Best food and drink in Galloway

Galloway is a fabulous place to eat and drink good quality local food. Rich pasture, salt marshes and rugged hills support the production of fine cheese, beef  and lamb, not to mention lots and lots of milk. And with 200 miles of coastline, Galloway produces excellent seafood including King Scallops, whelks, lobsters, crabs, wet fish and some of the best smoked salmon in Scotland. If that were not enough, you can wash it all down with local beer and finish with a whisky distilled on the banks of the River Bladnoch, near Wigtown, in the heart of The Machars.

Galloway Smokehouse

Scallops are a speciality in Galloway and across south west Scotland. The Irish Sea is a major scallop fishery and dredgers can be seen tied up all along the Galloway coast, but particularly at Kirkcudbright and the Isle of Whithorn. In the bad weather, we have watched fleets of boats head for shelter at the Isle and the small harbour has been full of craft, jostling for position at the quayside for the battered fishermen to land their catch.

The delicious sweet meat of the King Scallop is something to savour and they are always available at the Galloway Smokehouse (35 minutes from Burnside Cottage). They are delicious cooked in butter, either on their own or with a bit of bacon or chorizo. The Smokehouse also sells cooked crabs and lobsters and a wide variety of wet fish. Regulars on the slab include Lemon Sole, Bream, Salmon, Grey Mullet and Plaice, among much more.

The Smokehouse, located just off the A75 near Creetown, also produces magnificent smoked salmon. Each smokehouse has its own recipe and this one is known for its rich flavour and firm texture. The Galloway Smokehouse cures the fresh salmon in salt, rum and dark syrup before smoking in a kiln, fired by wood from whisky barrels. One of our favourite meals when visiting Galloway is a plate of King Scallops and smoked salmon from the Smokehouse, served with brown bread and butter.

Steven Cronnie Butcher   

Salt marsh lamb is a speciality of The Machars of Galloway. The sheep are left to graze on the marginal, salty land that edges the estuaries in this part of south west Scotland, imbuing the meat with a slightly salty flavour. The lambs are available from July and Steven Cronnie, the butcher in Wigtown, is a reliable supplier.

Steven’s small shop in the corner of the square  is a treasure trove of goodies. As well as lamb, he supplies excellent pork and lovely thick steaks, all locally farmed, which make for a mouth watering barbecue. If you give him a call he will source some game, too. We love Steven’s pies. Often warm from the oven, we smuggle them back to the cottage for an outdoor dinner.

John D Owen Butcher

Owen’s is the shop window for Galloway farmers. His meat is locally sourced and high quality. On many occasions we have returned from walks and cycles in the Galloway Hills, popped in on the cusp of 5pm and picked up a couple of well-deserved rib-eye steaks. They are always fantastic, in fact, some of the best I have ever had.

While it is hard to look beyond the steak, Owen’s prepares kebabs and marinades that are brilliant for the barbecue and he bakes his own pies. There is a deli, too, and a good selection of cheese. If you love a pudding, he sells pre-packed sticky toffee pudding and jars of extra sauce.

Buy a lobster in Port William

If you love seafood, then buying a lobster straight off the boat is as good as it gets. Port William fisherman Paul Maguire fishes for whelks, crabs and lobsters across Luce Bay. Most of his catch goes abroad but he will happily sell you some if you get in touch. He is out most days if the weather holds. We leave his mobile phone number in Burnside Cottage so you can call Paul and arrange to meet him on the quayside at the Port when he comes in on the tide. A 1lb would do one person, but if there are two of you ask for a two-pounder since you pay for less shell. (Weights aren’t exact of course). At the cottage we keep a giant pan for cooking lobsters.

Marrbury Smokehouse, Carsluith

The smoked salmon from the Marrbury Smokehouse at Carsluith has been described as ‘the best in the world’ by the two-star Michelin chef, Andrew Fairlie, It has also been ranked in the world’s top 50 luxury foods by The Independent and was once served to the Queen at a G8 summit meeting in Edinburgh. Marrbury, (located off the A75 between Creetown and Gatehouse of Fleet 40 minutes from Burnside Cottage),  smokes its salmon over juniper berries after salting.

In addition, there is a wide range of smoked foods at Marrbury and a café serving fabulous sandwiches. The smokehouse is in the grounds of Carsluith Castle, which dates from the 16th century and during part of its history it was owned by Catholic families, who were accused of sheltering Jesuit priests there after the Protestant Reformation. 

Galloway Farmhouse Cheese, Sorbie

Alan and Helen Brown produce award winning cheese that is sold throughout Scotland, but fortunately you can also buy it at their farm shop, near Sorbie.

The Brown’s speciality is cheese is made from their flock of Friesland sheep, which they have been producing for more than 20 years. They also sell cow’s and goat’s milk cheeses as part of their Cairnsmore range.

The couple have a passion for healthy food and sustainable production. Their ewes are only milked once a day, compared with twice at many farms, because they believe it is better for the animals – and the cheese.

The shop is well signposted from the road between Whauphill and Sorbie, it is about 10 minutes from Burnside Cottage.

Bladnoch Distillery

Bladnoch is a beautiful distillery, one of just six in lowland Scotland and the most southerly of all of them. It has perched on the banks of the River Bladnoch for more than 200 years, but in recent times the distillery has had a turbulent history.

It became part of Bell’s in the 1980s, passed on to the United Distillers’ Group and closed in the 1990s. However, Bladnoch enjoyed a renaissance in recent years under the ownership of a Northern Irishman, Raymond Armstrong, who came across the mothballed distillery while on holiday and bought it. The site went back into production, turned out some interesting and enjoyable malt and blends, but closed again in 2014.

The good news is that the distillery is back in production and a new visitors’ centre is promised by the Australian entrepreneurial owner, David Prior, which will be fantastic. Currently, the site is closed to visitors and the whisky is available to purchase online, but it is more expensive than the casual visitor might wish to pay. Bladnoch released three new whiskies using existing stock in 2017, Samsara (no age), meaning ‘rebirth’, is available at www.masterofmalt.com for £70.81, Bladnoch Adela (15-year-old) is priced at £91.78 and Bladnoch Talia (25-year-old) at £235.

Sulwath Brewery, Castle Douglas

Sulwath is a microbrewery established in 1996  and during the past 20 years it has perfected crowd-pleasing brews that are a pleasure to drink. The brewery is open to visitors on Mondays and Fridays with tours at 1pm, or by appointment. Sulwath, named after the Solway Firth, was listed among the 15 Best Breweries to Visit in Britain in The Daily Telegraph in 2017. There is a pub on site and you can fill up a carry-out to enjoy back home. Sulwath beers are on sale throughout Galloway and can often be enjoyed in The Machars at the Steam Packet Inn, Isle of Whithorn.

G&C Galloway, Whithorn

I love this shop. Based half way up Main Street in Whithorn, G&C Galloway is an Aladdin’s cave of groceries. There are small chain grocery stores inThe Machars, including in Port William, which is very convenient, but Galloway’s has as many lines as Sainsbury’s and the most helpful staff in Britain. If the mood takes you to cook Thai, Asian, Italian or you just need a fix of Cream O’Galloway ice cream, G&C Galloway is the place to go. And they sell those Scottish potato pancakes, which are delicious at breakfast, as well as bacon, frozen meat and vegetables.