©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd Southern Scotland Why Go? BORDERS REGION ....138 Though folk in northern England are well aware of its St Abbs ......................138 charms, for many others southern Scotland is just some- thing to drive through on the way to northern Scotland. Jedburgh ................... 147 Big mistake. But it does mean there’s breathing room here Hermitage Castle ......149 in summer, and peaceful corners. SOUTH Southern Scotland’s proximity to England brought raid- LANARKSHIRE ........... 151 ing and strife; grim borderland fortifi cations saw skirmish- New Lanark ................151 ing aplenty. There was loot to be had in the Borders, where large prosperous abbeys bossed agricultural communities. AYRSHIRE & ARRAN ..153 Regularly ransacked before their destruction in the Refor- Isle of Arran ...............155 mation, their ruins, linked by cycling and walking paths, DUMFRIES & are among Scotland’s most atmospheric historic sites. GALLOWAY ................ 166 The hillier west enjoys extensive forest cover between Galloway Forest Park ..174 bustling market towns. The hills cascade down to sandy stretches of coastline blessed with Scotland’s sunniest weather. It’s the land of Robert Burns, whose verse refl ected his earthy attitudes and active social life. Off shore, Arran is Best Places to an island jewel off ering top cycling, walking and scenery. Stay » Corsewall Lighthouse When to Go Hotel (p 177 ) Ayr » Churches Hotel (p 140 ) °C/°F Te m p Rainfall Inches/mm 40/104 10/250 » Kildonan Hotel (p 159 ) 30/86 8/200 » Cringletie House (p 149 ) 20/68 6/150 » Lochranza SYHA (p 159 ) 10/50 4/100 Best Places to Eat 0/32 2/50 -10/14 0 & Drink J FDNOSAJJMAM » Cobbles Inn (p 143 ) » Sunflower Restaurant May If winter June The perfect Autumn Hit Gal- hasn’t been too time to visit the loway’s forests to (p 150 ) wet, lace the region’s numerous see red deer bat- » Fouter’s (p 163 ) hiking boots and stately homes, tling it out in the » Ship Inn (p 155 ) stride up Arran’s with spectacular rutting season. hills. gardens in bloom. » Nightjar (p 148 ) Loch Fyne ARGYLL 60¸6A78 136 &BUTE Glasgow Airdrie #^ #\ Sound of #\ Jura Largs #] Sound Great Motherwell of Bute Cumbrae NORTH #\ Lochranza AYRSHIRE Strathaven #\ Ardrossan #\ 0¸A83 Isle of Arran #8 #\ Irvine #] Kilmarnock #\ Irvine Kintyre Brodick Firth of Clyde #\Troon #\ Muirkirk Ayr SOUTHERN SCOTLAND SCOTLAND SOUTHERN Kilbrannan Sound r Ayr Ayr Ay Campbeltown Bay #] #] #5#\ Alloway Culzean Castle ##\2 #\ New D EAST Kirkoswald #\ o Cumnock on AYRSHIRE #\ Tu r n b e r r y van ir G Loch of Doon ter Ailsa Craig Wa SOUTH #\666 Girvan AYRSHIRE BORDERS REGION ar Gare ch Loch 0¸A77 tin S Merrick R St John's Town of #\ Ballantree #÷ Galloway #\ Dalry Forest r 666 e #\ Glentrool #6 Park t a C Loch W ree Ken r r 55°N U #\ Cairnryan North Channel Newton Loch Castle Stewart #\ Ryan Kennedy Castle Gardens Douglas #\ #] 6660¸A75 Gatehouse6 Stranraer #÷ ee of Fleet D #\ Wigtown \#10 #V #\ Portpatrick Machars Cardoness ##\4 Peninsula Castle Kirkcudbright Wigtown Bay6 Belfast Luce #\ Whithorn Lough Bay Irish #\ Drummore Isle of Whithorn #\ Sea #^ Bangor Burrow Mull of Head Galloway W W 4° 5° Southern Scotland Highlights 1 Hiking or cycling between 3 Pondering the tough old (p172 ), and the creative fl air of the noble ruins of the Border life on the England–Scotland its inhabitants Abbeys (p 138 ) frontier at desolate Hermitage 5 Learning some Lallans 2 Admiring 18th-century Castle (p 149 ) words from the Scottish Bard’s architectural genius at 4 Exploring charming, verses at the new Robert Culzean Castle (p 164 ), dignifi ed Kirkcudbright Burns Birthplace Museum perched on wild sea cliff s (p 163 ) e 0¸A1 EAST yn #_ LOTHIAN T Cockburnspath #\ Edinburgh 137 St Abbs ##\9 #\ Coldingham #\ Eyemouth MID LOTHIAN Lammermuir 0¸A702 Hills #\ Duns #\ d e e Moorfoot Lauder w Lanark T #\ Hills Coldstream #7 New Lanark #\ Peebles #\ #\ Galashiels Smailholm SOUTH 0¸A72 #\ #\ Kelso Biggar d Melrose #\ LANARKSHIRE Tw ee #â666#\ Abbotsford #ä Kirk Dryburgh #1 Border Yetholm e #\#\ 0¸M74 d Selkirk #\ Abbey Abbeys ly Town C Yetholm SCOTLAND SOUTHERN REGION BORDERS iot #\Abington Tev 0¸A708 SCOTTISH BORDERS #\ Jedburgh 0¸A74(M) 0¸A68 B709 #]666 0¸ Hawick 0¸A76 W #\ Moffat t h io i v t e N e T E i t s h #\ k 666666 Northumberland #\ Eskdalemuir Hermitage Castle #3 Thornhill National Park GO? WHY E sk Newcastleton #\ 0¸A74(M) Langholm #\ #\ Ca Lockerbie ir n Wa 666666 ter Dumfries #] NORTHUMBERLAND DUMFRIES Gretna &GALLOWAY Green#\ #V #\Gretna #\ Caerlaverock New Castle #\ Abbey 666666 #^Carlisle CUMBRIA Solway Firth6666 e# 040km 6666020miles 6 Whooshing down the mill community of New 9 Plunging the deeps off the forest trails