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TOP 20 ATTRACTIONS IN DUMFRIES & GALLOWAY
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Burns House
Burns Street
Dumfries
DG1 2PS
 It was in this ordinary sandstone house in a back street of Dumfries that Robert Burns spent the last three years of his life. He died here in 1796 at the age of just 37. Now a place of pilgrimage for Burns enthusiasts from around the world, the house retains much of its 18th Century character and contains many relics of the poet. There is the chair in which he wrote his last poems, the gun he carried on his duties as an exciseman, the famous Kilmarnock and Edinburgh editions of his work and many original letters and manuscripts.
Price: admission free
Hours: Apr - Sep Mon - Sat 10:00 - 17:00, Sun 14:00 - 17:00; Oct - Mar Tue - Sat 10:00 - 13:00 & 14:00 - 17:00
Details: 01387 255 297
Carlyle's Bithplace
The Arched House
Ecclefechan
Lockerbie
DG11 3DG
Thomas Carlyle may have rubbed shoulders with Darwin, Dickens and Thackeray, but he never forgot his roots and insisted that his final resting-place should be Ecclefechan, the village where his birthplace still stands. The Arched House, built in 1793, shows the cramped conditions where this great writer and historian began his life. The house is furnished to reflect the domestic style of his time and on show is a notable collection of portraits and Carlyle's belongings. His beginnings in Ecclefechan had a strong impact on Carlyle and contributed to his development as one of the most powerful influences on the 19th Century British thought.
Hours: Good Friday - Easter Monday, 1st May - 30th Sep, Fri - Mon 13:30 - 17:30 (last admission 17:00)
Castle Douglas Art Galley
Market Street
Castle Douglas
DG7 1BE
Castle Douglas Art Gallery first opened in 1938 having been gifted to the town by Mrs Ethel Bristowe, a talented artist in her own right. The gallery was upgraded in 1996 with lottery funding from the Scottish Arts Council, and now forms an excellent venue for an annual programme of temporary exhibitions running from Easter to Christmas. The programme covers both group and one-man shows that range from fine art, craft, to photography.
Price: admission free
The Castle of St. John
Castle Street
Stranraer
The Castle of St. John is a medieval tower house. It was built around 1500 by the Adairs of Kilhilt, one of the most powerful families in Wigtownshire. Over the centuries the Castle has been used as a home, a local court, a military garrison and a prison. There are videos and reconstructions that tell the story of the building of the castle and the government troops who used the castle as their headquarters during the Killing Times in the 1680s. There is also an activity room for families and children.
Price: Adult £1.20 Child 60p
Hours: Easter - mid-Sep, Mon - Sat 10:00 - 13:00 & 14:00 - 17:00
Creetown Gem Rock Museum
Chain Road
Creetown
DG8 7HJ
The Creetown Gemrock Museum houses one of the finest privately owned collections of gemstones, crystals, minerals, gemstone objects d'art and fossils in Britain. Owned and run by the Stephenson family, the museum has in the last few years, undergone a major and exciting re-development and refurbishment programme. The basic theme of the museum is designed to stimulate interest and wonder in the fascinating subjects of gems, crystals, and mineralogy. Visitors to the Museum are introduced to this captivating world by a spectacular volcanic eruption display and a 15-minute audio-visual programme 'Fire in the Stones'. Recent additions include a fossilised dinosaur egg and dung along with meteorites from outer space.
Hours: Good Friday - 30th Sep 9:30 - 18:00; 1st Oct - 30th Nov 10:00 - 16:00; 1st Dec - 28th Feb Weekends only 10:00 - 16:00; 1st Mar - Good Friday 10:00 - 16:00
Dumfries Museum & Camera Obscura
The Observatory
Dumfries
DG2 7SW
This museum is centred on the 18th Century windmill tower that stands above the town. You will see fossil footprints left by prehistoric reptiles, the wildlife of the Solway salt marshes, tools and weapons of the earliest people, stone carvings of Scotland's first Christians and everyday things of the Victorian workshop and home. The Camera Obscura, installed in 1836 is on the top floor of the old windmill. On the tabletop screen you will see panoramic views of Dumfries and the surrounding countryside.
