Arts & Culture
Museums
Overlapping with the themes of history and heritage, yet the range of dedicated museums and galleries across Dumfries and Galloway merit separate mention. Almost twenty of these are managed by DG Culture – and admission to all is free. The jewel in the crown is perhaps Dumfries Museum, centred around an old windmill now housing a Camera Obscura, which contains an extensive collection of exhibits from prehistoric to relatively recent times. Children’s activities run during the school holidays, occasionally at weekends, and with a programme of informative evening talks throughout the year. Numbered among privately-run local museums are those at Dalbeattie, Newton Stewart, Creetown, Gatehouse of Fleet, and Moffat. Of national renown are the Dumfries Aviation Museum, the Devil’s Porridge Museum near Annan – each specialising in the region’s contribution to twentieth-century world wars – and, marginally beyond the D&G boundary, the Museum of Lead Mining (where you can take the underground tour – and even pan for gold!) at Wanlockhead.
Robert Burns
Burns spent the last eight years of his life in Dumfriesshire, firstly at Ellisland Farm before moving to Dumfries itself. At the former location, explore the home where he lived with his family and wrote some of his most famous poems. In Dumfries, visit the house where he passed his final years and died: Robert Burns House, now a museum like Ellisland Farm. A short walk away, enter the Bard’s resting place of the magnificent Burns’ Mausoleum in St Michael’s Church kirkyard. While there, follow the trail showing where many of his friends and contemporaries lie at rest – or even take the graveyard guided tour! There are many other locations associated with Burns around Dumfries, one of note being the Brow Well whose waters he drank for its alleged healing properties, this in the hope of curing the illness that ultimately led to his death.
The Arts & Literature
The region is home to a thriving and diverse artistic community, both visual and performing arts, with a host of venues offering performances and displays across the calendar year. The annual Dumfries and Galloway Arts Festival is Scotland’s oldest and biggest, while galleries are located in Dumfries, Kirkcudbright, and elsewhere. Develop skills in applied crafts at places like Shambellie House (New Abbey), or the Clay Works Studio and the Art Room (both in Dumfries). Close to a hundred art studios regularly participate in the yearly ‘Spring Fling’. And when it comes to books, look no further than Wigtown, Scotland’s National Booktown, which moreover hosts a renowned annual literary festival each autumn.
