Information Booklet

Providing information about Castle Douglas, its history and the surrounding area plus the events and attractions the area has to offer all year round.

www.castledouglas.info

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Surrounded by hills for climbing, forests for walking or cycling,­ lochs and rivers to keep anglers happy and only a few miles from glorious stretches of shoreline, Castle Douglas is an ideal centre from which to explore the surrounding countryside which is rich in both history and wildlife. The town itself has much to offer. Castle Douglas has a well-deserved reputation as a shoppers’ paradise with an astonishing range of independent, speciality shops selling everything from fashion through furniture, to unique gifts. It holds the title of the region’s Food Town with many of the shops and businesses selling locally-produced food and drink. Family-owned butcher shops, bakers, greengrocer and fishmonger are to be found on King Street, the town’s main shopping street, along with superb delicatessens. Local produce features on many menus and the town also offers international choices with Italian, Greek, Indian and Chinese restaurants. It even has its own award-winning brewery. The town sits beside the beautiful, island-studded Carlingwark Loch with its popular caravan and camping park, tennis, boating and other water- sport facilities. The loch is home to a number of bird species including resident swans which have been known to tap cheekily on caravan doors asking for food. For culture lovers the town boasts a fine library, art galleries and a theatre which also shows newly-released films. Close by is the National Trust for owned Threave Gardens and for history lovers, . The region has lots of small towns and villages to explore, some of which are home to artists and writers while others offer visitors © Allan Wright the chance to make (and eat) chocolate, indulge in made-on-the-premises ice cream or enjoy some star-gazing in our National Dark Sky Park. A wide range of accommodation is available including B&Bs, guest houses, hotels and self-catering. Castle Douglas does not only cater for tourists. It may be a small town but it has a lot going on for its own residents with many clubs and associations. Enjoy finding out what Castle Douglas has to offer.

View across Carlingwark Loch looking towards The Fullarton (formerly Lochside Theatre) © Allan Wright History

The area has been peopled since ancient times. Traces of prehistoric crannogs can still be seen in Carlingwark Loch at the southern end of the town and a bronze cauldron and other Iron Age metalwork was discovered some years ago. Castle Douglas itself, however, is relatively modern and its development is down to the vision of one man. Not many men born to such a lowly situation in life as a packman’s son can rise to a position from which to buy up estates, both here and further west, build a town and name it after himself. Yet, that is what Sir William Douglas achieved in the 18th century. Born in 1745, William accompanied some of his brothers to America where he amassed a fortune through unspecified, possibly unethical, means. On returning to his homeland he bought land which included the village of Carlingwark The , Carlingwark situated by the side of the loch from the Gordon family. The Gordons, discovering the loch contained deposits of marl, which could be used as a fertilizer, had built a canal from the loch to the River Dee and had the loch partly drained to expose the marl. Workers came to dig out the marl and transport it to farms along the Dee and up Loch Ken to the Glenkens. Unfortunately too much marl on the land proved to be counter-productive and a further blow to the family was the collapse of the Bank of in which Alexander Gordon was a co-partner. In 1791, William Douglas helped solve some of the Gordon’s financial problems by buying land for the sum of £14,000. The population of Carlingwark was then about 700 people. The town William Douglas built was grid-planned following the example of ’s New Town. In 1791, a Burgh of Barony was granted which allowed the new town of Castle Douglas to be governed by a town council. As for the ‘castle’ in the name of the town, Sir William may have meant nearby Threave Castle, built in the 14th century by the Black Douglases to whom he claimed kinship. Or, perhaps it was for the mansion house or ‘castle’ he intended to build for himself three miles away near Gelston village. Sir William was knighted in 1801. He chose as the Castle Douglas burgh’s coat of arms a winged heart surmounted by a crown with the motto Forward. This relates to the story of how Sir James Douglas of Threave carried the heart of into battle during the Crusades. When attacked he threw the casket forward saying, “Forward dear heart, as thou would want tae dae. Douglas will follow thee.” While his own mansion, to be named Gelston Castle was under construction, Sir William stayed at the Douglas Arms, a coaching inn which even predates his new town. There is no doubt, Sir William chose the site of his © Keith Kirk town shrewdly as it was already strategically placed on a main The ruins of Gelston Castle road network including the Old Military Road, built to allow the rapid movement of troops, which joined King Street, the main thoroughfare of Castle Douglas. Sir William established a cotton-spinning industry – hence the name Cotton Street – but it was not a success. Lacking water power for production and canal transport for raw materials and finished products, Castle Douglas could not compete with industrialised cotton spinning with huge water-powered mills like those already established elsewhere. Despite this setback, the town thrived and prospered. Sir William would have been pleased to read the historian, Heron’s words on Castle Douglas: “This village every day becomes more thriving and more respectable; flax-dressers, weavers, tanners, sadlers, cotton-spinners, masons and carpenters are now established here” – all this even before the advent of the cattle market and the railway. Sir William Douglas died, unmarried, in 1809. The Douglas Mausoleum was built around 1830 to house the remains of Sir William Douglas and twenty four members of the Douglas family.

