Smithy House B & B - the local area

The Local Area

Sandwiched between the former counties of Dumfriesshire and Wigtownshire, the former Stewartry of Kirkcudbright is the heart of Galloway. Situated in the centre of the Stewartry, Castle Douglas is the ideal centre for your holiday, whatever your interests. The area is well-supplied with very good restaurants, and we particularly recommend The Masonic Arms at Gatehouse of Fleet, which is one of our favourites.

Coarse and game fishing, birdwatching, golfing, boating and sailing facilities are all within easy reach. Walking is also popular here, whether on easy countryside paths and roads and scenic coastal walks or on the local Galloway hills. All Terrain Cycling (or mountain biking) is another activity which brings people to the Galloway area. The countryside is such that there are some very 'interesting' rides! Cycles can be hired locally if you do not bring your own. For a more relaxing time, visit the sandy beaches of the Solway Firth, or just drive amongst the hills, moors, lochs and rivers of the Galloway Forest Park, stopping as you will to drink in the wonderful scenery.

The woods and farmland surrounding The Buchan and the views across the Loch will make you feel that you are well into the countryside, but it is only a one minute drive or a ten minute stroll along the shore of the Loch into town, with its daily cattle and livestock market, shops, restaurants and other amenities. Located on the southern outskirts of the town, Smithy House has an outlook over the 100 acre Carlingwark Loch, where rowing boats can be hired in the summer, towards Screel Hill and Bengairn, both of which have relatively easy walks to their summits. The views of the Solway Firth from the top make the 1¹/2 hour walk up Screel well worth while. Bengairn, the higher of the two, will take longer. Or why not combine the two for a full day out? One end of Carlingwark Loch (the one furthest from the town) is a nature reserve, where numerous water birds can be seen. Elsewhere on the Threave Estate there are a number of hides for birdwatching, whilst golden eagles nest in the area around Clatteringshaws Loch, only half an hour's drive away.

Just half a mile from Smithy House are Threave Gardens, the location of the National Trust for Scotland's School of Gardening. These are well worth a visit at any time of year, - for the daffodils, rhododendrons and azaleas in spring, the summer colours of the herbaceous borders and the autumn tints of the trees and heathers.
The Victorian walled garden is a major attraction and still producing fruit, flowers and vegetables as it has done since it was created.

There are many other attractions in the area. For a guide to those within the immediate Castle Douglas area,
Click Here. If you wish to go further afield, then Ayr, Carlisle and Stranraer, are only about an hour's drive away, and make a pleasant day out. Stranraer and nearby Cairnryan are the terminals for the ferries to Northern Ireland.

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Coarse and game fishing, birdwatching, golfing, boating and sailing facilities are all within easy reach. Walking is also popular here, whether on easy countryside paths and roads and scenic coastal walks or on the local Galloway hills.	All Terrain Cycling (or mountain biking) is another activity which brings people to the Galloway area. The countryside is such that there are some very 'interesting' rides! Cycles can be hired locally if you do not bring your own.	For a more relaxing time, visit the sandy beaches of the Solway Firth, or just drive amongst the hills, moors, lochs and rivers of the Galloway Forest Park, stopping as you will to drink in the wonderful scenery.
The woods and farmland surrounding The Buchan and the views across the Loch will make you feel that you are well into the countryside, but it is only a one minute drive or a ten minute stroll along the shore of the Loch into town, with its daily cattle and livestock market, shops, restaurants and other amenities.	Located on the southern outskirts of the town, Smithy House has an outlook over the 100 acre Carlingwark Loch, where rowing boats can be hired in the summer, towards Screel Hill and Bengairn, both of which have relatively easy walks to their summits. The views of the Solway Firth from the top make the 1¹/2 hour walk up Screel well worth while. Bengairn, the higher of the two, will take longer. Or why not combine the two for a full day out?	One end of Carlingwark Loch (the one furthest from the town) is a nature reserve, where numerous water birds can be seen. Elsewhere on the Threave Estate there are a number of hides for birdwatching, whilst golden eagles nest in the area around Clatteringshaws Loch, only half an hour's drive away.