Scotland’s sunniest region is blessed with an epic coastline and swathes of sandy beach, as well as picturesque towns and villages and stunning abbeys and castles.
Dumfries and Galloway has a lot more going for it on top of being hailed the sunniest region of Scotland. The sunshine, of course, helps, but the nation’s southwestern fringe also offers some of the most dramatic castles in the land, a sprinkling of romantic old abbeys, bountiful sandy beaches and, in the Rhins of Galloway, a real end of the world escape that feels far removed from anywhere else in the country.
Dumfries
The main town of Dumfries is wrapped around the salmon rich waters of the River Nith. As well as riverside strolls and the fun of crossing the Devorgilla Bridge, which dates way back to 1431, this is serious Burns country as the bard spent the last five years of his life here.
A grand statue of the poet adorns the historic centre and you can see his house pretty much as he left it and his slightly too grand Mausoleum. You can even pop in for a wee nip in his favourite howff, the Globe Inn. A more recent addition is the Robert Burns Centre, which not only explores his links to the town, but also houses an arthouse cinema.
Dumfries & Galloway Countryside
It is when you ease out of its urban centres that Dumfries and Galloway really shines though. Swathes of rolling countryside, the rounded hills of the Southern Uplands and the protected woodlands and lochs of the Galloway Forest Park await. To the south the Solway Firth and its beaches open up views down towards England’s Lake District, while to the west Ireland blinks back in the distance from the Rhins of Galloway.
Dumfries & Galloway Castles and Abbeys
Of the abbeys two Historic Scotland properties stand out. The red sandstone Sweetheart Abbey is intoxicatingly romantic as it was built as a memorial to her husband by Lady Devorgilla, who carried around her husband’s enbalmed heart for the last 22 years of her life after his death. Glenluce Abbey is a Cistercian cousin of Sweetheart, a ruin that still clings on to its well preserved 15th-century chapterhouse.
Glenluce Abbey lies on the Rhins of Galloway, the dramatic slice of land that slips down from Loch Ryan and the port of Stranraer towards the Mull of Galloway. The Mull is Scotland’s southernmost point and the Rhins offer up around 50 miles of rugged, unspoilt coastline, all of it wrapped in drama with the Atlantic and Ireland never far away.
Michelin Starred Knockinaam Lodge
The finest hotel on the Rhins is Knockinaam Lodge. Not many places manage to boast both a Michelin star restaurant and also be genuinely family friendly, but here they pull it off. Mummies and daddies can enjoy a lavish fine dining feast laced with the likes of locally landed halibut, while books, toys and even bath toys are on hand in the bedrooms for the wee ones to enjoy. This is typical of the tourist experience in a scenic corner of Scotland that really does offer something for everyone.