My post content

The Midsteeple on the High Street in Dumfries Scotland - Photo: Chantal Lamy

It is all too easy when crossing the border from England - be it in a car or train - to whiz past Dumfries. Though arguably, this can be, a mistake. As most travellers are eyeing Glasgow, Edinburgh and the splendours of the Highlands and Islands beyond, miss the road west to Dumfries and Galloway, which is packed full of interesting places to visit and not least of all, the city with Robert Burns written all over it - Dumfries.

Easily reached by the M6 and it’s Scottish continuation - the M74 - and by train from Carlisle, Dumfries has a lot to offer the traveller. Situated on the charming River Nith less than a dozen miles inland from the Solway Firth, Dumfries has a lot of interesting historic buildings, great pubs cafes and restaurants and is steeped in Scottish history.

Devorgilla Bridge over the River Nith at Dumfries, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland - Photo: Jonathan Mitchell

Being somewhat off the well-beaten Scottish tourist trail, prices are reasonable for sleeping, drinking and dining and it makes a great base to explore Dumfries and Galloway. The city centre is largely pedestrianised and much of the parking is free. It is certainly a city which tailors for those on foot and there is a trail from Dock Park, which leads out towards the estuary with the Solway Firth and the beautiful Capability Brown style gardens up at The Creighton (which are worth a day’s wandering in itself) are a short walk from the city centre.

The Creighton is partly a university and partly NHS facilities and is the remnants of a massive estate (with it’s own church) and beautiful and massive gardens, which stretch right down to the river and are full of charming surprises. At the main entrance, there is now a hotel (xxxxxx Booking link) and there is a cafe bar a bit further along. The Creighton has free parking and is easily reached by bus. It was one of the first modern mental health institutions in the British Isles and has a lot of beautiful red sandstone buildings dating from the 1700s onwards.

The new fountain in the main square on the High Street in Dumfries, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland - Photo: Jonathan Mitchell

The surrounding area is also full of Scottish travel gems and the bus service is quite good and relatively inexpensive, so there is plenty to see and do aside from the city itself.

Dumfries is perhaps most famous for the great Scottish bard - Robert Burns - who back in the day, worked as a customs officer in the city (if you walk down the River Nith, their is a tiny harbour where he would often be inspecting ships back in the day).

The graveyard of St Michael’s Kirk (church), just outside the city centre houses his mausoleum and many interesting graves, including a mass grave of those soldiers who fell at the Battle of Waterloo. Nearby is the Burns House Museum (free), revealing the home life of Burns during his time in Dumfries. Across the river is the Robert Burns Centre (free) in the Old Mill on the bank of the River Nith, detailing the story of Burns and Dumfries in the 1790s.

If you do visit the Robert Burns Centre, then worth going on foot over the Devorgilla Bridge (which was built in 1431 and still has the wee tole house on the western side). The centre also houses Hullabaloo - a restaurant offering good-quality food.

There are many great eating options in Dumfries, from Italian to Scottish fare and more. Lots of take-aways, bakeries and cafes offer more options.

In the city centre, one can even drink in the pubs he used to frequent, like The Hole in the Wall (or The ‘Ha in the Wa’ in Lowland Scots) and The Globe Inn on and just off the High Street respectively. Take a trip by bus or car to Moffat and you can sit in The Bull, another one of his many watering holes that still exist. Indeed, Dumfries can make an excellent base to explore the Burns-Lore of Dumfries and Galloway, a fascinating trip for those who are interested in his remarkable legacy or poems and songs. We hope to detail this ‘Burns Trail’ - so to speak - in a future article in Munro & Glen.

So hanging that left off the M74 onto the A75 or getting off the train at Dumfries is a great gateway to the many wonderful travel destinations of Dumfries and Galloway. With affordable accommodation, pubs and cafes, combined with good transport links and steeped in history, Dumfries is an excellent place to explore south-western Scotland.