Railway A small, thriving industrial estate at the north end of Castle Douglas, known as Station Yard was home to the railway station’s goods yards until the Beeching axe forced the closure of the line in 1965. The railway line from to Castle Douglas opened in 1859 operated by and South-Western. An onward line to Stranraer was opened by the Portpatrick Railway in 1861 and the following year the line continued to Portpatrick. Another branch line, to , opened in 1864. Dorothy L Sayer’s famous novel The Five Red Herrings (written in The Ship Inn at Gatehouse a few miles away and based on the artists’ colony in Kirkcudbright) depends very heavily on local train times. It is astonishing to read of how frequently – and punctually – trains used those railway lines in the early part of the 20th century. Market When Thomas Wallett sold a few cattle and some sheep on open ground at the Market Hill around 1856 he probably never imagined it was the start of what was to become the premier livestock sales centre in south west Scotland. Joined by his brother, the business flourished. By 1888 the striking octagonal auction ring had been built along with pens and byres which could hold 2,000 cattle and 30,000 sheep. Modernisation and growth have continued over the years and it is the official auctioneers to the Luing Cattle Society, Galloway Cattle Society, Belted Galloway Cattle Society, Salers Cattle Society and the Bluefaced Leicester Sheep Association. Famous People Squadron Leader Patrick Gifford was the first fighter pilot to shoot down an enemy plane in British airspace on 16th October, 1939. Before the war, Patrick worked in his father’s law firm in Castle Douglas. He became Procurator Fiscal and served on the Town Council. During the war he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and promoted to Squadron Leader but sadly, he was shot down over Belgium. His body was never recovered. In 2010, a granite memorial to Gifford was placed in the grounds of Castle Douglas library. Samuel Rutherford Crockett (1859-1914) the Galloway novelist lived in Cotton Street Castle Douglas from 1867 to 1876. Around a third of his 67 published works feature Castle Douglas (fictionalised as Cairn Edward) as a setting. To find out more about S R Crockett and his writing you can visit the online Crockett society: www.gallowayraiders.co.uk (1831-1879) was one of the world’s greatest scientists and acclaimed as the father of modern physics. Born in Edinburgh, the family moved to Glenlair House near Corsock and Maxwell is buried in Parton churchyard. Today almost all the technology we use from radio to radar, from colour photography to television is down to Maxwell’s discovery. Brown Derby (1914-2000) Born in Castle Douglas in 1914 Brown Derby was an actor in both films and on television. His films include The Queen of Spades (1949), He appeared in the television series The Omega Factor (1979) and was in some episodes of Dr Finlay’s Casebook. He died in 2000. Morag Fullarton has been a theatre and television director in the UK and abroad for many years. Her late father, Donald, was the man responsible for the project to convert the old church into the town’s theatre. She directed the acclaimed television series Two Thousand Acres of Sky filmed in Wigtownshire. Other TV work includes Home With the Braithwaites, Rebus, Taggart and Scott and Bailey and BAFTA winning This Life. Theatre credits include Mistero Buffo withRobbie Coltrane. As well as directing she has written for, amongst many more, Taggart and River City. Explore the Town

