We like Rockcliffe, lovely walk to Kippford , and longer coastal to Sandyhills bay (small shop at hol village and bus back) * few years ago now.
See raiders road, (forest drives, off road in car) .
The pub at carsethorn was good
We liked driving the nick of the balloch, partly as **i think’ house o hill hotel required you to use a walkie talkie to get service. (And that was well pre COVID)
Glentrool is nice , bike trail and loops and can loop loch. (Take midge nets, smidge etc, honest)
For a (*quite a long drive), you could do dunure (nice wee harbour, crap parking, cafe and pub, ruined castle with admission charge), and you could show the kids the electric brae (*take a bottle of water to watch gravity being denied and watch out as lots of people will be driving badly, slowly, and rolling uphill), it’s a truly weird but really quite impressive natural optical illusion.
*edit sort of FYI, as it surprised us, (and I think all the bits are gone as is the photos etc) but they tested mulberry harbours for d day at gairlieston