Dumfries and Galloway

[isthisit83]

We are staying in a holiday cottage in/near Glenluce during the first week of June. Where should we go? What should we do? Just looking for general recommendations really but extra points if you can provide information on the best beaches nearby and also places to eat. TIA!

BUMPING

Kirkcudbright is lovely but depends what your looking for. If its walking & coastal walks beaches try "walking the highlands" site & put in Dumfries & Galloway. CastleDouglas is busier with pool etc. really depends what your looking for

Is it just adults? Or children too?

Portpatrick is lovely.

Cardoness beach near gatehouse you have to pay but it’s worth it.
St Ninians cave
The beaches near the islands of fleet
its a bit further but rockcliffe is good

mill on the fleet is worth a visit in gatehouse
blastocyst distillery if it’s still open
port Patrick and gardens near by.

Thanks for the suggestions :) it's one child age 5 and four adults (basically me, DH, our son and MIL & FIL). I guess looking for things to do and see. One of the adults isn't the most mobile so perhaps bearing that in mind too.

Logan Botanic garden and Kennedy Castle gardens are lovely.

The Galloway hoard is at Kirkcudbright might not interest the 5 yr old but the rest of you will probably find it very interesting and it’s free to get into. It’s not very big takes less than an hour. There’s also a planetarium/science thing at Kirkcudbright it’s not free but might interest a 5 year old and you can walk between them. There’s also the cacaobean company near Kirkcudbright I’ve never been but colleagues have and recommend it that will interest a 5 yr old!! Lastly near to Kirkcudbright/Castle Douglas I’d the Cream O Galloway farm ice cream play area again highly recommended by colleagues.

Oh yes I've seen the cream of Galloway place and it did look like that would be of interest to my son! It will be his birthday while we are there so maybe will go there that day. Thanks for all the suggestions.

We went to the chocolate factory and had an amazing time!

Sadly the play area at cram o Galloway is now closed but you can still visit for their lovely ice cream, and the walks are still open. An alternative is the cocoa bean in twynholm for soft play and outdoor play. Carrick beach is close to there too and very nice.
The red kite trail is great to do, threave gardens and threave Castle worth looking into.
Loch Ken for watersports?
Avoid stranraer!

It's a bit of a drive, but Cocoabean was great
fun when we went. The chocolate factory bit doesn't take long, but there's a big play area so you can spend the whole day there. There's not much for adults there, apart from a cafe & chocolate shop.
I went about 5 years ago, so things might have changed.

Porridge museum near Dumfries. It's about ammunitions though not oats... Small and child friendly but great for adults as well - it's one of those 'gosh, really' places that make you think.

Steamboat Inn at carsethorn

Redkit trail is fab. The bellymac farm feeding station is great. BUT we once waited two hours for the kites (in August) as the harvesting going on in the area had distracted them. Once they arrived it was a proper spectacle though. June should be better.

Crawick multiverse - never been but looks great and is on our todo next time list.

Sorry don't have much info on the Luce Bay area but if you don't mind a drive -

Mabie Farm Park in Dumfries has quite a lot - although it's a few years since I've visited it. Lots for the 5 year old, animals and great slides etc. Dalscone ditto for the 5 year old on the ring road round Dumfries.
Kippford, near Dalbeattie has a nice hard surface walk along the bay, can get an icecream. There are a couple of pubs but I'm not sure how good they are as there as staffing problems round here mean sometimes restaurants are good and sometimes not so.
Loch Arthur shop and restaurant are nice on the road between Dalbeattie and Dumfries.

info.dumgal.gov.uk/mapviewers/pathsmap.aspx
Link shows local walking paths but can be on rough ground.

The Raiders Road and Otters pool is a nice woodland drive NW of Castle Douglas.
www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowUserReviews-g186512-d297238-r723307170-The_Raiders_Road_Forest_Drive-Dumfries_and_Galloway_Scotland.html

Watching the kite feeding at 2pm every day is worth seeing imv. This is near Lauriston.

The Crown Hotel at Newton Stewart is good for food, as is the Galloway Lodge at Gatehouse.

Kiroughtree has a good play park as well as lots of mountain bike stuff.

The Cocoa bean is great for wee ones and if you like cake! I think there may also be soft play in castle Douglas now.

Bear in mind that it’s a big area, and some of the suggestions mentioned in other posts are really miles away.

Yes, Ernespie Farm.

the Mull of Galloway is about 45 minutes away and is quite cool, again has a nice tearoom 😃

Cream of Galloway used to do wee trails and activities to see things like ponddippers too, and there are often activities for children at the forest parks, etc

enjoy! It’s a beautiful region

Close by you've got Dunragit Gardens, with a lovely tearoom and 5yo would enjoy Port Logan Fishpond. Stairhaven beach is probably the nearest, its only small but always empty. There's bigger beaches on the Rhins heading towards Drummore and the Mull. We go to Monreith but there's 150 steps down from the road.

There's a tractor show in Glenluce on the 5th and lots of activities for all ages upto the 5th in nearby villages to celebrate the jubilee.

If you like old bookshops make sure you go to Wigtown; Reading Lasses is good for lunch/coffee.

Everything's spread out but the roads are empty so don't be put off by distances when you're planning where to go.

The chances are you'll end up in Stranraer at some point to get supplies - the park near the sea has a little train you can sit on that our kids loved, and some decent play equipment.

The Gem Rock Museum at Creetown is really interesting.

Bruce's Stone is a short and relatively easy walk from the car park with a great view across Loch Trool. On the same road, Stroan Bridge has a visitor centre and and picnic area where you can enjoy being in the Forest Park without having to walk very far. However, if you're venturing inland then don't forget the midge repellent.

Portpatrick is pretty and good for lunch and a walk - it's the start of the Southern Upland Way but that gets steep very quickly.

There's a good beach at Sandhead.

Look at Galloway Activity Centre. Loads of great activities.

I would say kirkcudbright is the nicest town to walk round. Art galleries and museum and the old museum opposite (collections from the 1800s), ruined castle (you can look at but not go in), small harbour. Paintings to buy, a specialist plant nursery www.elizabethmacgregornursery.co.uk/
if there are any gardeners among you. But only open Fri, Sat and Mon.