The Town Trail is a good way to get a feel for Castle Douglas. It’s a gentle stroll around the town, taking in sights of particular interest. The walk begins at the Market Hill car park and walking onto King Street with the library and art gallery on the left you will see the Imperial Hotel opposite. It, like the Douglas Arms at the bottom of King Street was once a coaching inn and had facilities to stable horses until the 1920s. The sign on the wall of the Douglas Arms dates from cattle droving days and shows distances to various towns. Turn right at the Douglas Arms into St. Andrew’s Street and walk to the Town Hall, built in 1862 with the town emblem on the frontage. Continue along the street to the junction and turn right into Cotton Street, named for Sir William Douglas’s ill-fated © Anthony O’Neil cotton industry. Castle Douglas Town Hall Further up the street the building which is now the community centre was once the High School. Cross the road here onto Railway Terrace, turning left onto Wallace Court. This is part of the route of the former Stranraer to Dumfries railway line (1861 – 1965). Continue on this road to the old railway bridge at Abercromby Road. If you cross the road the route of the railway track can still be made out past the Golf Course. Walk down Abercromby Road, crossing Cotton Street back onto St Andrew’s Street, retracing your steps to the corner of King Street. Here stands the Clock Tower, the location of the original Town Hall. The first tower, built by Sir William Douglas, was destroyed by fire in 1892 as did a second clock tower forty years later. A plaque on the wall states that in May 1935 Henry J. Hewat of Paterson, New Jersey, USA, donated the present clock tower to the town Cross over King Street and continue along St Andrew Street to the Kings Arms Hotel, believed to be around 200 years old. Turn left along Queen Street and continue up its length. This was a planned residential area of 18th century Castle Douglas. Near the top of the street the hexagonal building is the auction market. The nearby Market Inn was once the veterinary surgeon’s house. Back at the car park, the small grassy mound is the former bandstand. The Tourist Information Centre beside it is an essential stop to pick up leaflets on local walks, accommodation, things to see and do in the town and surrounding area. Things to do in Town

“A unique shopping experience” The claim that Castle Douglas offers ‘a unique shopping experience’ is no idle boast. With lots of independent businesses offering a wide range of locally produced foods including family- owned butchers, bakers,

King Street, Castle Douglas © Hazel Groome greengrocer, fishmonger, a chocolatier and delis, plus gift shops, fashion and clothing for all, bespoke tailoring, homeware, antiques and much more, there is not much the town’s retailers can’t provide the discerning shopper. But it’s not only the range of goods for sale which makes shopping in Castle Douglas such a special experience, the atmosphere is warm and friendly. People greet each other in the street, friends stop to chat and shopkeepers serve you with a smile. In an era when many towns are losing their independent shops Castle Douglas is thriving. It is helped to do so by the Food Town Initiative (a sub-group of the Castle Douglas Development Forum), founded in 2001 to promote the town’s independent businesses through publicity, marketing and the organisation of special events through the year. An annual Food Town festival is held in early June (see www.cd-foodtown. org for details). Other special seasonal events are organised by the CDDF and it’s sub groups, which include Civic Week in July, Scottish Food Fortnight and a Christmas event. These all make up a not to be missed calendar of events within the town. The town has many excellent cafés serving snacks or full meals where you can re-fuel during your shopping trip. Or you could have sandwiches made up and enjoy a picnic by the loch. Sulwath Brewery is tucked away at 209 King Street. Its real ales are traditionally brewed to exacting standards with no added colourings, extracts or concentrates. Tours of the brewery are conducted every Monday and Friday at 1pm. A well-stocked bar allows visitors to enjoy sampling the various beers as well as buying bottles and barrels to take home. The name Sulwath is the ancient name for the Solway Estuary, particularly to a crossing near the River Esk. www.sulwathbrewers.co.uk Castle Douglas Art Gallery The art gallery, part of Scotland’s museums, is situated beside the red sandstone library at the top of the town. It was gifted by a local artist in 1938 and completely re-vamped in 1996. It hosts a regularly changing programme of exhibitions often featuring © John Darch the work of local artists and craft groups as well as touring exhibitions. Admission is free. www.dumgal.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=3617 Other galleries in the town: At the foot of King Street is the McGill Duncan Gallery owned and curated by mother and daughter team, Jill and Zoe Blamire. The gallery has five exhibiting spaces for the carefully selected paintings, glass and pottery, including one space up a spiral wooden staircase, It sells contemporary work by national and international artists and makers and Scottish paintings from the 19th to the early 20th century and has several exhibitions each year. www.mcgillduncangallery.com On the other side of the road, just below the clock tower at 212 King Street, Angela Lawrence has her Clience Studio and gallery. In her work, mostly in oils but also some watercolours, Angela focuses on seascapes, many of which are local scenes. www.cliencestudio.co.uk At 184 King Street you will find A D Livingston & Son shop, workshop and gallery. The family business specialises in furniture restoring and making. Two doors down from the King Street shop, the workshop and gallery are tucked away in an 18th century courtyard. Regularly changing displays in the gallery show work by local artists and photographers. Occasional events such as poetry readings are held in the gallery. www.livingstons-antiques.co. uk Fullarton Theatre is situated on Lochside Road, close to the park and loch. Converted from a former church, this is a professionally equipped, 170 seat theatre managed and staffed by volunteers. It offers a packed programme of plays, concerts, recently released films and live shows streamed from major theatres. There is a bar in which to enjoy pre-show and interval refreshments. Youth and adult amateur dramatic groups use the theatre and it hosts the annual one-act play festival for all amateur drama groups in the area. The theatre is named in honour of the late Donald Fullarton whose vision and drive was responsible for the project taking shape. www.thefullarton.co.uk

