Recommendations for Dumfries and Galloway

[offonholidaysoon]

We're off to Dumfries and Galloway soon - does anyone have any recommendations for what to do there? What toddler friendly (she's a good little walker) and dog friendly places are there to visit? Any toddler /dog friendly pubs/eating places?

Thanks!

Mossyard beach is lovely if you get a sunny day.

Dalscone farm park is excellent - also has a good soft play if you need a rainy day activity.

Cocoa bean is another soft play, it has a chocolate making experience thing too, although your little one might be too young?

Kipford and rockcliffe are very pretty seaside villages.

Castle Douglas is the food town, great butchers! Threave gardens are just outside CD and are beautiful lots of running space and a play area if you have national trust membership?

Kirkcudbright is a nice harbour town, brightly painted houses, independent shops.

Threave castle, you get a wee boat
Caerlaverock castle, lovely woodland
The coastal walks are gorgeous.
Cream o'galloway is worth a visit

Mabie Farm park is nice. Not sure about thr dog though.

Caerlaverock castle is lovely, not too pricey and is small enough to wander about, plus there is a nature walk round the back. I second rockcliffe, sandy hills beach is also very pretty. You can walk for miles when the tide is out - check tide times though as apparently they can be pretty quick and you can get cut off. We went to cream o'galloway which has a soft play, outdoor play area and ice cream tasting.
We didn't really eat out while we were there so can't recommend and restaurants unfortunately.

Cream o Galloway and Marie Farm Park good for wee ones.
Gem museum in Creetown great if a wee bit older.

We went last summer but my daughter is older.

Agree she will probably enjoy Cream o'Galloway, we had a lovely day there - play area, walking trails, ride to see the cows and of course the ice cream.

We really loved Galloway forest park, did two good short walks from Clatteringshaws visitor centre and also went to a red deer feeding session which was great. scotland.forestry.gov.uk/forest-parks/galloway-forest-park/red-deer-range Wouldn't particularly recommend the forest drive though, very bumpy!

We watched the kite feeding at Bellymack Hill Farm which was quite impressive.

I didn't think much of Castle Douglas actually (expected more food it was just a normal small town to me, maybe we missed something), but liked Kirkudbright (artist's town) which was near to where we camped, they seemed to have some good community events - we saw a parade; and nice fish and chips.

Also enjoyed the boat ride to Threave Castle and had a nice walk around Threave Gardens.

Have fun!

Another vote for Cream of Galloway here. We had a lovely day there when DS was 2.
I still remember Threave Gardens from when I was a little girl.
Wigton, the book town is nice, if you like a browse. It's Julia Donaldson's neck of the woods, so look out for the Gruffalo - we went to a performance by her reading her stories, years ago.

Prob difficult with a toddler but the dark skies forest park is amazing!

Cream of Galloway is very nice.

Mabie Farm Park is good but aimed more at children slightly older than toddlers. You can get Tesco clubcard boost vouchers for money off the entry to that at the minute.
There's also Mabie Forest near Mabie Farm Park, which has a number of forest walks of varying lengths plus children's playground. No cafe or snacks on sale in Mabie Forest though, so bring your own pack lunch / snacks if you're going there for the day.

There's some nice beaches too - we went to Rockcliffe and Sandyhills. The RSPB bird place at Merse Head has a good beach too, if some distance from the car park, plus bird hides to try and spot birds from. Not sure if RSPB places are keen on dogs though?

Don't take your dog to Threave Gardens we got a big ticking off for that
Brighouse Bay Beach is nice esp when tide is out
There's a nice cafe in Kirkcudbright called the Belfry - not dog friendly tho
Lovely cafe at the Mill in Gatehouse of Fleet which is dog friendly

Oh and Carrick Shore is glorious

Thank you everyone! Lots to be going on with there, I can't wait to go!

Just a correction - Julia Donaldson isn't from Dumfries and Galloway! She used to live on the outskirts of Glasgow for many years, and now lives on the south coast of England.

Red Kite feeding is brilliant. The ladies who own the farm are very friendly and let our dcs play in their garden with a litter of puppies! Threave Castle is good but a bit of a trek to the boat if hot with very little ones. Caerlaverock Castle is fab. Raiders Road is good and lots of places to go for walks and picnics. Dark skies park is AMAZING but maybe not for wee ones.
We love Dumfries and Galloway.

You are welcome to bring a dog to Cream o' Galloway - there are nature trails and a designated dog walk where you can let the dog run free. Dogs are not allowed in the tearoom or play areas but you can go in and out to the car park all day and you can sit with a dog at the picnic area by the front door. There's no entry charge for adults or for children under 3 and everyone is encouraged to play.