Price: Museum is free, Camera Obscura: Adult £1.50 Child 75p
Hours: Apr - Sep Mon - Sat 10:00 - 17:00, Sun 14:00 - 17:00 Oct - Mar (museum only) Tue - Sat 10:00 - 13:00 & 14:00 - 17:00
Galloway Hydros Visitor Centre
Tongland Power Station
Kirkcudbright
Water is the very essence of life on our planet. For thousands of years, people have found different ways to harness its power. Now, visitors have the opportunity of viewing one of the most interesting and efficient Hydro schemes. In the tour you will be given an insight into the force of nature that is captured, channeled and released back into the environment, enabling us to produce pure, clean energy. The centre tells the story about the construction of the Hydro in the 1930s, there is a reconstructed office of that time with original photography and technical drawings that show the scale of the achievement.
Hours: May - Sep Mon - Sat 10:00 - 17:00; seven days a week in August
The Galloway Red Deer Range
A712 between Newton Stewart and New Galloway
The Range was created in 1977 by the Forestry Commission to enable the public to see red deer in a semi natural habitat. The concept was the brainchild of John Davis one time Forestry Commission Conservator for South Scotland. Depending on the time of year, up to one hundred red deer are confined within an area of 200 hectares (500 acres). The broken topography of the range offers a variety of sites for the red deer to shelter in.
Price: Adult £2.50 Child £1.00 Family £6.50
Hours: Last Tuesday in June - 2nd Sunday in September. Tours at 11:00 and 14:00 on Tue & Thur, 14:30 on Sun
The Globe Inn
56 High Street
Dumfries
Established in 1640, this makes it one of the oldest public houses in Scotland. It still retains the unique atmosphere and character that made it a favourite bar of Robert Burns. Tucked away in a narrow alley off the high street, the 'houff' is more than just a pub, it is living testimony to the life and times of Scotland's national poet. Retaining all its wood paneling, the inn still has all the original features of 200 years ago when Burns lived in the area. Visitors can see his favourite chair resting beside the fireplace and in an upstairs bedroom his handwriting is etched on the glass. The ploughman poet also had an affair, one of many, with the inn's barmaid Anna Park.
John Paul Jones Birthplace & Arbigland Gardens
Arbigland
Kirkbean
Dumfries
DG2 8BG
 John Paul Jones is famous as the "Father of the American Navy". He was born on the 6th July in 1747, in humble circumstances. He went on to become a distinguished Naval Officer, fighting for both America and Russia and was awarded a specially commissioned gold medal by congress in 1787. The little gardener's cottage in which he was born is now a museum with audio-visual presentation of Jones' victory over the Royal Navy. The visitor centre is full of history, with a video of the life of John Paul Jones. The magnificent bronze bust, which was given to him by Houdon of Paris, dominates the room.
Hours: Easter - September
Moffat Woollen Mill
Ladyknowe
Dumfriesshire
 Moffat Woollen Mill has long been famous with customers from around the world as the centre for the very best in Scottish knitwear. Weaving has played an enormous part in the history of Scottish industry and here you have the opportunity to experience this fascinating process first-hand. Here they have their very own weaving area where you can see cloth actually being produced on traditional, intricate looms. There is also the Tartan Clan Centre where you can trace your Scottish heritage. They have over 500 tartans available and offer everything from a small memento to a full 'made to measure' Highland Dress outfit.
Hours: 7 days a week, 9:00 - 17:00
New Abbey Corn Mill
& Miles South of Dumfries
In this carefully renovated 18th Century water powered oatmeal mill the visitor can see the mill in action, still doing what it was designed to do all those years ago.
Price: Adult £1.20 Child 50p
Hours: Open all year
The Old Bridge House Museum
Mill Road
Dumfries
DG2 7BE
Cross the 15th Century Devorgilla Bridge to the Old Bridge House. Built in 1660 into the sandstone of the bridge itself, Dumfries' oldest house is now a museum of everyday life in the town. You will see kitchens as they were in the 1850s and 1900s, an early dentist's surgery, furnishings from local homes from the last four centuries and a Victorian nursery and bedroom.
Price: admission free
Hours: Apr - Sep Mon - Sat 10:00 - 17:00, Sun 14:00 - 17:00
Details: 01387 256 904
The Robert Burns Centre
Mill Road
Dumfries
DG2 7BE
The Robert Burns Centre is situated in the town's 18th Century watermill on the West Bank of the River Nith and tells the story of Robert Burns' last years spent among the busy streets and lively atmosphere of Dumfries in the 1790s. Many original documents and relics of the poet illuminate the exhibition. There is a fascinating scale model of Dumfries in the 1790s and a haunting audio-visual presentation, as well as a bookshop and café-gallery with a lively exhibition programme.
