Buittle Castle - 4 Things to Know Before Visiting

Orchardton Tower is an unusual free-standing round tower, the only one of its type in Scotland. It operated as a fortified residence for a nobleman named John Cairns, who may have acquired the land after James II’s overthrow of the Douglases in 1455. is remarkable as the only cylindrical tower house in Scotland. Orchardton Tower is in the care of Historic Environment Scotland as a Scheduled Ancient Monument.

Threave Garden is a series of gardens owned and managed by the National Trust for Scotland, which is rich in diversity, with areas such as an informal rose garden, a wildflower meadowland and a one acre walled garden with a temperate glasshouse collection. It is also well known for its great displays of daffodils. The garden also feature many champion trees from around the world.

Threave House was built by William Gordon, a Liverpool businessman who had bought the Threave Estate as a summer home for his extensive family in 1867. He preferred this location for the house to the lower parts of the estate extending to the River Dee and including Threave Island and Threave Castle. There is also a visitor centre and plant centre. The wider estate is managed as a nature reserve and is home to bats and ospreys, and includes part of the Loch Ken and River Dee Marshes Special Prot

A majestic and beautiful historical castle situated on an island in the middle of the River Dee, this formidable castle is only reachable by boat. This massive tower house was built in the late 14th century by Archibald the Grim, Lord of Galloway. It became the stronghold of the Black Douglases and still today, round its base you can see the artillery fortification, an innovative defence years ahead of its time

Sandyhills is a large sandy beach near Dalbeattie on the Dumfries and Galloway coastline. The beach lives up to its name and at low tide has a vast expanse of sand, backed by gentle sand dunes. The beach is the perfect spot for a walk, a paddle or a picnic. The beach can be very busy in the summer but nearby walks and attractions provide other opportunities to enjoy the local countryside.

Hestan Island is a small coastal island at the southern foot of the River Urr estuary in the Solway Firth, in the historical county of Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland. This small island measures approximately 460 by 270 metres and at its highest elevation sits at just over 50 metres above sea level. Hestan Island is one of 43 tidal islands that can be walked to from the mainland of Great Britain and one of 17 that can be walked to from the Scottish mainland.