Scotland Guide
Southern Scotland
Southern Scotland divides neatly into three distinct regions: the Borders and Lothian, Dumfries and Galloway, and Ayrshire. Although none of the regions has the highest of tourist profiles, those visitors who whizz past on their way to Edinburgh, Glasgow or the Highlands are missing out on a huge swathe of Scotland that is in many ways the very heart of the country. Its inhabitants, particularly in the Borders, bore the brunt of long wars with the English, its farms have fed Scotland's cities since industrialization, and two of the country's literary icons, Sir Walter Scott and Robbie Burns, lived and died here.
Highlights
1 Melrose Abbey Border abbey with the best-preserved sculptural detail, set in a charming town.
2 Caerlaverock One of Scotland's most photogenic moated castles.
3 Kirkcudbright One-time artists' colony, and the best-looking town in the "Scottish Riviera".
4 Galloway Forest Park Go mountain biking along remote forest tracks, or hiking on the Southern Upland Way.
5 Alloway The village where poet Robert Burns was born, and the best of many Burns pilgrimage spots in the region.
6 Culzean Castle Stately home with a fabulous cliff-edge setting.
7 Ailsa Craig Watch baby gannets learn the art of flying and diving for fish.