Dumfries and Galloway isn’t the part of Scotland most people think of when they consider the bit of the United Kingdom that lives under the flag of St. Andrew. The majority of those traveling to Scotland want to see the Highlands: the mountains, Loch Ness, Inverness, the Orkneys, and caber tossing.

Surprise! There’s an entire southern part of Scotland that’s divided into two other geographical areas (the Southern Uplands and the Central Plain), which diverged culturally from the Highlands sometime during the Middle Ages (the language of choice, for example, became Scottish rather than Scottish Gaelic). Of course, having ridden through it, I can tell you that even the Central Plain has some good-sized hills. Look, I’m just the messenger.

photo by S.W. Sondheimer Sunrise. 3:15 am

And someone is going to have to drive. Sorry. I drove a little. My best friend and travel buddy, Tika, drove a lot. I am a coward. She is not.

I would recommend doing what we did and, rather than renting your car in Glasgow (closest large airport), take the hour train ride to Ayr and pick your vehicle up there (the train leaves directly from the airport with a change at Glasgow Central, or you can bus/cab to Glasgow Central and avoid changing trains). The view from the train is stunning and it will allow you to avoid driving in the city, which I can tell you – having been a passenger in several cabs – is terrifying.

If you arrive in the afternoon and are jet lagged, as we were, you can stay in Ayr overnight and catch up before you attempt to transport yourself and people you care about on the wrong side of the road. I recommend  Western House Hotel, which has rooms both in the main house and in courtyard outbuildings. Ours was of the courtyard variety and was simple, functional, and comfortable.

The main building, steps away, also houses a lovely restaurant and a delightful bar (if you wish to partake of such things). Also, the staff leaves shortbread and hot chocolate instead of plain old chocolate on your bedside table. The hotel’s grounds are gorgeous and from them you have a stunning view of Ayr Racecourse, which has been in use since 1576.

photo by S.W. Sondheimer

From Ayr, Dumfries and Galloway is about another hour by car via one of two routes: option A is windy and twisty and remote and gorgeous, and option B is also gorgeous though sightly less remote, windy, and twisty. It also has more places to stop if that’s a concern or a desire. Which one you take depends on the course you’ve charted; we took the former in and the latter out and I have no regrets on either count. 

Wigtown: The Open Book

Tika and I spent the majority of our time in and around Wigtown, Scotland’s National Book Town. Some of you may have heard tell of The Open Book, an AirBnB bookshop that allows visitors to experience all the fun bits of living that dream without having to do any accounting or ordering or worrying about profits. The money one does make, as well as the fees for the flat above the shop, go toward the annual Scottish National Book Festival, also held in Wigtown (which I will be returning for some day).

The rules for running the shop are simple. Most people open by 10 am (the stragglers generally by noon), have fun with the window displays, try to remember to vacuum at the end of the day, enjoy chatting with the locals and visitors who come in, and take advantage of nice weather, special events, local landmarks, invitations, etc. and explore.

photo by Tika Viteri

Seriously. The inside of the right-hand green double door is plastered with notes explaining why people closed for several hours. Or the afternoon. Or the day. “Heatwave, back tomorrow.” “Gone to make cheesecake, come by at 5 on Friday.” “Gone to see a castle.” Many days, the locals would come in around 2 pm and ask why we were still there.

I mean, who am I to argue with the locals? That would be rude. Though we certainly did cause some consternation with our suggestion that the British did not, in fact, invent sports by revealing in our “How did this book get published?” window that the Persians were playing polo in the 6th century BCE.

photo by S.W. Sondheimer

Wigtown: The Bookshops

And so, we checked out the other bookshops in town. There are seven for the population of a purported 1,000 and that’s not including the art galleries and antiques shops that carry second-hand books. Nor does it include the shops in Bladnoch, also home to the southernmost whiskey distillery in Scotland, to which one can walk from Wigtown in about 10 minutes.

Among the shops in Wigtown are: The Bookshop, the largest second-hand bookstore in Scotland, with miles of shelves, fascinating decor, and about which proprietor Shaun Bythell has written a most hilarious memoir; The Old Bank Bookshop where owners Joyce and Ian made us feel so very welcome and tears were shed when we went to say goodbye; Byre Books, through a lovely arbor and full of mythology and books on film; the kid-friendly Curly Tale Books; and Number 11, the festival bookshop. Which also had whiskey. And Gin. Also socks that said, “Go Away, I’m Reading,” which I definitely bought.

