Where to eat, stay and play in Dumfriesshire
EAT
Banquet time Thirty minutes north of Dumfries, Dabton House – a rambling, rentable Georgian residence with 11 rooms – is a destination in itself, complete with pink-sandstone façade, rolling grounds and a grand dining room seating up to 22. Guests can enjoy candlelit dinners (from £45 pp) gathered around a polished dining table that’s pure period drama. Standout plates? Grilled halibut with crushed new potatoes and lemon butter sauce; and strawberry cappuccino (garden berries, homemade ice cream and meringue). We all had seconds.
Pub grub A mile south, the pretty village of Thornhill is all wide streets and Victorian villas. Here The Buccleuch & Queensberry Arms Hotel (bqahotel.com) does comfort classics in hearty portions (above): the Scottish steak (£31.50) was perfect after a busy day exploring the area.
STAY
Country charm At Dabton House (above, from £2,500 a night self-catered, based on 22 sharing, dabtonhouse.co.uk; nearest station Kirkconnel, 15 miles away), you’ll feel like you’re being welcomed into a family home straight out of Austen. Bedrooms each have individual style – everyone secretly hoped to land one with a clawfoot bathtub and view of Drumlanrig Castle. What to do? As little as possible: drift between the library, the drawing room with its grand piano, and the snooker room, then spend evenings cosied up around the fire. With acres of woods and gardens, it’s as peaceful as it is palatial. Of course, this being Scotland, rain was not unusual, so slipping into the sauna at Dabton became a welcome daily ritual. If calves are smarting after a day’s hike (this is fine walking country), a massage therapist can easily be arranged.
LOVE
Take a hike The Castle View walk is a 5km circular route from the Larchwood Cabin Café in the grounds of Drumlanrig Castle (above, visitscotland.com). The gentle climb is well worth it for views of the River Nith, the castle’s turrets and purple hills beyond. En route there’s a loch, a ruined hydro plant and artist Andy Goldsworthy’s 2009 red-sandstone sculpture Leaping Arch, like a giant croquet hoop.
Time travel The baroque clock tower of the Tolbooth Museum watches over the town of Sanquhar, set beside the River Nith, 20 minutes by car north from Dabton House. It’s great for inquisitive kids: on display are tools used in the region’s once-thriving mining industry, and a recreated jail cell from the old prison. It’s small, but packed with character – free to enter, too. For more on Dumfriesshire, visit scotlandstartshere.com.
