That are non bikey.

Thanks

Glenkiln sculpture park

Walk. Don’t need wheels to enjoy the wood s

mull of galloway lighthouse
dark skies – seach tourist site in forest
Loch ken sailing watersports stuff
see forest drives in forest (car and £4)
wigton is the book town
kirkcudbright -artists
coastal walk from Rockcliffe to Sandyhills

I think it’s all been had away now but they built D day landing stuff at gairliestown

see also Dumfries and Galloway tourist board they do a booklet

further afield boat trip to Ailsa Craig
and the weird electric brae (*it truly is weird but a pretty big drive and it doesn’t work for everybody) and Dunure Castle and Harbour (pub/poss cafe)

Wild Autumn Festival Dumfries & Galloway

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-24461305
http://wildseasons.co.uk/wild-autumn-festival

If you have kids

.thecocoabeancompany

cream o galloway

About 40mins drive from dumfries

Kirkbean
http://www.saint-petersburg.com/american/john-paul-jones/
http://www.dumfriesmuseum.demon.co.uk/jpj.html
http://english.pravda.ru/society/stories/06-03-2006/76898-admiral-0/

Red kite feeding station up near Wigtown is good

stevie750 – Member
If you have kids

.thecocoabeancompany

cream o galloway

Would reccomend both of those if you have kids, my two cant wait to go back, which is good becasue I only managed to do kirri this year 🙂

Dumphies is quite a nice large town, so there’s a fair bit to do. Lots of nice walking too.

Drink, fight, get pregnant or drive a Barry’d up Clio up & down the Whitesands all night if you want to blend in with the locals.

Alternatively, Kilnford Barns is a great (yet dangerous) place to kill a couple of hours / grab some lunch.

> http://www.kilnford.co.uk/

Cavens Arms (Buccleuch Street) is the best pub in town (also does good meals).

If you’ve any interest in Burns stuff, there’s plenty of that to find.

Other than that, yeah – as above.

I live here, btw if you need any other pointers!

Thanks everyone.

We have definitely got the red kite feeding down as a must. Also an RSPB place near the coast and some walking.

I don’t need a child to go to a chocolate event, could manage to eat the lot on my own 😉

They wont let you make the chocolate if you’re over 12. The bastardos.

They wont let you make the chocolate if you’re over 12. The bastardos.

Gutted 🙁

Is it me or does the title of this thread sound like one of those drab as old chip fat dramas written by Alan Bennett.

What about salmon fishing?

The Green Tearoom in Moniaive

Caerlaverock

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-24480940

What kind of things?
http://www.wwt.org.uk/visit/caerlaverock/ + the castle which may be closed! nice tea room at Glencaple and you could walk there via the river Nith walk from Kingholm Quay.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/DG-One-Leisure-Complex-Dumfries/159373954101415
http://www.locharthur.org.uk
Drumlanrig Castle.
http://www.dumgal.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=4129

You could go visit my friend who is in Jail!!!

On that note i think i best send him a letter!!!

I thought Threave castle was a nice visit – although part of that was that you access it by boat, which the bairn thought was amazing. I guess the castle itself is not all that. Good place for wildlife / ospreys IIRC.

we did a ghost walk around dumfies 1 night , was quite funny , cream of galloway is good for kids and the pedal cars also for grown up kids 😀

http://www.dumgal.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=4129
http://www.lochken.co.uk
http://lagganoutdoor.co.uk/page210.htm
http://www.daltonpottery.co.uk
http://www.dumfriesmuseum.com
http://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/galloway/criffel.shtml
http://www.walkscotland.plus.com/Lowthers/qnsb/
http://www.dumfriesaviationmuseum.com

I know it is a “bikey thing” but you could cycle down to Caerlaverock Castle and the Wildfowl Trust site if you are staying in Dumfries, would be approx 15ml easy round trip. There are a couple of options. Using the towns cycle route system ride along the river bank from the Whitesands to Kingholm Quay. Then choose to ride along the river bank, flat and easy, to Glencaple or stay on the road. Follow the riverside through Glencaple(cafe stop)to the castle. Lots of places to stop and take in views across the river of Criffel and then farther round the Lakes. After a stop at the Castle which may be closed(?)but you can walk around the grounds and have yet another coffee if the cafe is open(winter hrs etc). Then onwards a couple of mls to the Wildfowl centre which you overlook when leaving the castle.
All my old playground when a boy. “offroad biking” started 40 odd yrs ago for me in and around this area!!

http://www.welcometoscotland.com/things-to-do/attractions/historic-attractions/dumfries-galloway/new-abbey-cornmill-hs
http://www.dumgal.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=2333&contactid=3623

The Camera Obscura is pretty cool – cctv from the olden days..

The other activity you could try is hang out near the front of Morrison’s & see how many people remove part smoked cigarettes from the bins & smoke the rest of them….if I didn’t see it with my own two eyes I wouldn’t’ve believed it..

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/entertainment/2013/10/13/18/51/thieves-take-henry-moore-artwork

“The other activity you could try is hang out near the front of Morrison’s & see how many people remove part smoked cigarettes from the bins & smoke the rest of them….if I didn’t see it with my own two eyes I wouldn’t’ve believed it..”

http://www.poverty.org.uk/s53/index.shtml
http://www.gallowaygazette.co.uk/news/local-headlines/rise-in-galloway-unemployment-figures-again-1-3045072

Dumfries and Galloway is not having a great time…
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/tibet/10365064/Monk-who-founded-first-Tibetan-Buddhist-monastery-in-UK-killed.html

…but Samye Ling is a remarkable place
http://www.samyeling.org/

One less Henry Moore sculpture to see thanks to thieving scrotes who deserve to have every one of their thieving fingers smashed wi a hammer, i’d be first in line swinging a fencing maul to oblige, along wi everyone else in the community up here. My mates farm is two miles away over the hill from Glen Kiln reservoir and i often cycle from Speddoch moor above the farm and over to the sculptures on a sunday morning then back to the farm, i passed “standing figure” last sunday morning and gave it my usual cheery “hullo meeny greeny”.

