86 Fkld Meetings. 



Carlingwark Loch and Threave Castle. 

 ith Augicst, 1883. 

 The August field meeting comprised an excursion by rail to 

 Castle-Douglas, a pleasant sail on Carlingwark Loch, and a visit 

 to the interesting ruins of Threave Castle. Only a dozen members 

 attended, but, favoured with fine weather, the meeting proved an 

 enjoyable one. They were met at Castle-Douglas by Mr J. H. 

 Maxwell, the genial editor of the Kirkcudbrightshire Advertiser, 

 who kindly accompanied the party, and supplied each of them with 

 a copy of his " Guide to the Stewartry." Carlingwark Loch was 

 first visited. The loch, which is nearly a hundred acres in extent, 

 is beautifully studded with a number of small islets, and occupies 

 a picturesque situation. It has also yielded up many antiquai-ian 

 relics, and was much prized as a field for research by the late Mr 

 Joseph Train, the well-known antiquary. A boat having been 

 engaged, the party proceeded to the Fir Island, the largest of the 

 group, which is said to have been used by Edward I. as a place 

 for shoeing his cavalry horses, when he made his way in 1300 to 

 the wilds of Galloway — a traditionary tale which is supported by 

 the supposition that there iised to be a road from the margin of 

 the loch to the north-east of the island, by the fact that horse- 

 shoes of an old-fashioned character and similar deposits have been 

 repeatedly found in the becj of the lake, and by the further fact 

 that until recently what were supposed to be the remains of an old 

 forge were visible on the island. An object of curiosity here is a 

 small memorial purporting to have been erected in March, 1863, 

 "to the memory of Prince, for twelve years the faithful and 

 attached dog of Lady Abercromljy of Birkenbog ;" and on the top 

 of the stone is sculptured a bas-relief image of her ladyship's 

 favourite pet. A rare specimen of Eanuncuhcs Lingua was found 

 on the island by Miss Gillies. The name of the lake is a compound 

 of two old British words — caerlin, a fort lake, and wark, a castle 

 — and its application is explained by the story that a town was 

 sunk in the loch, and that churches once stood on two of the 

 islands. Near to the lake is the place known as " The Three 

 Thorns of Carlingwark," where James II. assembled his men for 

 the siege of Threave Castle. Three thorn trees used to mark the 

 spot, but they have all perished from old age, the last one having 

 fallen a few years ago. After a brief visit to the garden of Mr 



