Planning your first Scotland tour? Chances are you intend sticking pretty much to the typical "icons" publicize by the mainstream travel industry and guide books undertaken either with bus tour with fixed accommodation, or in a rental car, in which case you can either go as you please, or pre-book accommodation along a predetermined route.
You might even plan your tour around the Scottish railway system – Scotland has some of the most beautiful train tour routes in the world. If you do follow the "typical" Scotland vacation routes, you are likely to visit the capital Edinburgh, with its Castle, Royal Mile and Holyrood Palace – and more recently the new Scottish Parliament.
You will almost certainly touch on romantic Loch Lomond, head for the "Highlands and Islands" in the west, Inverness and the ever-famous Loch Ness in the north, and perhaps the famous whiskey and fly fishing areas in the northeast and east of Scotland, like Speyside and Tayside. Your Scotland tour might even take in Perth, Dundee or Stirling – with its impressive castle and nearby Wallace Monument – and perhaps even Glasgow, the former European Cultural Capital (1990) for a little shopping. (If you like curry, you will definitely want to visit Glasgow!)
All great a wonderful areas and you will not be disappointed. BUT IF you want to discover something that others may have missed, I will let you in on a secret: Gatehouse of Fleet!
Gatehouse of Fleet lies just to the north of the A75 Euro-route some 32 miles west of Dumfries, the nearest railway destination. The town is also a stop on the London - Belfast coach route.
From the A75 Euro-route, the B727 road to Gatehouse passes farmland at its eastern end and dips down towards the town, opening onto spectacular views, while the western approach is dominated by ancient Cardoness Castle on its steep promontory. Ships and High Speed Craft sail regularly from Stranraer and Port Ryan to Belfast and Larne in Ireland.
Beaches of Gatehouse Fleet
Because the estuary of the River Fleet is very shallow, tides go out typically for half a mile, and in sunny weather come in over warm sand, which warms the sea quickly. There are few currents of any consequence apart from the river itself. All the bays about Gatehouse of Fleet are very clean. At low tide, many walk out over the sands.
Walking Trails
Gatehouse of Fleet offers unrivalled opportunities for all sorts of walks. There are easily accessed walks starting from the town centre car park and from historic Cardoness Castle. There are trails of varying length through the beautiful Cally Oak Woods and Carstramon Wood. There are walks to the sea and across open country within the Fleet Valley National Scenic Area, as well as longer walks in the surrounding hills.
Accommodations
Gatehouse of Fleet has a range of accommodation available. Hotels, Bed and Breakfast's, Caravan and Camping and Cottages are available both in the town itself and the surrounding area.
What to do?
Gatehouse has the Mill on the Fleet, with its permanent historical exhibition, its variable exhibitions of art and skills, its café, shop, and the biggest bookshop outside Wigtown.
Between Gatehouse and Kirkcudbright lies ‘Cream O' Galloway’, with home-made ice cream, restaurant, nature and play trails, wild life and picnic sites. Kirkcudbright is home to its very own Wildlife Park which is home to, amongst others, Pygmy Goats, Llamas, Racoons and Wallabies.
The nearby town of Creetown has the popular ‘Gem Rock Museum’ -with its world class collection of gemstones, crystals, fossils, rocks and minerals. A fully interactive museum. Creetown also hosts the very popular ‘Country Music Weekend’ which attracts over 10,000 visitors each year. While Newton Stewart has its cinema, recently refurbished, with both live and recorded shows.
Old Castles
Rusco Castle by Gatehouse has been recovered as a private house, but is open to visitors by appointment.
Archaeology
Cairn Holy, to the west of Gatehouse, contains two neolithic burial chambers. The hills above it have numerous burial cairns, stone circles, and carved rocks dating from both the Neolithic and bronze age. Bronze age farm sites abound in the hills around Gatehouse. There are about a dozen Iron Age forts around Gatehouse, including Trusty's Hill Fort, with its carved stone by the gatehouse with its Pictish symbols.
What else? Fabulous gardens, Cafes, shops, golf and more. A warm welcome awaits you in Gatehouse of Fleet in the middle of a National Scenic Area on the edge of the magnificent Galloway Forest Park in the rural heart of Dumfries and Galloway.
With friendly people, lovely coastal and upland scenery, April, May and June are often the most glorious months with lighter evenings and the countryside full of blossom, but all year round Gatehouse is the ideal place for a short break or longer stay, and a must see when you plan your trip to Scotland.
© Copyright, 2010 Main Street Magazine/Rain Enterprises
As seen in the May Issue of Main Street Magazine.
Printed in Canada, ISSN: 1920-4299 by Rain Enterprises
For the complete article (with pics) get your Free copy of MSM at www.mainstreetmagazine.net