Wigtown: The Kirkyard and Martyr Spike

The newer church in Wigtown is of the pretty standard Presbyterian model, but the ruins of the old church have been left in place to explore. There are only bits and pieces left amid the gravestones in the cemetery, weathered smooth and covered in tiny purple flowers.

photo by S.W. Sondheimer

There’s a small gated area in the graveyard containing white marble stones and a white marble bench, both the enclosure and the carefully tended markers indicating their importance. On the gate is a sign explaining they are the burial places of the town’s martyrs, staunch Presbyterians who refused the king’s attempts to resurrect Catholicism: William Johnston, John Milroy, George Walker, Margaret Lachlan, and Margaret Wilson.

The men were hung. The women were tied to a spike in the river and left to drown when the tide from Wigtown Bay (which can rise up to nine meters) came in. Though there doesn’t seem to be any historical documentation of the executions, the story has become an important part of the town mythos and the spike remains in place, accessible by footbridge. It’s both an eerie and beautiful site.

photo by S.W. Sondheimer

Wigtown: Torhouse Standing Stones

In Ireland, they’re very protective of their standing stones. In Scotland, they let you climb on them. Or, at least, they let you climb on the Torhouse stones.

Not that anyone was around to tell us not to.

The circle is about three miles outside of Wigtown. You could walk if you were feeling ambitious, but there aren’t any sidewalks and the road is maaaaaybe a lane and a half being used as two lanes. So I would recommend driving.

photo by Tika Viteri

Torhouse is a circle of 19 stones with two additional stones in what are now the homes of sheep and cows. Legend has it that the central stones marked the grave of Galdus, a mythical Scottish king. Likely dating from the Bronze Age and built for an unknown purpose, Torhouse is unusual in that, rather than built to align with the rising or setting sun or moon, or either of the solstices, it appears to be aligned with the path of the midwinter sun.

And yes, I left an offering for the faeries. Because I’m that writer, I had my fountain pen with me. I popped a cartridge, spilled the ink, and buried the rest next to a stone. Because that’s what you do in Scotland.

Wigtown and Beyond: Spring Fling

Tika and I had no idea our second weekend in Wigtown coincided with the annual Spring Fling (usually held the last weekend in May), a countywide gallery crawl. Comprised of six different routes and encompassing 94 galleries, the festival is an opportunity to see local ceramics, jewelry, paintings, fiber arts, and every other possible sort of artistic expression. Many of the artists display at their studios, allowing visitors to see them at work. There are workshops for children and adults, new places to explore, and Wigtown even has a writer in residence (guess who’s applying for that next year).

It. Is. Amazing.

We hit up most of the galleries displaying in Wigtown and one in neighboring Newton Stewart, discovering a few new favorite artists:

Jesse Belle: Jesse makes absolutely stunning jewelry, much of it modeled on natural shapes and creatures. Some of her pieces are metal only, whereas others feature gems. Many of the rings are etched with Latin wishes on the inside of the band. When I found a ring I loved but was too small, she offered to make me one in my size as a commission for the same price. She was concerned it was going to take three weeks. I assured her that would be absolutely fine.

Sarah Stewart: Sarah is a printmaker and gallery owner in Wigtown. Many of her prints feature typewriters or bits of typewriters, all of which are very much my jam. She had some of her old-school printing presses at the gallery, rescued from businesses that had closed and which she had refurbished for her needs, all with their original bits and pieces. Which is, well, also my jam.

Little Dot Creations: Suzi’s studio is in Newton Stewart and worth risking the roundabout. She creates all of her amazing animals from dots of varying sizes.

With. Pen! Actual. Pen! I. Know!

Cards, prints, mugs, housewares, and jewelry line the shelves and walls, many of which are adorned not only with her delicate art but also with hilarious, snarky captions that are absolute perfection.

photo by S.W. Sondheimer

Wigtown: The Book Festival

The 10-day Scottish National Book Festival (also known as the Wigtown Book Festival) is held in the fall (usually the end of September). 2019 will be its 20th year and though specifics are still forthcoming, there are 200 book, music, theatre, food, and visual arts events in the works. The festival company hosts additional events year-round, including a young people’s book festival, a mini science festival, a poetry competition, a writer’s gathering, a spoken word event for young poets, a storytelling event for librarians, and, of course, The Open Book. They sponsor a poetry prize and a writer’s residency and are working with Ireland, Northern Ireland, Finland, and Iceland on BLITZ, an organization exploring new approaches to literary tourism.

