DUMFEIES-KIEKCUDBEIGHT. 313 



TorOGRAPHY. 



Dumfries is formed of the dales of the Nith, Annan, and Esk, which fall into 

 the upper portion of Solway Firth, and is shut in by high naked hills on the 

 land side, which afford excellent pasturage. Tracts of marshy ground occur near 

 the shores of the Solway Firth, including the Solway and the Locher Mosses, but 

 these have been drained and brought under cultivation. 



The first village we arrive at, on crossing the boundary river Esk, is Gretna 

 Green, famed for its irregular Scotch marriages. Langholm, with a monument 

 to Sir John Malcolm, is the principal village of Eskdale. Annan, a small 

 seaport, lies at the mouth of charming Annandale. It carries on a modest 

 coasting trade and a little cotton-spinning. Ascending the dale, we pass 

 Lockerbie, noted for its sheep fair, and finally reach the picturesque village of 

 Moffat, lying at the foot of Hart Fell (2,651 feet), and no less noted for its 

 wild surroundings than for its sulphurous waters. Crossing from Annandale 

 into Nithsdale, we pass the village of Lochmahen, on the side of a small lake, 

 and the remains of one of the castles of Robert the Bruce — according to some, his 

 birthplace. 



Dumfries, 8 miles above the mouth of the Nith, but accessible with the tide to 

 vessels of 150 tons burden, is the most important town of South-western Scotland, 

 and one of its most ancient ; it engages in the woollen and hosiery trades. Robert 

 Burns died here, and a monument has been erected over his grave in the old 

 churchyard of St. Michael's. Below the town are the ruins of Caerlaverock 

 Castle, at one time a place of great strength, and on the other side of the river, at 

 the foot of the CrifiFel (1,867 feet), the beautiful remains of New or Sweetheart 

 Abbey, Nithsdale is noted for its picturesque scenery. Most striking amongst 

 its mansions is Drumlanrig Castle, a seat of the Duke of Buccleuch. Quite 

 at the head of the dale, amidst the Louther Hills, are the lead mines of 

 Wanlockhead. 



Kirkcudbright, formed out of the eastern portion of the old district of 

 Galloway, lies between the rivers Nith and Crée, and is traversed in its centre by 

 the Dee, of which the Ken is a tributary, and by the much smaller Urr Water. 

 Wild moorlands occupy nearly the whole of it, and its population is incon- 

 siderable. 



Kirkcudbright, the county town, on the estuary of the Dee, is merely a village, 

 with a small coasting trade. At Dundrennan Castle, 6 miles to the south-east, 

 Queen Mary spent the night after the fatal defeat of her troops at Langside. 

 Castle Douglas is a neat town in the valley of the Dee. Higher up the Dee expands 

 into two lakes, Lochs Dee and Ken, at the head of which is New Galloway. 

 Gatehouse of Fleet and Crectown, the latter with granite quarries, are small 

 ports on Wigtown Bay, to the west of the Dee ; whilst Dalbeattie, with its 

 granite quarries, and Kirkpatrick-Durham are the most notable villages on Urr 

 Water. 



