Tag: Wigtown

Round Britain: Garlieston to Seaward

On By Carol HenshawIn Beaches, Books, bookshops and libraries, ScotlandLeave a comment

After leaving Garlieston we drove southward on a B road down to the Isle of Whithorn.

The ruins of St Ninians Chapel sits  on the slope above the harbour. St Ninian was a missionary to the Picts in southern Scotland. The first chapel built here was in the 1100s to provide for the local people and to serve the pilgrims who were on their way to Whithorn Priory. The current remains were rebuilt around 1300 and were repaired in 1898 by the Marquess of Bute.

On the headland beyond the chapel is the cairn: a white tower which has been used as a navigation aid for several hundred years and in World War 2 was a tracking station for anti-aircraft gunnery practice.

There is also memorial to the Solway Harvester and its crew which sunk in 2000.

Back down near the chapel is a memorial for dogs that people can add stones to if they wish.

St Ninian’s Cave is down on the shoreline further along the coast. The 1973 film Wicker Man was filmed near there. We continued on past Whithorn and on to Wigtown, crossing the River Bladnoch where the distillery sits, before entering the main street. We had last visited it in 2017. Wigtown was designated as Scotland’s Book Town in 1998 and now has several bookshops including the largest in Scotland.

They are celebrating their 25th Anniversary with a Book Festival from 22 September to 1 October 2023. Some shops were not open today, including the Byre Books

but we did appreciate one local person’s efforts to fill as many wellingtons as possible with flowers.

After coffee in one of the local cafes we drove north past Newton Stewart and the head of Wigtown Bay where the River Cree enters the bay then down the east shore. The old military road diverts round Creetown and just after that is a parking space on the shore where we had our lunch. Wigtown Bay also has a Nature Reserve. Towards the end of the parking area was a large granite stone. It stated that Creetown granite had been quarried nearby and used to build Liverpool Docks and also the clock tower in Creetown.

After lunch we continued past the ruined Carsluith Castle, up Loch Fleet, past Skyreburn Bay, Gatehouse of Fleet and just before Kirkcudbright, turned down the east side of the River Dee which enters the bay and down to Seaward where we settled into the campsite. There are views over the bay

and in the distance is Little Ross Island with a lighthouse. Below the road is a beach which I had a wander on and found some sea glass.

Back in Southwest Scotland

On By Carol HenshawIn Art & Architecture, Books, bookshops and libraries, Scotland1 Comment

A coach-load of Rangers fans en route to the Old Firm match in Glasgow, accompanied us on the 7.30am Larne to Cairnryan ferry.
They were very well-behaved despite some having cider for breakfast but G4S security were lurking in the background just in case. As we disembarked there was a police presence at the port. We were heading for Wigtown, Scotland’s book town but en route stopped at Torhouse Stone Circle. It is about 4 miles west of Wigtown and dates from the Bronze Age. It is thought to have been designed to represent the midwinter sun. There are 19 granite stones. The three large upright stones in the centre of the circle are known as King Gauldus’s Tomb (he was a mythical Scottish king). This type of stone circle is most commonly found in north-east Scotland and unusual for this part of the country.

At Wigtown we browsed in the shop which says it is the largest bookshop in Scotland, Byre Books in a cowshed surrounded by greenery and Reading Lasses which is devoted to women’s literature. Another was holding a reading as there is a festival on this weekend so we could not look in there and one was inexplicably closed.

Laden with books and a few plants from a market stall we drove into Newton Stewart to find Elmlea Plants, a nursery specialising in perennials and grasses. More purchases were made for garden renovation projects at home. The A75 follows the edge of Wigtown Bay amongst gently undulating fields with the southern uplands ahead. We cut inland to Kirkcudbright where we had arranged to spend the night. In the harbour fishing boats were returning and the tide was coming in.

We visited Broughton House, the former home and studio of the artist E.A Hornel. He was influenced by Japan, used photographs rather than drawings as the basis of his paintings, collected books and was also interested in local history. Here is his studio which has his palettes and paintbrushes as well as several paintings.
Kirkcudbright ‘Castle’ in the centre of town is really a fortified townhouse dating from the 16th century. the original castle down by the river was captured by Robert the Bruce in 1313 and destroyed. There were attempts at excavating it in 1913 to 1914 but many of the stones had been removed by the townspeople for building projects. Hornel had a collection of some maps, drawings and dig notes from the excavation which was never completed because of the First World War. At the back of the house is a long garden extending right down to the marina. The house and garden are now in the care of the National Trust for Scotland.

We stayed in the Selkirk Arms which dates from the 18th century. It has been claimed that Robert Burns wrote the Selkirk Grace here in 1794 but this has not been confirmed. Just before we left we visited the plant sale in the centre of town and found a few more unusual plants for my woodland garden. There were only two stops on what was a quiet run home from Kirkudbright. The first was at Dundrennan Abbey, a former Cistercian monastery.


The last stop was at Annandale Distillery so that I could add some shots to the Book of British Distilleries I am compiling for James. This was only reopened recently after closing in 1918. They have excavated the place the old stills stood when it first opened in 1830.

Wigtown: books and bookshops

On By Carol HenshawIn Books, bookshops and libraries, ScotlandLeave a comment

It is many years since we were last here. Our B&B was right in the town centre and after checking the leaflet which gave all the details of the shops, decided that none of the specialist ones needed a look in. We confined ourselves to the two largest general shops. The first claims to be Scotland’s biggest bookshop.

Wigtown 1 13 July 2015 (1 of 1)

It is certainly extensive and also has some strange decorations:

Wigtown 2 13 July 2015 (1 of 1)

However, there are also plenty of cosy corners to read in. I found one book in there and then we wandered over to the shop in an old bank. This had a much better natural history section and I discovered another volume to add to my New Naturalist series and also a few of the old guidebooks we collect. This shop also has an extensive collection of sheet music. Others in the town specialise in science fiction, children’s books and old newspapers etc. It has a festival in September which I will not be able to get to as we will be in London. All too soon it was time to join the long lines of traffic on the A75 and head for the motorway. For most of the way through Cumbria and Lancashire the rain was heavy and we almost aquaplaned home. At least the garden will not need watering.

The North Channel, Loch Ryan and Galloway

On By Carol HenshawIn Ferries & boats, IrelandLeave a comment

Our voyage across the North Channel was uneventful and we were soon bidding goodbye to Belfast Lough and Ireland.

Goodbye to Ireland 12 July 2015 (1 of 1)

As we pulled into the North Channel, I saw an oil platform being towed away from the coast. They are not built in Northern Ireland so I assume it had been repaired and was now heading back to its working position. On the other shore was a lighthouse and I started to see seabirds. Once past the buoy at the end of Loch Ryan, we turned into the loch with the Galloway coast on both sides.

Galloway coast 2 12 July 2015 (1 of 1)

Getting off the boat was reminiscent of the free-for-all at Dun Laoghaire as everyone had to merge into two lanes and then get into the correct one to go north or south at the exit. The road south bypasses Stranraer and heads for Newton Stewart but we cut across a B road towards Wigtown, passing a stone circle and several signposts to other historic places. It is several years since we spent any time in Galloway and we must return soon. We found our guesthouse in Wigtown easily and our hostess recommended the Inn at Bladnoch. It is situated by the bridge over the River Bladnoch and the distillery. When we arrived there was live music (fiddlers) and the accents in the bar and restaurant were from north and south of the border, east and west of the Pennines and from both sides of the Irish Sea. We walked back into town and look forward to bookshops tomorrow.

River Bladnoch 1 12 July 2015 (1 of 1)

River Bladnoch 2 12 July 2015 (1 of 1)