Campervan cleaning

Exploring the Machars

Discover this delightful lesser-visited peninsula in the southwest of Scotland

WORDS & PHOTOS: Sue & Tim Reed

In the race to go north to the Highlands and Islands, this corner of southwest Scotland can sometimes be overlooked. Travelling north, turn left from the motorway just past Gretna, head west along the A75 and you have the beautiful lands of Dumfries and Galloway to explore, with their rolling green hills and stunning coastline.

For this trip, we’ve homed in on the Machars, a peninsula in the southwest, signposted as Scotland’s Historic Treasure House. We plan some wild camping, a spot of foraging, to soak up the history, walk, cycle and recharge our batteries in this gentle landscape of pretty villages, harbours, beaches and views.

ABOVE Touring the quiet lanes

BELOW LEFT TO RIGHT ReadingLasses Book Corner; Cows and the Galloway Hills

Scotland’s National Book Town

Turning off from the main road, we headed down the A714 to Wigtown. As a writer, I’m pulled with a magnetic force towards bookshops and Wigtown’s title of being Scotland’s National Book Town lives up to its name. A guide to the many bookshops can be picked up, along with a whole host of other leafl ets, at the town’s tourist information shop.

Wigtown hosts a book festival and there are many bookshops to explore, selling both new and secondhand books, but I’d heard that ReadingLasses does magnificent cake, so it seemed logical to start there. The selection of cakes and reading material was fantastic, and I was only disappointed we hadn’t arrived there earlier in the day. I could happily spend a whole day, cosseted in comfy leather settees, being fed salted caramel and chocolate Battenberg, and reading the many volumes of

Sue & Tim Campervan fans

When not away in her campervan, Sue, an ex-teacher, works from her home in rural Northumberland as a freelance writer, novelist and blogger on sustainability at The Bridge Cottage Way

work by women: ReadingLasses is the UK’s only bookshop dedicated solely to women. A leafl et can be obtained from the shop showing a walking trail of Wigtown’s historic women, of whom there are many.

The Martyr’s Stake

Two women whose martyrdom is commemorated at Wigtown, at the Martyr’s Stake, are Margaret McLachlan (age 63) and Margaret Wilson (age 18) who, on 11 May in 1685, were tied to stakes and drowned in the harbour as the tide came in. They were Covenanters, having refused to accept the divine right of the king and had continued to worship in fields rather than the kirk. By sheer coincidence we were there on 11 May and, as we walked down gorse-lined footpaths then out along a boardwalk to the stone memorial and site of the execution, I was moved to tears as I felt the wind whip across the marsh and thought of those two women, walking to their death.

Back in town, on a happier note, the chip van had arrived; I noted that this called at three places in the Machars and made a note of the times.

We then headed down to Wigtown Harbour, a favourite park-up of ours. On the approach, the sign warns of high tides and the possible risk of fl ooding. We’d been before and had remained high and dry, but it is worth checking tide times and heights online just in case there is an exceptionally high tide. There is a rubbish bin and tap on the harbour but, other than that, no other facilities. What there is, though, is a fabulous view back over to the Galloway Hills, and out across the nature reserve.

A short walk from the car park brings you to a bird hide, where oystercatchers, lapwings, redshanks and pintail ducks can be spotted. I sat on the ’van step in the evening sunshine, watching a swan on her nest walk down to the water and glide along the incoming tide.

There were a few cars coming down to eat their fish and chips and watch the sun go down, and a few evening dog walkers, but we had a peaceful night there and woke refreshed to continue our trip.

ABOVE TOP TO BOTTOM Walking gorse-lined paths; Bookshops in every nook and cranny; Leave nothing but your footprint

Beware of adders and flying balls!

We made the car park at the bottom of a steep hill at Monreith our next base. If you prefer to have more facilities and a campsite, there looked to be an excellent small site, Knock School Caravan Park, at the top of the hill. We, however, carried on down the steep track, past the golf course, taking note of the warning signs of fl ying golf balls and adders. There are several beautiful bays here, with 