Dumfries and Galloway Cottages

Holiday Cottages in Dumfries and Galloway

Welcome to the Dumfries and Galloway    

Home for many years of Scotland’s celebrated poet Robert Burns, the unspoilt beauty and timeless grandeur of his much loved Dumfries and Galloway inspired some of Burns’s most recognised works including New Year favourite Auld Lang Syne.

Stronghold of the red squirrel, red deer and golden eagle, many will tell you that within Dumfries and Galloway you’ll see Scotland in miniature with dramatic coastlines, bays and coves; lush pasture, rolling moorland and high peaks. Bursting with heritage, nature and activities this south western corner of Scotland is certainly a superb location for your cheap cottage holiday.

Walking, cycling and horse riding are surely some of the best ways to see and be part of the scenery and you’ll be spoilt for choice throughout the region.  There are wonderful opportunities for bird watching and all nature lovers along a coastline teeming with flora and fauna.  Heritage lovers can clamber over castles, explore fine houses and glorious gardens.  Keen golfers can choose from some great courses and fishermen from the wealth of glittering lochs, rivers and coastal waters.

Vibrant county town Dumfries hosts annual festivals and is a great base for your Scottish cottage holiday.  Check out too Castle Douglas, south west of Dumfries.   Established in 1789 by industrialist Sir William Douglas the Georgian street pattern can be seen today.  It is agriculture, however not industry, that brings the town its prosperity and the wonderful flavours of the sea and land.  Today Castle Douglas is recognised as a ‘food town’ and boasts all that’s best in Scottish food and drink.

Things to do in Dumfries and Galloway

Local Victorian poet David Dunbar gave Dumfries the nickname ‘Queen of the South’ (ah, that’s where the football team comes from… ) and Burns lived his last years in this vibrant market town, dying at only 37 years old.  Visit the award-winning Burns Centre in Dumfries town centre.  You can also visit his home, his farm and even his favourite inn, coastline haunts and memorial outside Greyfriar’s Church.

Heritage hunters take a boat trip and head for the ancient ruin of Threave Castle, found on its island in the River Dee, built in the late 14th century by Archibald the Grim. There’s also 15^th century Orchardton Tower, Scotland’s only cylindrical town, haunting Dundrennan Abbey and superb Caerlaverock Castle, a fabulous medieval stronghold, plus many abbeys, mills and standing stones.

If you enjoy walking, cycling, mountain biking and the big outdoors, you’ll appreciate the expanse and wealth of the gorgeous scenery dotted with welcoming towns and villages.  Dumfries and Galloway also gives golfers the choice of 30 golf courses, offering something for the raw beginner and expert handler of a club.

With 200 miles of coast line and 300 square miles of forest, you’ll be treated to bags of seaside and woodland fun, including something a little different like the Creetown Gem Rock Museum with its awesome exhibits and for all animal lovers the Galloway Conservation Park, the wild animal conservation centre for southern Scotland.