Swimming Pool & Fitness Suite, Market Street. Castle Douglas Swimming Pool is small at only 15.75m long by 6.6m wide – however, it is quite big enough if you need to work off a full Scottish breakfast. The pool offers a variety of activities including swimming lessons; swim fit training and public swimming. There is also an attached fitness suite with 20 stations. www.dumgal.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=4122 Golf: The whole area is popular with golfers who come to play on several of the courses in the region. Castle Douglas has its own 9-hole parkland course which is suitable for all levels of golfer. Visitors are welcome and the course is easy to walk although buggies are available to hire in the summer. Daily and weekly green fees are available. The well-appointed club house can accommodate up to 90 people. www.cdgolfclub.co.uk

Nocturnal Wildlife Tours “See wildlife in a totally different light” “A truly unique experience awaits you” Be prepared to be amazed by what you can see and experience with the aid of the professional range of hand held night vision and thermal imaging wildlife observation equipment. Detect animals at up to 600 metres away or get up close and personal with a badger or roe deer without them knowing you’re there! Tours for up to 5 people start form the companies premises in King Street from where you will be transported in the specially prepared night tours vehicle complete with external mounted thermal camera and internal viewing screens before heading out on foot to look for wildlife. www.wildlifetours.co.uk, e: [email protected], t: 07483 131791

Threave Gardens/Threave Estate, the house and gardens were gifted to the National Trust for Scotland in 1948 by the owner, Major Alan Gordon who was keen to see it used as a wild fowl refuge. The world-renowned gardens (also home to a © M. J. Richardson school of horticulture) welcome thousands of visitors each year. In the spring the daffodil displays are stunning while in the summer the herbaceous beds and borders are at their best and in autumn the heathers and trees provide a truly colourful sight. There is much to enjoy; from the walled garden and glasshouses to a sculpture garden with work by Scottish artists. The gardening students live in Threave House but the beautifully restored public rooms are open to visitors – book in advance. The venue can also be booked for weddings. The visitor centre has a wonderful range of plants, many of which are grown in the gardens and a restaurant. www.nts.org.uk/Property/Threave-Estate Threave Castle Once the stronghold of the Black Douglasses the castle stands on an island in the River Dee. A massive tower house, complete with artillery house and dungeons, was built in the 14th century for Archibald the Grim. It was his father, James, who carried Robert the Bruce’s heart into battle. Bruce’s son David II bestowed the title of on Archibald. It was the English who gave him the title ‘the Grim’ because of his terrifying appearance in battle. Not only did he expel the English from , their last foothold in the Scottish West March, he pacified the warring Galloway men, too. The castle is a tower house of five storeys, almost 30 metres in height and one of the first of this type to be built in Scotland. The walls were three metres thick, with only small windows facing the island and battlements which provided an excellent defence. The artillery house was an innovative addition to its defence. During excavation in the 1970s, remains of other buildings which once surrounded the castle were found, including an outer hall, living quarters for servants and a harbour. Threave Castle is in the care of Historic Scotland. Visiting the castle involves a short walk to the jetty. Ring the brass bell hanging there and the ferry will appear to take you across to the island. www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/propertyre- sults/propertyabout.htm?PropID=PL_288&Pro- pName=Threave%20Castle Ospreys, The Threave Ospreys are a ‘must see’ either before or after a trip to the Castle. The viewing platform is only a few metres from the jetty. Over the years ospreys had been seen in the area and platforms were built to encourage the birds and the following year an osprey from Wales took an interest in the nest. He and his partner bonded in 2008 and bred successfully the following year. One year, the female did not return after the winter but, fortunately a young female appeared and took up with the widowed male. The viewing platform is possibly the best in the country and during the season NTS volunteers are present every day to talk to visitors and let them use a powerful telescope providing superb views of the nest and the osprey activity. It’s a popular haunt for locals in the long summer evenings, so you are sure to find someone to chat to. www.nts.org.uk/threave_ospreys Out of Town Activities