Price: admission free
Hours: Apr - Sep Mon - Sat 10:00 - 20:00, Sun 14:00 - 17:00; Oct - Mar Tue - Sat 10:00 - 13:00 & 14:00 - 17:00
Details: 01387 264 808
Sanquhar Tolbooth Museum
High Street
Sanquhar
DG4 6BN
Discover Sanquhar's world famous knitting tradition and three centuries of local literature. Find out about the area's earliest inhabitants, the history and customs of the Royal Burgh of Sanquhar and the mines and miners of Sanquhar and Kirkconnel. What was it like to be a prisoner in Sanquhar jail? How did the ordinary people of Upper Nithsdale live and work in times past? All this and more can be found in the town's fine 18th century Tolbooth.
Price: admission free
Hours: Apr - Sep Tue - Sat 10:00 - 13:00 & 14:00 - 17:00 Sun 14:00 - 17:00
Details: 01659 50186
Shambellie House Museum of Costume
New Abbey
Dumfries
DG2 8HQ
Shambellie House was designed by the celebrated architect David Bryce and built for the Stewart Family in 1856. In 1977, Charles Stewart gave the house and its unique costume collection to the National Museum of Scotland. The history and background of Shambellie and the Stewart family is told in a special display. Set in attractive wooded grounds, Shambellie offers visitors the chance to see period clothes in appropriate settings, with accessories, furniture and decorative art.
Hours: 28th Mar - 31st Oct 11:00 - 17:00
Details: 01387 850 375
The Stewartry Museum
St. Mary Street
Kirkcudbright
DG6 4AQ
The museum was founded in 1879, and first occupied part of Kirkcudbright Town Hall. As the collections grew, the present purpose built museum was opened in 1893. In recent years the museum interior has been considerably upgraded, whilst retaining its charm as a traditional late Victorian museum. Its collections chiefly relate to the human and natural history of the Stewartry also known as Kirkcudbrightshire (the eastern part of Galloway). The permanent collection includes the "Siller Gun" - Britain's earliest surviving sporting trophy, and works by Kirkcudbrightshire artists including Jessie M King.
Price: Adult £1.50 Child 75p
Hours: 11:00 - 16:00
Stranraer Museum
55 George Street
Stranraer
DG9 7JP
Stranraer's historic Old Town Hall, built in 1776, is the home of Stranraer Museum. Step inside and discover Wigtownshire's fascinating past. See one of Scotland's oldest ploughs, look at Victorian Wigtownshire in 3-D photographs and follow in the footsteps of Stranraer's own Polar explorers. Plus displays on archaeology, local history, farming and dairying.
Price: admission free
Hours: Mon - Fri 10:00 - 17:00, Sat 10:00 - 13:00 & 14:00 - 17:00
Sweetheart Abbey
New Abbey
South of Dumfries
The magnificent remains of a late 13th and early 14th Century red sandstone Cistercian abbey founded by Deorgilla, Lady of Galloway, in memory of her husband John Balliol College at Oxford. An heiress of the Royal house in Dunkeld, Devorgilla is buried in the presbytery in a casket which also contains her husband's embalmed heart which she carried around with her for 22 years until her own death in 1290. Apart from the Abbey, the most prominent feature is a well-preserved precinct wall.
Price: Adult £1.20 Child 50p
Hours: Apr - Sep, Mon - Sat 9:30 - 18:30, Sun 14:00 - 18:30; Oct - Mar Mon - Wed & Sat 9:30 - 16:30, Thur 9:30 - 13:00, Sun 14:00 - 16:30
Details: 01387 850 397
Whitorn Priority and St Ninian
South of Newton Stewart
New Galloway
The site of the first Christian church in Scotland founded by St Ninian in the 5th Century, which later became the cathedral church of Galloway. One of the most holy places in Scotland and was known as the cradle of Christianity. Mary Queen of Scots visited the town in 1563 as did her father James V and her grandfather, James IV before her. During excavation work in the 1880s, the Litinus Stone, the earliest Christian memorial in the country, was found and is now displayed in Withorn Cathedral which was built to house the remains of the chapel. Visitors can take a guided tour of the original dig site and watch archaeologists work during the digging season. There is also a museum, crypts and a discovery centre with an exhibition and an audio-visual show.
Hours: Easter - Oct 10:30 - 17:00
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REGIONAL INTRODUCTION GOLF WINING & DINING
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