at the 7stanes Lanark (p 151 ) picturesque fi shing village of mountain-biking hubs (p 175 ) 8 Blowing away the cobwebs St Abbs (p 138 ) 7 Marvelling at the radical on the scenic, activity-packed a Browsing secondhand social reform instituted in Isle of Arran (p 155 ) books at Wigtown (p 176 ) operates between most of the border towns and BORDERS REGION 138 connects them with Edinburgh. Domestic tourists grease the wheel of the Borders’ economy – they fl ock here from north and south of the border, eager to ex- Cockburnspath plore links to the country’s medieval past. The 16th-century Mercat Cross in Cock- It’s a distinctive region – centuries of war burnspath village square, about a mile in- and plunder have left a battle-scarred land- land from the coast, is the offi cial eastern- scape, encapsulated by the remnants of end start of the Southern Upland Way (see the great Border abbeys. They were an ir- below). There are a couple of B&Bs here, resistible magnet during the Border wars, but no pub; it’s not a particularly inspir- and were destroyed and rebuilt numerous ing place to spend the night, so jump on times. The monasteries met their scorched a bus to nearby Coldingham for accom- end in the 16th century and were never re- modation. built. Today these massive stone shells are Bus 253 running between Edinburgh the region’s fi nest attraction. and Berwick-upon-Tweed stops in Cock- SOUTHERN SCOTLAND SCOTLAND SOUTHERN But there’s more. Welcoming villages burnspath every two hours or so. with ancient traditions pepper the country- side, one of the best cold-water diving sites in Europe is off the coast, and grandiose Coldingham & St Abbs mansions await exploration. It’s fi ne walk- ing and cycling country too, the gentle hills Coldingham and St Abbs are the two most lush with an artist’s palette of shades of popular places for tourists on this section of green. And don’t miss Hermitage Castle; Scotland’s east coast, a short distance north nothing encapsulates the region’s turbulent of the English border. This picturesque area history like this spooky stronghold. is fantastic for those who love the great out- BORDERS REGION doors – there’s loads to do, as evidenced by 8 Getting Around the anglers, scuba divers, birdwatchers and There’s a good network of local buses. First walkers who fl ock here. (%01324-602200; www.fi rstgroup.com) BORDERS WALKING & CYCLING The region’s most famous walk is the challenging 212-mile Southern Upland Way (www.southernuplandway.gov.uk). If you want a sample, one of the best bits is the three- to four-day section from St John’s Town of Dalry to Beattock. Another long-distance walk is the 62-mile St Cuthbert’s Way (www.stcuthbertsway.fsnet.co.uk), inspired by the travels of St Cuthbert (a 7th-century saint who worked in Melrose Abbey), which crosses some superb scenery between Melrose and Lindisfarne (in England). In Gal- loway the Pilgrims Way follows a 25-mile trail from Glenluce Abbey to the Isle of Whithorn. The Borders Abbeys Way (www.bordersabbeysway.com) links all the great Border abbeys in a 65-mile circuit. For shorter walks and especially circular loops in the hills, the towns of Melrose, Jedburgh and Kelso all make ideal bases. For baggage transfer on these walks, contact WalkingSupport (%01896-822079; www.walkingsupport.co.uk). In early September, look out for the Scottish Borders Walking Festival (www.borderswalking.com), with nine days of walks for all abilities and an instant social scene. With the exception of the main A-roads, traffi c is sparse, which, along with the beauty of the countryside, makes this ideal cycling country. The Tweed Cycle Way is a waymarked route running 62 miles along the beautiful Tweed Valley, following minor roads from Biggar to Peebles (13 miles), Melrose (16 miles), Coldstream (19 miles) and Berwick-upon-Tweed (14 miles). Jedburgh tourist offi ce (p 148 ) has details. For an island tour, the Isle of Arran off ers excellent cycling opportunities. The 50- mile coast-road circuit is stunning and is worth splitting into two or three days. 1 Sights & Activities St Abbs. The cliff top walks here are spec- From the village of Coldingham, with its tacular, especially on sunny days. There’s a 139 twisting streets, take the B6438 downhill good little nature exhibition (h10am-5pm to the small fi shing village of St Abbs, a Apr-Oct) in the Old Smiddy complex along- gorgeous, peaceful little community with a side. picture-perfect harbour nestled below the cliff s. St Abbs is a great place for walking – 4 Sleeping & Eating head for the car park at the harbour and Rock House BUNKHOUSE, B&B ££ have a stroll over the rocky sea walls to get ( %018907-71945; www.divestabbs.info; St Abbs; a feel of this fabulous location.