Several great activity centres are practically on the doorstep and well worth a visit. The CocoaBean Company offers children the chance to make their own chocolate – a perfect way to spend a rainy day (it does, unfortunately sometimes rain in Castle Douglas). Accompanying adults can watch proceedings from the café which serves coffees, lunches and snacks. There are indoor, outdoor and soft play areas. No advance booking is required.. www.thecocoabeancompany.com Cream o’ Galloway has been making ice cream with milk from its dairy since 1994 and visitors can see the production area where it is made. You can tour the farm, learn about organic farming, and meet the cows as they come in for milking. There is plenty to do - nature trails for walking or cycling, adventure playgrounds, a pedal kart track and an indoor play area. New in 2015 is a purpose built area for under 6s with balance bikes, trikes and bouncy cows. Take a picnic or eat in the café and, of course, you can indulge in luxury ice cream in an exciting range of flavours – and take some home for later. Check the website for opening times and event details. Booking for events is always recommended. www.creamogalloway.co.uk Laggan Outdoor: 17 miles west on the A75 is an activity centre for those with a sense of adventure. Many activities are available at all levels from complete begineers upwards. A truly adventerous day out. www.lagganoutdoor.co.uk The Great Outdoors For those who love outdoor pursuits, Castle Douglas really does have everything on its doorstep: walking, hill climbing, cycling, mountain biking, golf, fishing, bird watching, water sports – the list is endless and the amenities superb. The stretches over more than 370 square miles and encompasses forest, moorland, hills, lochs and burns. It is home to a wide variety of wildlife including red deer, feral goats, red squirrels, otter, pine marten, black grouse, buzzards, red kite and more. Each season the many varieties of plants, including rare mosses, and flowers have their own colourful displays from early snowdrops through primroses followed by bluebells. On the A712 Queensway you have the opportunity to get up close to feral goats and also red deer. Guided walks are available. Three visitor centres within the park at Glentrool, Kirroughtree (both home to two of the mountain biking trails) and Clatteringshaws offer plenty to see and learn to enhance your visit to the forest.

© Hazel Groome © Keith Kirk The Raiders Road forest drive is only open to vehicles between April and October though it is open to cyclists, walkers and horse riders all year. Along the way stop at Stroan Loch by the old viaduct and enjoy the peace or choose to picnic by the Otter Pool where the river splashes over huge flat boulders creating a water play area kids will love. www.scotland.forestry.gov.uk/forest- parks/galloway-forest-park Star Gazing: The Galloway Forest Park is one of the darkest places in Europe and in 2009 the International Dark Sky Association awarded it the first Dark Sky Park status in the . In fact, it received a gold tier award status, the highest possible. A sky quality meter, which measures the darkness of the sky overhead, gave the skies above the Galloway Forest Park a reading of 23, only slightly less than a photographer’s dark room reading of 24, and considerably higher than in Glasgow, say, with a likely reading of around 15. With less than ten per cent of the population in the United Kingdom able to see the Milky Way, it is easy to understand why the skies above the forest are becoming a star attraction. www.scotland.forestry.gov.uk/forest-parks/galloway-forest-park/dark- skies Bird Watching. There are several places which provide excellent opportunities for bird watchers, both inland and on the coast. Mersehead on the Solway coast is a definite go-see at any time of year. There are several viewing hides, nature trails, beautiful shoreline and a visitor centre. In the autumn thousands of barnacle geese arrive from Svalbard to winter here, grazing on the vegetation. Ken Dee © Keith Kirk Marshes has both wetland and woodland. A trail leads to a goose/kite viewing platform and two hides, with information boards. In winter Greenland white-fronted geese and Icelandic greylag geese can be seen along with other wildfowl. Pied flycatcher, wood warbler, nuthatch and a number of more common woodland birds can be spotted in the woods. A Ken Dee speciality are elusive willow tits. Threave Estate is home to breeding ospreys in the spring and summer, Threave is a good place to spot oystercatchers, lapwing, curlew, redshank and snipe. Resident herons stand patiently at the edge of the river and you might be lucky enough to see a kingfisher flash by. Pink-footed and greylag geese arrive in winter and birds of prey such as hen harriers, buzzards and peregrine falcons are present. There are five bird hides along the river and marshes. Check out the RSPB website for those and other bird-watching information. www.rspb.org.uk/groups/galloway/ places

