Stargazing, walking, beaches, castles and some excellent places to eat.
Dumfries & Galloway rewards the curious. There’s enough here to fill a fortnight — or you can ignore all of it entirely and not leave the fire. Both are perfectly valid. Here are some of our favourite things within easy reach of Glaisters Farm.
Glaisters Farm sits on the edge of one of the world’s great dark sky areas.
Glaisters Farm sits on the edge of Galloway International Dark Sky Park — one of only a handful of Gold Tier dark sky parks in the world. Step outside on a clear night and the Milky Way spreads right across the sky.
On lucky nights, the Aurora Borealis makes an appearance too — the photograph above was taken from our own garden. No equipment needed. Just step outside and look up.
The Dark Space Planetarium in Kirkcudbright is worth a visit — an immersive dome screen paired with interactive exhibits. Good for all ages.
Aurora Borealis photographed from our own garden.
Some of the best of Dumfries & Galloway’s towns are within easy reach of the farm.
The nearest town and a seriously good food destination — Castle Douglas has earned its ‘Food Town’ title. Independent butchers, an excellent artisan baker and a Tesco for essentials. There’s also a swimming pool, theatre and cinema, and an 18-hole golf course.
Our favourites: The Earth’s Crust (sourdough — sell out fast), Ballard Butchers, Designs Gallery & Café, Threave Castle.
The regional capital, 30 minutes east, with everything you’d expect: supermarkets, a high street, a leisure centre and swimming pool. Robert Burns spent his final years here — the Robert Burns House is worth a stop.
Our favourites: Kilnford Farm Shop & Café (just outside town), Bob and Berts (excellent coffee — the milkshakes are worth the trip).
Part fishing port, part artists’ colony, Kirkcudbright has been drawing painters since the nineteenth century and still has the independent galleries and studios to show for it. MacLellan’s Castle broods over the harbour.
Our favourites: The Auld Alliance (Scottish cooking with a French accent — book ahead), Broughton House & Garden.
Loch Arthur Farm Shop & Café — a remarkable working community farm producing outstanding food. The Clachan Inn in St John’s Town of Dalry is a CAMRA Good Beer Guide regular serving freshly made food. Both worth going out of your way for.
The Solway coast is underrated — wide sandy beaches, clear water and rarely crowded.
A wide, gently shelving sandy beach on the Solway coast — shallow enough for paddling, with good rock pools at low tide, and long views south across the Solway Firth to the Cumbrian hills. Car park, small café and public toilets behind the beach.
The Solway coast stretches for miles, with mudflats and saltmarsh beloved by birdwatchers and several small sandy coves. The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust reserve at Caerlaverock is one of the best places in Scotland to see wintering barnacle geese in spectacular numbers.
The Galloway Hills offer some of the best walking in southern Scotland — without the crowds of the Highlands.
The Merrick (843m) is the highest point in the Southern Uplands — a serious hill with a proper summit and outstanding views. The Rhinns of Kells ridge gives a long, rugged day out above the treeline. Criffel is shorter but rewards with stunning views across the Solway to the Lake District.
A 10-mile forest drive through the heart of Galloway Forest Park, linking Loch Ken and Clatteringshaws. Open to vehicles Easter to October. Head for Otters Pool — pictured above — to picnic beside the River Dee. Small toll for vehicles. Walkers and cyclists welcome year-round.
Sailing, paddleboarding, windsurfing, kayaking, archery, climbing and more — enough to fill a full day on and around the water. The loch also has good course fishing if you’d rather take things at a slower pace. Book online.
Red kites were reintroduced to Dumfries & Galloway in the 1990s and the population has thrived. The centrepiece is the feeding station at Bellymack Hill Farm near Laurieston, where over a hundred kites gather at the 2pm daily feed — one of the more spectacular wildlife spectacles in Scotland.
Seven world-class centres across southern Scotland.
Seven mountain biking centres spread across southern Scotland, each marked by a stone sculpture reflecting a local myth or legend. Routes are colour-coded by difficulty and wind through some genuinely spectacular forest scenery. Kirroughtree (near Newton Stewart) and Dalbeattie (near Castle Douglas) are closest to the farm.
There’s plenty here to keep younger guests entertained.
The Dark Space Planetarium in Kirkcudbright pairs beautifully with the stargazing on offer from the garden. An immersive dome screen takes you through the solar system and interactive exhibits let children experience life as an astronaut — including the genuine frustration of working in astronaut gloves. Good for all ages. Book ahead.
Chocolate-making workshops combined with an indoor and outdoor play centre — a combination that tends to go down well. There’s a café for adults to retreat to while the sugar rush kicks in.
A family-run dairy farm just outside Castle Douglas that now welcomes visitors — with indoor soft play, outdoor play areas, a working farm to explore and a coffee shop. Tractor tours run at weekends and during school holidays.
A textbook medieval stronghold — wide moat, twin-towered gatehouse, lofty battlements. Caerlaverock has a turbulent history as a castle caught in the thick of border conflicts, and wears it well. One of the most atmospheric castles in Scotland.
Book Glaisters Farm as your base and discover everything Dumfries & Galloway has to offer.
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