DUMFRIES &
GALLOWAY |
| Broughton House |
High Street, Kirkcudbright |
This elegant Georgian mansion with gardens that reach
to the River Dee was originally the town house of the Murrays of Broughton and then the
home of Edward Hornel, leader of the local artists’ colony. It is now a museum and
art gallery with a fine collection of paintings and a library of 15,000 books and
manuscripts. |
| Caerlaverock Castle |
Off B725, 9 miles south of Dumfries |
This castle was started before 1300 and was one of the
strongholds between Scotland and England. It is a triangular shape with single round
towers on two corners and a massive twin-towered gatehouse at the third. Huge curtain
walls rise from a still water-filled moat. In 1612, apartments were built in the heart of
the castle, their fine Renaissance walls and carved stone panels remain features of the
ruined fortress |
| Castle Kennedy Gardens |
Off A75, 3 miles east of Stranraer |
The gardens were laid out in the 18th
century by soldiers diverted from military duties by their commander the 2nd
Earl of Stair. Having been an ambassador in France he wished to create a garden based on
the one at Versailles. Castle Kennedy itself a 15th century stands at one end
of the gardens. At the other is Victorian Lochinch Castle, home of the present earl of
Stair. |
| Drumlanrig Castle |
Off A76, 3 miles north of Thornhill |
This splendid 17th century stately home is
the Dumfriesshire home of the Duke of Buccleuch and Queensbury. Its pink sandstone was
quarried nearby and at the main entrance a horseshoe staircase rises from arched
colonnades. Drumlanrig’s public rooms are richly furnished. One of the finest art
collections in Britain are on view and include works by Rembrandt and Leonardo. Outside
there is a visitors centre and a craft centre as well as woodland walks and nature trails. |
| Dundrennan Abbey |
On A711, 6 miles south-east of Kirkcudbright |
The abbey originally started to be built in 1142 by
Cistercian monks. The monks established a successful export trade in wool, using their own
ships from their own Solway harbour. In 1568, Mary Queen of Scots spent her last night on
Scottish soil at the abbey. Today Dundrennan is a substantial ruin with many fine
memorials. |
| Glenluce Abbey |
Off A75, 2 miles north of Glenluce |
In the late 12th century Cistercian monks
founded this abbey. Many kings and queens of Scotland visited Glenluce. Today the
best-preserved feature of the abbey is the chapter house, with its vaulted ceiling and
Gothic windows. |
| Sweetheart Abbey |
On A710, at New Abbey |
This 13th century red-sandstone abbey gave
its name to the familiar tern of endearment. Its founder, the widowed Devorgilla, carried
till her death a silver and ivory casket containing her late husbands embalmed heart. When
she died in 1290 the casket was buried with her and that ‘sweet heart’ became
the abbey’s name. Today the walls of the Abbey Kirk survive, still showing their
pointed-arch Gothic window design. The present New Abbey corn mill, built in the late 18th
century is open to visitors. |
| Threave Castle |
3 miles west of Castle
Douglas on the A75 |
A massive tower built in
the late 14th century by Archibald the Grim, Lord of Galloway. Round at
its base is an artillery fortification built before 1455, when the castle
was besieged by James II. It is on an island, approached by boat. |
| Whithorn Priory and Museum |
Off A746, at Whithorn |
This site has an archaeological dig that is regularly
open to the public and is located on the oldest Christian site in Scotland. St Ninian
built a church at Whithorn at the end of the 5th century. It was a place of
pilgrimage for over 1,000 years, and the barrel-vaulted crypts where relics of the saint
were kept are still complete. The roofless knave of a medieval cathedral survives
alongside the modern parish church. Lower down, excavations have uncovered foundations of
a Viking trading settlement. |