© Allan Wright Red Kite Trail: In the late 19th century the red kite became extinct in Scotland. To re-establish red kites in the south of Scotland, 104 birds were released between 2001 and 2005 near Laurieston, six miles from Castle Douglas. The

© Ian Saunders Galloway Kite Trail takes in some twenty miles of glorious countryside, with an extra fourteen miles of forest drive when the roads are open in summer. The trail goes in an anti-clockwise direction, signposted with brown road signs. There are several viewing points with interpretation boards; viewing hides; and two red kite sculptures can be seen on the trail at the villages of Parton and Mossdale. A feeding station with a viewing hide has been established at Bellymack Hill Farm near Laurieston, where up to 100 kites and more may be seen together providing a spectacular show. www.gallowaykitetrail.com The countryside, woodlands and rivers around Castle Douglas also © Calum Murray provide opportunities to see wildlife such as red squirrels, roe deer and otters. Wildlife photographer Keith Kirk has an excellent website for information on the local wildlife, what can be seen, when and where: www.dumfriesandgallowaywildlife.co.uk Walking: Walkers of all levels and abilities will find plenty of interesting walking opportunities in the area around the town. An easy circular walk (5.5km) around Carlingwark Loch takes in the loch side and countryside on well-marked paths and pavements. The route takes you past Kelton Kirk, the Douglas Mausoleum and the entrance to Threave Gardens. Screel Hill can be seen from almost anywhere in the town. It is only 344m but some of it is rough walking – with a few scrambling bits near the top. From the summit cairn the views on one side show Castle Douglas and the surrounding countryside while View from Screel Hill on the other side stunning views of and Bay provide a great reward for the effort. The offer plenty of more challenging climbs for hill walkers with more than 40 summits over 2,000 feet with , the highest at 2,766 feet. The Galloway Mountain rescue website provides an excellent overview of the hill ranges and what the walker can expect. www.gallowaymrt.org.uk/galloway_hills.htm There are many lovely coastal walks; some offering glorious clifftop views, others more gentle outlooks and sandy bays – truly something to suit everyone’s tastes and abilities. Some of these include: Rockcliffe, , Balcary Bay and Rascarrel, Brighouse Bay circuit. For more information on walking in the area take a look at www. walkhighlands.co.uk/galloway/castle-douglas.shtml or this one: www. kirkcudbright.co.uk/userfiles/file/walking-cd.pdf produced by the local council or take a look at www.gallowaywalking.co.uk Cycling: Cycling is becoming increasingly popular as a recreational activity, both on/off road as a way of exploring the countryside and mountain biking. Castle Douglas is well placed to serve both. For a start it has three cycle shops in the town and Galloway Holidays, a cycling and walking holiday business which can organise tailor- made holidays. Visitors from around the world are now discovering what is on offer to the cyclist in this part of the world. A look at the website shows why: www. gallowaycycling.co.uk For mountain bikers Castle Douglas is only six miles from one of the top 7 Stanes mountain biking trails at . In fact of the seven world class trails, four are to be found in within easy reach of Castle Douglas. Dalbeattie 7 Stanes has several graded trails from the easy green, mainly on forest trails, to the heart racing black trail with its ‘terrible twins’ and ‘the slab’. www.7stanesmountainbiking.com/Dalbeattie Water Sports: Enthusiasts of water sports need look no further than Loch Ken and The Galloway Activity Centre. It offers sailing, windsurfing, powerboating, kayaking, canoeing – and a wobbly water park. Less than half an hour’s drive on the A713, it is an ideal place for a family or groups. Taster sessions, both for individuals and families, range from one and a half hours to a full-day of six hours. If you prefer adventures on dry land you could try combat laser games, archery, mountain biking, orienteering or climbing. A waterfront café provides panoramic views of the loch. www.lochken.co.uk/home Also on the loch, there are facilities to learn to water ski or wakeboard (like skateboarding, snowboarding and any other kind of boarding but on water) at Loch Ken Water Ski and Wakeboard School. It also offers speed boat trips, rides in an inflatable banana boat, or take out a ringo. www.skilochken.co.uk Fishing: With an abundance of lochs and rivers to fish in and around Castle Douglas, there are endless opportunities for salmon, trout and coarse fishing. You don’t need to go far – it is free to fish Carlingwark Loch from the banks (no boats) for pike and perch. For a list of places to fish, kinds of fishing and contact details check out this website: www.castle-douglas.com/castle-douglas-tourism/castle- douglas-fishing.html The Castle Douglas Angling Association has a five-mile stretch on the River Urr with a number of popular pools. A range of different types of water on the stretch and methods used will depend upon the water height. For more information please contact the Galloway Fisheries Trust office, tel: 01671 403011. McCowan & Son on King Street, Castle Douglas is the shop to go to for fishing tackle and permits. Kirkcudbright Bay Sea Cruises provides sea fishing opportunities (call 01556 690289) or you can fish off the rocks at some of the beaches. Golf: Scotland is, of course, the home of golf so it is to be expected the area around Castle Douglas provides plenty of choice for the visiting golfer. Apart from the 9-hole course in the town itself, there are several 9, 11 and 18-hole courses in the area. The VisitScotland website gives details and links to the various courses: www.visitscotland.com/see-do/ activities/golf/dumfries-galloway Horse Riding: One way to admire the beautiful countryside or shoreline is on horseback. Several equestrian centres are situated close to the town: at Barend near Dalbeattie, Ringford, Kelton and Brighouse. They offer trekking for all abilities, hacking for more experienced riders and tuition is available for novices. Information on what is available and contact details can be found here: www.welcometoscotland.com/things-to-do/activities/horse-riding/ dumfries-galloway