Not Too Far from Wigtown: From Ewe to You

Tika wanted to meet some lambs, so we asked some of the locals if any of them still had babies in their barns. Those who had livestock had already released the younglings out into the fields with their mothers. However, one of them had friends who still had a few in the barn. As it happens, Helen and Ted also have a lovely little shop that stocks local yarn and crafts, in addition to sheep’s milk cheese made on property. Buy local, y’all. Also, bring cash.

photo by Tika Viteri

Bladnoch: Castle Baldoon

Rosemary, owner of The Open Book property, takes all of her visitors to see the ruins of Castle Baldoon. It is, after all, the scene of a very famous drama: Sir Walter Scott’s prose version is entitled The Bride of Lammermoor and Donizetti’s opera Lucia di Lamermoor. In both, young Lucy Ashton is torn from her beloved, Edgar Ravenswood, and affianced to the vile Francis, Laird of Buckwall. Ravenswood, who has gone abroad, returns and sees Lucy signing the betrothal papers. He promptly renounces her. She goes insane for love of him and, immediately after the wedding, stabs Francis (who survives), and then dies.

Lucy Ashton is a historical figure. She did have a beau in Edinburgh, where she grew up. Her parents, in a bid to increase their economic and social solvency, did force her into an engagement with Bucklaw who, by all accounts, was rather a decent fellow. Removed to Bladnoch, Lucy apparently went on a hunger strike, though she survived long enough to be married. She did stab Bucklaw immediately after the ceremony, and he survived, though most scholars think Lucy committed suicide soon thereafter.

photo by S.W. Sondheimer

Newton Stewart: Crafty Distillery

Scotland is known for whisky/scotch, but they have, in recent years, developed a thriving gin culture, and one of the distilleries is about 10 minutes from Wigtown. Despite Wigtown being very small, you can call a cab. Do that.

Crafty Distillery is still a small business that currently produces two varietals: Hills and Harbor gin and Smokey and Citrus Distilled Cocktail. It is, in fact, up on a hill and they use seaweed from Wigtown harbor as one of the ingredients in their gin so… ta da!

Their distillery is small, but the tour is fascinating and their guides are super knowledgeable. Plus, of course, you get to taste at the end. I’m pretty picky about my gin and I have to say that this is one of the best I’ve ever had. It’s light on the fir and juniper and crisp and pleasant without any of the back end floral aftertaste many gins carry. It pairs nicely with a variety of citrus flavors, soda water, and pretty much everything else we tried it in. Plus the bottles are gorgeous. A lot of the local eateries fill them with fairy lights and use them as lamps, which I am 100% going to do.

I wasn’t able to try the distilled cocktail due to it containing pineapple (allergies), but Tika did and she said it was tasty if a bit sweet.

The other component of the visit we enjoyed was the small picnic section in the bar. You can buy bread, cheese, and various meats and spreads to take outside with your drinks while you enjoy the exquisite scenery.

photo by S.W. Sondheimer

Castle Douglas: Ernespie House Hotel

We chose Castle Douglas as a free-day stopover because we planned to go to Threve Garden and Estate. Unfortunately, we got a late start, were exhausted, and I really wanted to spend some time in Glasgow before I headed out so we didn’t have the opportunity. Someone please go for me. Actually, never mind, I’m already planning my next trip.

Anyway, we stumbled on Ernespie House, which is at the end of a dirt road turn off in Castle Douglas, which is about halfway between Wigtown and Ayr and was a most excellent stumble. An old manor house that is probably (definitely) haunted, the rooms are simple but neat and clean. The first floor, however, is full of leather and tartan, the dinner menu much larger than I would have expected and shockingly delicious, and breakfast varied and pleasant.

Beyond the building itself, the grounds are truly remarkable, with ancient trees and hidden gates, manicured gardens and wild ones, Greek revival planters, a free-standing turret built for some reason at some point, and several roaming cats.

It was just… lovely. I took some of my favorite pictures of the trip at Ernespie House and did a lot of writing even in the short afternoon and evening we spent on the property.

Glasgow: The Spiritualist

Okay, fine. Glasgow isn’t in Dumfries and Galloway. Yes, you could fly in and out of Prestwick, but if you’re coming from anywhere other than the UK, Ireland, and maybe a few other places in Europe, you’re stopping in Glasgow anyway. And despite my utter immersion in, and enjoyment of, all of the above mentioned vacation sites, I am a city girl at heart and wanted to spend at least a little time there on my way out. Having done so, I wish it had been more, and I am definitely going back.

