Places of Interest in Dumfries

Posted 10/09/2019

Dumfries is a town near the border between England and Scotland, about an hour away from Carlisle and two hours from The Lake District using the M6 and taking the A75. This road also leads along to the ferry ports by Stranraer, and to the A76 leading up to Ayr and takes on a lot of traffic over the day, particularly during work time rush hours.

There are a few castle ruins in the area around Dumfries town: Caerlaverock Castle with a moat and two towers for exploration have an app to download on mobile devices for additional information. The structure is found just under 9 miles from Dumfries; Drumlanrig Castle with its gardens across 40 acres just past Thornhill offers biking activities, adventure playground and museum for a full day of entertainment; Morton Castle boasts peaceful views of the hills, fields and an artificial loch although there are no directions along the road so access can be tricky. Morton Castle is found North East of Thornhill. Threave Castle is found between Kirkcudbright and Dalbeattie along the A75 and features a boat trip across the River Dee to access the island and its castle.

For those interested in family fun parks for a range of ages there’s the Dino Park about 20 minutes down the A75 from Dumfries with a walk among the dinosaurs, a story time and soft play for children; Dalscone Park Farm nearer to the town features indoor play areas for children and outdoor activities for adults to join in, and offers a safari tour around the farm in warm weather; and Mabie Farm Park just over 4 miles from the town centre has donkey rides, chances to feed the animals and quad biking activities alongside playground fun for little ones.

There are plenty of museums within the town of Dumfries itself such as the Robert Burns House along Burns street. Robert Burns is known for his poetry and the house if filled with his history for interested visitors. The museum has leaflets on a Burns Walk around Dumfries which lead visitors to other places connected to Robert Burns; Dumfries Museum covers various topics, from history and astronomy to taxidermy and sacred stones. It holds the oldest Camera Obscura in an exhibit is a small cost that makes the museum unique; Aviation Museum is a volunteer run museum just outside Dumfries around the surrounding airfield, showcasing a spitfire plane alongside other air models and their parts, utilizing the nearby control tower for visitors to look inside at the panels.

For a garden walk, visitors can see The Garden of Cosmic Speculation – though those interested should be quick. The garden viewing must be booked online, usually at the end of January, and the park itself is only open for one day of the year. Due to its limited access, the one day of business can be busy and crowds are to be expected. The garden features structures and sculptures around its flora, and set routes take the visitors around the exhibits suitably.

Tags: places to see, things to do, dumfries