Beaches: Castle Douglas is not far from the sea and there are many miles of glorious coastline and sandy beaches which make for a fantastic day out for all the family. Rockcliffehas a small sandy beach and when the tide is out it is possible to walk across to the nature sanctuary of Rough Island and leave a stone on the cairn. You can also walk around the coast or the inland Jubilee Path to Kippford which is popular with yachtsmen. You will soon understand why this area has long been known as the Scottish Riviera. Sandyhills has miles of sandy beach and a view across to . Plenty of car parking is available (for a charge), and there is also a shop, toilets and caravan park. The Doon, Brighouse Bay, Mossyard and Carrick are all popular beaches with locals and visitors alike. Each has its own charm. The Doon has a large grassy area with picnic benches above the sandy beach, toilets are available. Brighouse is next to the Brighouse Bay Holiday Park which has amenities such as a swimming pool, bar and bistro. The beach is a large, flat sandy stretch. It is also the starting point for a circular walk along clifftops and through rich farming land. Mossyard has three sandy beaches and many people launch dinghies, small boats and kayaks here. Sandgreen has a large caravan site and is popular with sailors and wind surfers. The bay is divided by buoys into sections for the various boating activities and for swimming. There is a parking charge and toilets are available. Carrick, which is adjacent to Sandgreen, has a sandy beach with a couple of other bays. Dinghies, surfboards and canoes can be launched easily – jet skis are not allowed keeping it safe for swimmers. It’s also a good starting place for walks and it is possible to walk out to Ardwall Island – check tide times and err on the side of caution – once home to a small monastery. Murray’s Isles are home to breeding colonies of gulls and cormorants. Carrick is one of the most tranquil beaches and has some stunning sunsets.

