A trip to Kirkcudbright Dumfries and Galloway Scotland

Contents of this Video
00:00 Intro
00:20 Kirkcudbright harbour and village
03:39 Ancient Kirkcudbright Castle
06:39 Dhoon Beach
07:36 Brighouse Bay

A Trip to Kirkcudbright Dumfries and Galloway Scotland

Kirkcudbright is a small town, formerly situated in the historic county of Kirkcudbrightshire, but now in the council area of Dumfries and Galloway at the mouth of the River Dee on the Solway Firth in the Southwest of Scotland. A working fishing port, it centres around a lively harbour and whilst it was sunny and calm when we visited, a memorial to lost sailors and an artwork to those lost at sea show the continuing perils of this ancient livelihood.

It is also known as ‘The Artists’ Town’ with many famous artists having lived in the town, such as EA Hornell, Jessie M King and associations with the Glasgow Boys and Girls including Margaret Macdonald, wife of Charles Rennie Mackintosh and inspirational artist in her own right. The town has many galleries and festivals throughout the year and many artists still live and work here. Sadly, we didn’t have time to explore this side of Kirkcudbright as much as we’d have liked but will be back to experience this part of the town’s offering one day.

The most prominent building in the town is MacLellans Castle, built by the MacLellans as a grand town house in the late 1500s. Sadly, it was inaccessible when I visited, so I was confined to views of the building from the street.

There are the remains of an ancient castle on Castledykes Road at the mouth of the River Dee, looking out to the Solway Firth. Formerly the seat of the Comyn family, it was taken over by King Edward I of England in 1296 before being captured and destroyed by Robert the Bruce in 1313, the year before Bannockburn. In 1306, The Bruce had murdered John Comyn III, his biggest rival to the Scottish throne, in Greyfriars Church in Dumfries, enabling him to become King of Scotland and re-ignite the Scottish Wars of Independence. Sadly, there is nothing left of the building of this castle only the defensive dykes and ditches, which are impressive given their age and the visitor can walk amongst these whilst feeling the weight of their significance in Scottish history.

Kirkcudbright has some excellent beaches. Dhoon Beach is just across the bridge from the town and nearby Brighouse Beach is a stunning white sand bay with excellent views. The tide was far out when we were there and the bays may have been seen to better advantage if the tide had been further in.

We were fortunate that a long spell of excellent weather held out to this day, as it contributed to a really lovely and inexpensive day out.

I hope you enjoy the video.

Music: (all from YouTube Audio Library)
Watch It – Track Tribe
CGI Snake – Chris Zabriskie
Lusciousness – Asher Fulero

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