We were very, very, very, very hungry upon our arrival and asked the cab driver delivering us from our train station to the hotel where he would recommend we eat. As luck would have it, he was a great fan of The Spiritualist, which was just a few doors down from the hotel.

I wish, so hard, this place was in Pittsburgh. The food was delicious. The desserts were delicious (I found my soulmate. It was the peanut butter chocolate torte) and the bar is amazing (plenty for those who choose not to imbibe as well). I’m sure it’s much busier in the evening and on weekends than it was in the middle of the day on a Tuesday, but if you’re in town, I really can’t recommend it highly enough.

photo by S.W. Sondheimer

Glasgow: Ibis Styles

To be honest, I picked this hotel for the last night because Hotels.com was having a sale and it had a high cleanliness rating (which you may have noticed by now is generally how I make my hotel decisions). It is trendy and boutique-y and completely different from anywhere else we stayed on the trip, and I kind of loved it.

The art was wild, the construction theme was cute, and we actually had good Wi-Fi. Plus they put us in the TARDIS room. The restaurant and bar are open 24 hours and continental breakfast is included. The rooms are small but had everything we needed. When we had an issue with the energy saver for our electricity, the staff came up immediately to fix it and were prepared to move us to another room had they not been able. They gave us free drinks and free tea cakes for the trouble, which wasn’t actually trouble but who am I to say no to cider and a giant chocolate covered marshmallow on a biscuit?

The Ibis Styles is in the Merchant City section of town, so there are restaurants and shopping nearby and it’s only a 20-minute walk to the Cathedral and other sites, which makes the location pretty ideal. They have a cab call button at the front desk that allows you to summon and lets you know how long the wait will be. The desk folks were also super friendly and had tons of suggestions for activities.

It is an Accor hotel, so if you have an aversion to chains, the caveat has been issued. If you have kids, you’ll need two rooms but I believe you can arrange for adjoining (you’ll have to check me).

photo by S.W. Sondheimer

Glasgow: The Cathedral and Necropolis

This was my one tourist stop in Glasgow – one I desperately wanted to make because 1) I love visiting cathedrals and 2) it has a necropolis, which legend says used to be a druid grove in which Merlin once stood and yelled stuff down at St. Mungo (the cathedral’s patron saint) flyting style, which amuses me to no end. We arrived too late to actually hike up to the necropolis which was a bit of a bummer (next time) but we could see some of the highlights from the cathedral grounds and… wow. Even as a writer I have no words.

photo by S.W. Sondheimer

The cathedral itself is the oldest one on mainland Scotland, opening in 1136, and the oldest building in Glasgow, a city reputed to have been founded by St. Mungo in the 6th century but which had been home to a Roman outpost prior and likely fishing villages prior to that. It is an absolutely beautiful building, the aisles lined with monuments to soldiers and military units. The stained glass windows are massive and have been well taken care off, as has the organ, which someone happened to be tuning while we were visiting.

Beneath the main level is the crypt, where St. Mungo himself was once buried, though his body has since been moved. There are generations of various families remembered on plaques and chapels to various saints. The lower part of the building, for those of you who watch, was apparently used as a hospital in Outlander.

I really enjoy wandering old churches. While I’m not a particularly religious person, and one who was raised Jewish at that, I always feel as though hundreds of years of faith leave a mark on a place. It’s quiet and calm and lovely and even if the faith isn’t yours, and even if there are hundreds of other tourists milling around, you can always find a corner from which to contemplate the mysteries of the universe or work out a kink in a story you’re writing or find the perfect angle from which to shoot the sun streaming in a window.

photo by S.W. Sondheimer

Also, I was an art history minor. Love of churches comes with that territory.

Will I be going back to Dumfries and Galloway? Absolutely. I wasn’t kidding about applying for the writer’s residency. To Glasgow? Yup. Do I want to see the parts of the Scotland I haven’t seen yet? Absolutely.

I think the advantage of basing myself in a small town for this first visit, though, was that I got to talk to individuals – I got to know people. To spend time being part of their community and their lives and making them part of mine. I feel like I started friendships that may last for years and some I hope for the rest of my life. I got to see things I wouldn’t have seen if I’d been on a quick tour or a tour with a bunch of other people. Small things. Quiet things. Things important to the people who made room for me down the pub and who only laughed a little while watching me try to park the car.

I really can’t recommend that highly enough.