Carlingwark Loch in the evening Annual Events

Spring Fling is the best visual art and craft open studio event in the whole of the UK and takes place over the Spring Bank holiday weekend. Almost 100 of the region’s artists and makers open their studios to the public, the weekend attracts some 10,000 visitors from all over the world. Several studios in Castle Douglas are open and many more can be found in towns and villages only a short drive away. The brochure, which is always a beautiful production in itself, shows the location of all artists and craft people taking part. www.spring-fling.co.uk/event

A Food Festival is held in early June and is designed to attract people to come and discover all that’s great about local food producers and sellers. There is always a fantastic buzz about the town at this event. The festival involves local and nationally well known chefs demonstrating their skills and various local food & drink producers and retailers who always look forward to the June festival and in the past it has attracted large crowds to the town. To assuage the hunger pangs brought on by seeing so much variety of foodstuffs there is often a hog roast organised by one of the local butchers and the chance to sample lots of free tasty nibbles. Lots of foodie attractions including cooking demonstrations make this a great day out for food lovers of all ages. The CDDF and it’s subgroup The Food Town Initiative work hard each year to offer a great festival and as each year passes new ideas and programmes are being considered. Please check out the web site www.cd-foodtown.org and our home site www. castledouglas.info for details about this years festival.

Civic Week is a week-long run of events and entertainment in the last week in July. One of the main, and most colourful, features of the week is the Charter Ceremony, a symbolic reminder of Sir William Douglas and his presentation of the first charter. Sashes are given to the year’s chosen Douglas Lad and Lass, representing the town’s young people. Activities vary from year to year but include sporting fixtures, fishing competition, pet show, fancy dress competition, a hidden article competition in the town’s shop windows, treasure hunts and much more. The week culminates in the Douglas Day parade of decorated floats and walkers in fancy dress. The fun continues with pipe bands, dancers, children’s activities, musical entertainment and beer tent at Lochside Park. The grand finale is a stunning firework display over the loch. Civic Week has a Facebook page on which you can keep up to date with what is happening: www.facebook.com/CastleDouglasCivicEvents

The Stewartry Agricultural Show, known locally as the ‘coo show’ provides a fantastic day out for all the family on the first Thursday in August. The Stewartry show best demonstrates the rich diversity and quality of livestock in the area. Not only does the show provide an opportunity see some of the best livestock in the region being judged by experts in their field, the showground is packed with trade stands, locally produced foodstuffs, craft stalls including a very high standard of sticks and shepherds’ crooks, floral displays and all kinds of entertainment and activities. There are very popular horse events, a dog show, not to mention a beer tent. The show is held at the Stewartry Rugby Club ground at Greenlaw. There is plenty of free parking. A free bus shuttle service runs every hour from the Market Hill. www.stewartryas.co.uk Christmas is a special time in Castle Douglas. Christmas lights along the main street give the town a festive appearance. On the day of the switch-on some of the shops stay open longer giving people the chance to make a head start on their gift buying. Carol singing, bands and Santa in his sleigh, all help to make it a special event. The local Rotary Club has a standing arrangement with Santa to come and visit the town on several occasions in the run up to the big day. Castle Douglas is a thriving market town nestling between the Galloway hills and forests to the north and the sweeping beaches of the to the south, the historic market town of Castle Douglas has always been at the heart of local agricultural and commercial life. Today the town continues to flourish. Livestock markets are still held every week, attracting discerning buyers and breeders from around the world, while the town’s unique mix of businesses attracts shoppers and visitors time and again. When it comes to speciality shopping, Castle Douglas has quite a list, with something for the whole family in the many independant shops. The gardens and parks in Castle Douglas enjoy beautiful scenery and rural tranquillity. Picturesque Carlingwark Loch at the foot of the town is the perfect place to enjoy a picnic, freshly picked at local delis and sandwich shops. Threave House and Gardens, owned by the National Trust for Scotland, is a peaceful haven where you can witness what life was like in a bygone era and walk in the magnificent grounds. Historic Threave Castle, marooned in the middle of the River Dee and only reached by a brief crossing by boat, is shrouded in history, mystery and a magic all of its own. Castle Douglas offers the best of both worlds.

This booklet has been produced by The Castle Douglas Development Forum (SCO43639), an organisation set up to promote the Town of Castle Douglas for residents and visitors. Please visit the website for a ‘Whats On’ guide and to discover the lateset news, events and activities

www.castledouglas.info