Dumfries and Galloway Escapade
Gosia's escapade to Dumfries and Galloway in takes in some brilliant seaside views and a host of interesting sites on the Scottish coast.
Dumfries and Galloway Escapade
https://www.contours.co.uk/dumfries-and-galloway-escapade
by Gosia Giernalczyk
The August Bank Holiday weekend was the time my friend and I chose to visit the Dumfries and Galloway area in Scotland. Since we both live in the East Midlands, we do not enjoy many opportunities to visit Scotland, but it always feels like an exciting idea.
I have been to various places in my life, but there is something incredibly special about Scotland, which is wild, mysterious and wonderful. Even the changeable weather is an asset: it creates so many beautiful moments, like a unique canvas on which nature paints different works of art.
On Friday afternoon, we started our trip up north. Luckily, there was not too much traffic, and we arrived at our camping destination in Sandyhills at around 2100 hours.
It was a bit of a challenge to set up a tent in the late evening, as it was already dark, but we managed to light the space with quite a powerful torch. It was a great feeling when the tent was ready and we could go to sleep.
I enjoy camping for a few reasons, such as the possibility of being so close to nature and getting back to a much simpler lifestyle. I am also a fan of bonfires. I guess sitting around a fire and talking to each other is one of those things that humans have done through the centuries and across different civilisations.
Of course, camping has some challenges, such as being very weather-dependent. Before our trip, we watched the weather forecast intently for a few days and came very close to cancelling our plans, as there was some risk of stronger rain and we were worried about the temperature at night.
Luckily, the Scottish weather was kind to us. Although it rained one day and two nights, it was not unbearable and did not make our trip unpleasant.
My friend is a keen runner, so on Saturday morning we drove to Castle Douglas so she could participate in a parkrun around Carlingwark Loch. My key role was to cheer for her and the rest of the group, and I was amazed by how busy this event was.
After the run, we went for a coffee in one of many local cafes.
From Castle Douglas, we drove back to the camping site to catch a bus to Kippford and go for a walk. The idea was to walk along the coast path, and the weather was ideal — not too hot or cold and neither windy nor rainy.
Along the trail, we encountered one beach which, from a distance, seemed to have creamy sand. I kept thinking to myself, ‘Oh, such a beautiful beach!’ What a surprise when we arrived and realised that the entire beach was covered in shells. She sells seashells on the seashore came to my mind immediately.
Picking shells by the sea is a simple yet delightful activity, but usually there are not as many seashells and it requires some effort. Picking shells on this beach was a one-second activity!
We carried on along the path, seeing some houses and thinking to ourselves that it would be such a lovely place to live. How amazing it must be to look at the sea every day and to notice how it changes through the seasons.
After some time, we reached the next point on our walk, which was Rockcliffe Village. An ice cream van arrived, which was a great addition to the destination and summer holiday season.
We took a break to enjoy sitting by the sea, then turned back to the walk. There were a few more open spaces ahead, and the view was breathtaking. A part of the walk was uphill and along cliffs. We were a bit surprised that we met only a few people along the path.
After some time we reached another bay with very interesting rock formations and decided to walk down from the trail to see the rocks up close.
The place felt a bit like from some sort of fairytale; for sure it was full of the magic that only nature can create.
I really enjoyed visiting this remote location and kept thinking about how many people had been there before and how beautiful it was.
As we still had some distance to walk to reach our campsite, we returned shortly to the track, again going up and down along the cliffs with amazing sea views.
Just before the evening, we arrived back at the campsite to enjoy a hot drink and some food, which always tastes the best after a long walk. It was such a lovely day!
After a reasonably good night’s sleep in our tent, on Sunday we decided to do something different and drive to Gatehouse of Fleet.
Gatehouse of Fleet is a small, lovely and very green town located by the River Fleet in Kirkcudbrightshire. It was very nice to visit a café located in an old mill. In the area, there are plenty of different cafes and bakeries, which is always a big bonus! For lunch we visited a different café, which also was great.
After lunch, our next destination was one of the most popular towns in the area — Kirkcudbright, which is known as ‘Artists’ Town’. Many painters moved to the town at the end of 19th century.
The first place we visited in town was the Town Hall Museum, which has an impressive collection of work by different Scottish artists.
The collection included many historical pieces, but a temporary part of the exhibition hosted the work of a modern artist: Joshua Miles. A video on show in the gallery explained how the artist finds inspirations for his art. A big part of the process for Joshua Miles is visiting local beaches, cliffs and spending time in nature. It was interesting to learn how important light is in the creative process.
After visiting the Town Hall Museum, we went for a stroll through the town and towards the river. We passed many different small art galleries and shops. As it was a Sunday afternoon, most of them had already closed. I need to come back to this town in the future to visit them.
We passed the ruins of MacLellan’s Castle, which was built in the late 16th century. The castle overlooks the River Dee. For now, it is not possible to visit the castle inside, as it is temporarily closed.
The next destination for our mini walk was a stroll along the city walls and down to the fishing harbour.
I enjoy looking at boats and ships, and there are so many diverse types of them. I always think that it would be wonderful to have a boat and just sail away whenever I want. “A ship in harbour is safe, but that is not what ships are built for” (John A. Shedd) is still one of my favourite quotes.
I guess I would like to live by the sea one day, and if not own a boat, then at least watch them and the sea every day.
This latest trip to Scotland was full of new places to visit, wonderful nature, a bit of melancholy when I was looking at the sea, and a multitude of cups of tea and coffee.
Scotland, I’ll be back!
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