Galloway Getaway for couples and friends

Dumfries and Galloway is a great place to have a holiday, as a couple or with friends. There is superb walking and cycling, delicious food to forage or to eat out, empty beaches, artists to discover, gardens to explore and fascinating history and heritage. Or, just curl up in front of the fire or relax in the garden at Burnside Cottage and watch the wildlife fly by.

Things to do in Dumfries and Gallloway

Walking in Galloway

There are great walks in Galloway, including, The Merrick, (the highest peak in the region); Loch Trool, a beautiful loch where Robert the Bruce defeated the English army; Kirroughtree Forest Park with easy woodland walks; Garlieston to Cruggleton Castle, a fine coastal walk, and St Ninian’s Cave to the Isle of Whithorn, which edges around cliffs and coves and passes through the old Second World War gunnery school at Burrow Head. And then there are the long, sandy beaches where you can ramble for hours. You don't even have to get in the car. From Burnside Cottage, you can walk to Port William and enjoy fantastic views across Luce Bay to the Mull of Galloway, or walk around the White Loch, in the grounds of Monreith House, which was once home to Gavin Maxwell, author of Ring of Bright Water.

The gardens of Galloway

Galloway benefits from the warming effect of the Gulf Stream, which flows up and across the Atlantic from Mexico. As a result, the local micro climate is milder than one would expect at this latitude and it sustains exotic plants that have no right to live in Scotland.

The result is verdant growth in the fields and hedgerows and truly spectacular formal gardens around the coast, populated with exotic plants. These include Glenwhan Gardens, Castle Kennedy Gardens and the Logan Botanical Gardens close to Port Logan, a delightful little fishing port that is well worth a visit.

Closer to Burnside Cottage are the more modest Galloway House Gardens at Garlieston, which are maintained by volunteers. While not as exotic, these gardens are delightful with the sea lapping the very edge of them at high tide.

Cycling in Galloway

There are wonderful opportunities for cycling on and off road, to suit all abilities, in Galloway. Dumfries and Galloway Council promotes four routes in The Machars (the area south of Newton Stewart), one of them passes Burnside Cottage. Full details and a map are kept at the cottage. If you don't have your own bikes you can hire them (including electric bikes!) from Kirkcowan Cycles in Newton Stewart. They also hire bike racks for the car and may deliver bikes to the cottage subject to availability. There is wonderful cycling on the roads and forest trails in Galloway Forest Park, around the beautiful Loch Trool.

The off road cycling at 7Stanes mountain bike centre at Kirroughtree is magnificent. The colour-coded routes suit all ages and abilities. The Green Route is a gentle introduction and if you feel like a challenge, take on the Blue Route (or the Red or Black Routes!) The trails wind their way through forests in wonderful countryside and it's great fun. Mountain bike hire is available at The Breakpad, Kirroughtree.

Visit Galloway artists

Kirkcudbright is the artistic centre of south west Scotland but there are scores of artists across the Galloway region. We keep a list at Burnside Cottage and many are happy to receive visitors, although it is best contact them first.

The pictures displayed at Burnside are the work of our favourite local artist, Lisa Hooper, who is based in Seymour House, Port William. We love her prints because we think they resonate with our experience of the area, featuring scenes, ports and wildlife that are familiar to us.

Major arts events in the area include, the Spring Fling in May when hundreds of studios in Dumfries and Galloway are open to the public and the Kirkcudbright Art and Crafts Trail, when the town’s artists open their doors  and others from across the region display their work.

Enjoy the pubs, cafes and restaurants way out west

Galloway has some excellent places to eat and drink. Among our favourites are the Steam Packet Inn at the Isle of Whithorn, a pub on the harbourside that serves excellent beer and fine food, including steak and seafood.Meanwhile, The Pheasant is a high quality Itailian restaurant in the village of Sorbie, where chef Andrea Cuomo works his magic in cosy, but stylish surroundings.

Forage for fine food and drink in galloway

This corner of south west Scotland is known for its fine foods. Visit butchers in Wigtown and Newton Stewart for the local speciality, salt-marsh lamb, as well as some of the best steaks you will ever eat. Excellent smoked salmon is available at the smokehouses at Creetown and Carsluith, as well as King Scallops and wet fish. Or, contact Paul Maguire, a local fisherman, and meet him on the quayside to buy a lobster off his boat. Visit the award winning cheese-maker, Galloway Farmhouse Cheese, in Sorbie or the Sulwath Brewery in Castle Douglas, or  the microbrewery at The Steam Packet Inn, Isle of Whithorn and have yourself a carry-out.

Explore the history and heritage of galloway

The Machars and its hinterland harbour a suprising depth of history given the area's relative remoteness. Whithorn Priory has been a place of pilgrimage for centuries on account of St Ninian bringing Christianity to south west Scotland and setting up a church in the town in the 5th century AD. A visitors’ centre now tells the story of the saint, who is thought to have also resided in cave on a stony beach nearby. 

Religion has played a major role in the social history of The Machars. Towards Stranraer, there is Glenluce Abbey, the ruins of an impressive Cistercian house, founded in 1192. And Wigtown still marks the passing of The Wigtown Martyrs. Among them were two women, who were tied to stakes and drowned in the Bladnoch estuary in 1685 for refusing to obey the king and join the Episcopal Church. It is a harrowing tale and a stone marks the spot where they died.

Two significant stone circles stand in The Machars.

The Drumtroddan Standing Stones are up to 5,000 years old and within walking distance (about 1.5 miles) of Burnside Cottage on the Whithorn road.

Meanwhile, the Torhouse Stone Circle, near Wigtown, has archaeologists scratching their heads. This type of stone circle is usually found in north east Scotland, rarely in the south west. The Bronze Age monument consists of 19 large granite boulders. There are three large upright stones in the centre of the circle, known as King Gauldus's Tomb. Galdus is a mythical Scottish king.

While at Loch Trool there is Bruce’s Stone, commemorating the strong connections of the Scottish King, Robert The Bruce, with this area. Bruce outwitted the English army sent by Edward I in the hills, forest and glens of south west Scotland, prior to assuming the Scottish throne, and he defeated the invaders on the banks of Loch Trool.

While this corner of Scotland is now off the beaten track of the M6/M74, in the 12th and 13th century that route was not open to invading armies due to the treacherous and boggy ground. The road north lay through Annan and lands now known as Dumfries and Galloway.

Curl up in front of the fire at burnside cottage

Burnside Cottage has a wood burning stove, so on cool evenings you can curl up in front of lovely log fire. We maintain a good supply of wood at Burnside for guests to use - have as much as you like - and there is usually some kindling available to get you started.

Of course, if the weather is bad, you don't have to go out at all. Catch up on reading or doze off in front of a film. We keep a wide selection of films and box sets on DVD. And there is free wifi, too.