Exploring Dumfries & Galloway

Located a short hour and a half drive from Glasgow, Dumfries & Galloway is an ideal place to spend a night or two.  You can even pop down for a daytrip it's that easy to get around the sights.  With medieval castles, sweetheart abbeys, forest parks, Dark Sky Observatorys, Rabbie Burns history and much much more, it has a wealth of adventure to offer.  Here are a few highlights from my trip below.

Caerlaverock Castle

Spend an hour immersing yourself in the history of this stunning 13th century medieval castle and you will not regret it.  A unique triangular fortress central to Scottish history.  And worth a visit.

Hullabaloo Restaurant

Feeling peckish after our castle exploring we headed over to Hullabaloo, located in a converted mill house on the banks of the River Nith.  Their Meze platter was absolutely delicious and featured; warm pittas, marinated olives, stuffed peppers with tabouleh, sour cream & dill dip, carrot raisin & pine nut salad, veggie goulash and courgette & halloumi fritters. Yum!  The restaurant also has the perk of the stunning view along the river.

Burns House

This cosy little sandstone building is where Robert Burns spent the last years of his life.  You can look over the original letters he wrote, the chair where he wrote his last poems and even the spot on the window where he etched his name.  A must-see for literature geeks like myself.  Afterwards, pop over to St Michael's Churchyard (a short walk away) to pay your dues at his mausoleum.

Sweetheart Abbey

Sweetheart Abbey was formerly a Cistercian monastery built in 1275.  Nowadays it's a beautiful homage to love with its stunning arches, stonework and the decorated trees surrounding it.  There's an entrance fee to get right up inside the Abbey, but we got a great look at it from the outside, for free.

Friars Carse Hotel

Our hotel stay for this trip was the elegant Friars Carse Hotel, a castle-like country hotel surrounded by acres of beautiful land and nature.  From the moment we rolled up to the entrance, it felt like we had stepped back in time to a different era.  A beautiful hotel in a beautiful setting.  What more can you want!  Oh yes, they serve Mac n Cheese at dinner.  YES!  Take a walk round the castle grounds, play some pool in the arcade room and grab a book from the library before indulging yourself at dinner and skipping back to your room with some wine! Our only complaint would be the staff who were a little bit on the dour side during our stay (I blame the bank holiday) and the dinner being quite overpriced but a lovely stay nonetheless.

Leanne x