The Garden of Earthly Delight

Our travels started with a family reunion in the Lake District. 

It has been over two years since Mrs B. last saw her brother, Gordon and his fiance Paula, so a reunion was long overdue. We had arranged to meet up in Keswick and an early start meant that we arrived at lunchtime.

After successfully tackling the challenge of finding somewhere to park (on a bank holiday Monday) we managed to rendezvous with Gordon and Paula and spent a lovely afternoon strolling to Friars Crag and around Keswick catching up, interspersed with food and drink. It was a wonderful way to start our travels.

An overnight stay at a Travelodge just outside Penrith meant that we were well placed to continue travelling North but before setting off anywhere we treated ourselves to breakfast at Rheged - an upmarket cafe/cinema/shop complex just off the A66 - which was 10 minutes walk away from where we stayed overnight, along a quiet lane. Suitably refreshed it was time to start driving. We passed the sign welcoming us to Scotland and shortly after passing Gretna Green we headed westwards towards, for us, new territory: Dumfries and Galloway. 

The night before I'd had a look at places we might visit on the way to our next accommodation and, just after passing Dumfries, we diverted to a National Trust for Scotland property, Threave House and Gardens. 

Threave House

This turned out to be a good choice for the first break in our journey. The house was closed but the extensive gardens were beautiful, set in rolling hills with views to the Solway Firth. The highlight though was a woodland walk where, at a fork in the path, we diverted to a red squirrel hide. Within seconds of walking in we saw our first squirrel and for the next 20 minutes sat entranced by the antics of red squirrels coming to the feeders, chasing each other and scampering away through the trees. 

After lunch taken on the cafe balcony we made another short detour to another part of the Threave estate to take a walk to see Threave Castle. The remains of the castle, a large granite tower house, sit on an island in the River Dee. It was built in 1369 by Archibald 'the Grim', Lord of Galloway and is currently closed, so we couldn't summon the ferry to take us across to see it up close, but it still made an impressive sight. Even better and an unexpected bonus was a sighting of an osprey. Just past the castle was a viewing platform and as we approached a volunteer told us that an osprey was perched on a tree about 400 meters away. Using the high powered telescope we got to see it clearly, clutching a large flat fish it had caught. Walking back I was thrilled I'd finally got to see this magnificent bird of prey - as although I'd visited osprey viewing sites before I'd never actually seen a bird.

Our penultimate stop on the journey was a brief visit to Kirkcudbright (pronounced Kircoobree) a charming pretty little town set on the mouth of the river Dee, with houses painted in pastel shades. It has long attracted artists and craft makers and all around the town are little studios and art galleries.

Kirkcudbright

After a half an hour stroll we continued our journey for our last stop of the day - a visit to Wigtown, Scotland's 'book town'. Like Hay on Wye in Wales it has reinvented itself as a town focused on second hand books and the small main street is dominated by book shops including The Bookshop - Scotland's largest.

The Bookshop in Wigtown

Inside The Bookshop

We both love browsing in bookshops so dived into the warren of rooms inside, packed floor to ceiling with books on every subject under the sun. as well as books there were quirky interior decoration features - making it a memorable albeit brief visit. Showing unusual restraint we exited without buying anything. I already have a pile of books waiting to be read at home and had to remind myself just adding to the pile wan't going to be helpful!

It was just a short drive from Wigtown to our base for two nights - a converted shepherds hut at Glenwhan Gardens. The hut was cosy but well equipped with a queen bed, two ring hob, mini fridge, sink, worktop and a shower and toilet. Screened by trees and bushes but with views over a lochan and in the other direction over to the sea it was a fabulous location.

Not only did we get to stay in this lovely accommodation but we had free access to the extensive gardens that have been created from moorland by the owner - a project that started 50 years ago. The gardens are open to the public between 10.00 am and 5.00 pm but we could wander around at any time. Over the two days we walked through the gardens many times when it was closed to the public, on each occasion discovering new paths and hidden glades. The Gulf Stream produces mild winters and warm wet weather and as a result the gardens have been planted with trees from South Asia that have thrived.

Streams have been dammed to create lochans and wetland areas with water loving plants. Resident guinea fowl, peacocks and pea hens wander around at will so you never quite know what you are going to find around each corner. 

Views of the lochans at Glenwhan. Our shepherds hut can be seen nestled in the greenery in the bottom picture.

Statues and sculptures are dotted around and viewpoints from the upper parts of the garden give far reaching views out to the Solway Firth.To give people of an idea of what the land looked like before the gardens were created there's also a mile long moorland walk. Glenwhan is a magical place, full of delights. We got accustomed to the friendly black labradors (who also wander at will) turning up at the steps to our hut wanting a bit of fuss - or the peacocks or guinea fowl wandering past our door. One evening I watched the peacocks picking and eating blackberries from a bush at the back of the hut and one morning watched the swallows sitting on a diving board.

As tempting as it was to spend all of the time in Glenwhan, for our last full day in Galloway we decided to head off to the Mull of Galloway, Scotland's most southerly point. A light house designed by Robert Stevenson (grandfather of Robert Louis Stevenson) and opened in 1830, acts as a focal point as you approach the Mull. From there coastal paths lead off in both directions and provide panoramic views. There wasn't much in the way of sea bird life to spot so we took a picnic lunch along the coastal path to a look out point called Kennedy's Cairn - and sat in splendid isolation eating our cheese rolls sheltered from the breeze by the cairn. Then we treated ourselves to slices of ginger cake and a nutty slice at the cafe.

The Mull of Galloway Lighthouse

Mull of Galloway views

Before returning to our shepherds hut we detoured to Port Logan, a quiet seaside village with a pretty harbour and beach with views out to the west of Northern Ireland.

Port Logan

My last little discovery was a solo adventure whilst Mrs B. rested - a short 3 mile walk along the Water of Luce passing the Glenluce viaduct. I walked out to the coast and then returned and made a detour to look (from a distance) at Glenluce Abbey - a Historic Scotland property, closed to the public due to Covid, but once an important Cistercian monastic settlement. 

The Glenluce Viaduct

The ruins of Glenluce Abbey

We'd had a terrific couple of days exploring just a small part of Dumfries and Galloway but seen enough to think it would be worth returning to this quiet corner of Scotland. Our minds however were now thinking of our next destination and a ferry journey across the Irish Sea for a much longer stay in Northern Ireland.