholm or at your own venue. |
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Car Hire: |
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Dumfries |
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Taxi Hire: |
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Airport express offers affordable airport, ferry and long distance travel. we can supply you with a top range executive car, or an air-conditioned people carrier or a fifteen seater mini bus. We are the number one operator in the region and that's official, servicing all uk airports and ferries, we have vehicles available for parties, golf trips, exhibitions and consorts.
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