This theft makes my piss boil wi **** rage knowing they’ll be merely cut up for scrap metal value and they’ll be worth a few hundred pounds at most yet they are priceless in such an unusual setting miles away from anywhere………..Arghhhhh…..thieving mutha **** deserve to be chained to the rock that they cut the sculpture from till the crows peck their **** eyes out.

On a lighter note…. i work at the aforementioned cocoa bean co as a chocolatier a few days a week 😀 , if there are a few of you’s interested then an adult truffle making session may be possible dependant on just how busy it is – it’s school holiday time at the moment so possibly too hectic wi the kids workshops, give them a call and speak to Avive and ask if it’s possible.

I also work in Next Level Bikes in Castle Douglas the other 3 days of the week so pop in you want advice on things to do, decent places to eat/places to avoid etc.

Waves at Somafunk Kenny – I’ll drop you an email as we are coming up soon.

To the OP – Can’t believe Soma didn’t mention Sulwath brewery in Castle Douglas 🙂

If you are Kirroughtree way then Mossyard beach is nice for a quick mooch (but more a kid/ dogwalker thing). Also the Inbye walk above Gatehouse of Fleet looks OK (a big old railway viaduct up in the hills).

Walk up Criffel or Screel. Or maybe the low tide walk from Rockcliffe across to Rough Island.

Cheers Macavity – just booked onto this

http://www.wildseasons.co.uk/events/?q=wild-autumn/events/loch-ken-water

The boat takes 4 people total so thereare tqwoplaces free – if anyone else wants to book in, call Andrew the ranger, contact details on that page

http://www.dgwgo.com

Trekster – I can’t cycle atm, so this will have wait for another trip as it sounds so good.

somafunk – truffles, would love to, so little time and so many great ideas.
Thanks everyone.

Shame.. Go see Ross @ Kirkpatrcick Cycles, he will take you out on his rikshaw 😆
Just down the street a bit is http://www.theoldschooldumfries.com/tearoom/
Also round the corner if you like a bit of theatre; http://www.theatreroyaldumfries.co.uk/upcoming-shows/

Enjoy yourself anyway. 😆

Need help with eating out? Most of the good places need booking in advance. Cavens is good but be prepared to wait to be seated and then to be served! Extremely popular CAMRA award winner for a number of years.

friday night meal is included with the hotel deal but do need to find somwehere for the saturday night. last time we ate the doonhamer which was nice, tripadvisor reckons that primo piano is the best place in town. Would you recommend Cavens above those?

http://www.littleitalydumfries.co.uk
http://www.hullabaloorestaurant.co.uk/index.php/home/

http://www.theswanatkingholmquay.co.uk under new management
http://www.casamiadumfries.co.uk
http://www.brunosrestaurant.co.uk
http://www.nithhotel.co.uk noted for their steaks
http://www.pizza-pasta.co.uk

Indian?
http://www.dakshindian.co.uk
Jewel in the Crown
India Palms up the road from Cavens

Recent reports from mates is that Cavens is now a victim of its own success in that it is too busy and quality is dropping but still good, just the waiting times!

Most of above will need booking. First 2+Bruno’s are my choices without going out of town. Don’t be put of by Bruno’s being attached to a chippy 😉 one of the oldest and best family run places in town.

Doonhamer has just had a makeover and called something else, No 17. Going by local paper it opened yesterday but only as a cafe 😐

Primo was so popular it has closed!

ta 🙂

Trekster – Member

I know it is a “bikey thing” but you could cycle down to Caerlaverock Castle and the Wildfowl Trust site if you are staying in Dumfries, would be approx 15ml easy round trip.

My family and I visited the Wildfowl Trust site back in April and were really disappointed. One of the volunteers seemed puzzled that we’d made the trip and genuinely told us that there was nothing to see. So we had a walk around, and he was right, very little there. (We’ve got a yearly membership being close to the Llanelli site, where there are always hundreds of wildfowl and waders.)

Bunnyhop, if you’ve got kids Mabie Farm Park was fun.

And loving the fact that it takes 9 posts for anyone to suggest anything in Dumfries itself and it’s a sarcastic post about fighting et al!

The geese are just starting to arrive for winter.
There is a new viewing building being constructed, not sure if it finished
Dalscone farm park(closed Sundays)

And loving the fact that it takes 9 posts for anyone to suggest anything in Dumfries itself and it’s a sarcastic post about fighting et al!

Having travelled quite a bit this year and with 4 grand kids to amuse by re visiting old haunts and new we have come to appreciate oor wee toon and surrounding area 😆

Trekster, we quite liked Dumfries, probably because it feels like the little market towns around here. The countryside is very similar as well. But that was the problem as well. It felt like we hadn’t really gone anywhere, if you know what I mean, just replaced Welsh voices with Scottish.

I can’t complain too much though. It was primarily a riding week and I enjoyed that. 🙂

😆
Know what you mean, I like Wales 🙂
Last time I was down was `01 on a trail building weekend with Daffyd and IMBA @ Coed

The geese are just starting to arrive for winter.

Ah yes, this is why we’re going.
Thanks for the info Trekster.