Out and About in Wigtownshire
The District of Wigtown is located in south-west Scotland. Your route from the South would follow the A75 from Gretna Green
via Dumfries towards Stranraer.
For travel time by road, allow six to seven hours from the Home Counties and East Anglia in England. From England's Midwest,
three hours; coming from Edinburgh or Glasgow, two to two and a half hours. The roads in this part of Galloway are nearly
always quiet apart from the odd tractor or local bus; a landscape of gently rolling hills, yet within a short drive of Galloway
Forest Park with its lochs, rivers and mountains.
How
to Get Here
by sea
From Ireland, numerous ferries cross each day from Larne and Belfast to
Stranraer and Cairnryan. Stena Line Ferries operate between Belfast and Stranraer. P&O Lines operate the service
between Larne and Cairnryan (close to Stranraer), see P&O Irish Sea for more information and booking.
by rail
From England, you can take the west-coast Intercity service to Glasgow
via Dumfries with Virgin Trains or GNER. From Glasgow, ScotRail runs trains to Barrhill, Stranraer and Dumfries while the nearest station
to Mid Galloway is Stranraer.
by air
Glasgow (Prestwick) is Wigtownshire's closest airport,
an hour and a half's drive away. For more information, see
the Prestwick website .
by bus
National Express provides connections to many major UK towns, while a Eurolines service connects
Stranraer and Newton Stewart to Birmingham and London.
About the Area
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| A view from Cruggleton across the Bay |
The Machars of Wigtownshire is an ideal place to visit for a holiday or
short break. There are many places to stay in the immediate area. To view details of accommodation in the Wigtownshire district, please see the accommodation pages.
There is a wide choice of Hotels, Inns, B&B's, Self-catering or Caravan Parks and Camping facilities.
We are surrounded by stunning scenery, beaches, historical sites, forest
parks, visitor attractions and splendid gardens warmed by the Gulf Stream. Wigtownshire and the Machars Peninsula is an ideal
location for relaxing and getting away from the stresses and strains of modern life. The district is a relatively unknown
and unspoilt holiday destination with friendly people, no crowds and quiet roads.
| St Ninian's Chapel at the Isle of Whithorn |
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| Courtesy of Hope London, Chamber member and artist based at Bladnoch, nr Wigtown. www.ojaydart.com. |
Whithorn, in the heart of the Machars where St. Ninian
brought Christianity to Scotland. Whithorn Museum houses a remarkable collection of Christian crosses and the nearby Isle
of Whithorn, with its pretty harbour, is the site of the ruins of St Ninian's Chapel. Visit St Ninian's Cave via a stunning
walk down through the woods to the shore.
There are beaches at Monreith beyond the golf course and Rigg Bay near Garlieston
harbour. A walk to Rigg Bay takes you through the gardens of Galloway House to the beach. As well as Monreith, there is a
pretty 9-hole golf course in Wigtown itself and also, an 18-hole course at Newton Stewart. There are further walks along the
coast to Cruggleton Castle and cliffs. Kilsture Forest on the road to Garlieston is a beautiful and peaceful place with many
forest trails, alive with wild flowers.
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| A stunning view of one of the Lochs in Galloway Forest Park |
Galloway Forest Park - 300 square miles of forest,
hills and lochs, with visitor centres at Glentrool, Kirroughtree and Clatteringshaws. Visit the red deer range and the wild
goats and walk, cycle or ride the forest trails. There are now internationally acclaimed mountain biking trails in Kirroughtree
and Glentrool.
Five new sections of trail are open in the Blue (Larg Hill) and Red (The Twister)
routes at Kirroughtree and Glentrool.The new sections take the bike trails away from some of the walking paths and some bits
of forest road. More mountain biking details here. See information about other Forest Park activities here.
