Dumfries: Queen of the South, Scotland's Last Major Town Before the Border
Dumfries is the largest town in Dumfries and Galloway, sitting on the River Nith about 30 miles northwest of Carlisle and 80 miles south of Glasgow. The population is roughly 34,000. Robert Burns spent the last five years of his life here, dying in 1796 at a house on Burns Street (now a museum). His mausoleum is in St Michael's Churchyard. The football club, Queen of the South, takes its name from the town's old nickname and plays at Palmerston Park, one of the more compact grounds in the Scottish leagues. Devorgilla Bridge, a 15th-century stone bridge across the Nith, is still standing and still used by pedestrians.
Dumfries is the administrative centre for Dumfries and Galloway Council, which is the largest council area in Scotland by land mass and one of the most sparsely populated. The Crichton campus on the southern edge of town, a former psychiatric hospital converted into a university and business campus, is architecturally impressive. The Whitesands area along the riverfront floods regularly, which has been a problem since medieval times and remains one today. The A75 connects Dumfries to the ferry port at Cairnryan (for Belfast and Larne) and the A76 runs north toward Kilmarnock. For those interested in adult companionship in Dumfries and Galloway, the town is effectively the only settlement of real size in the region, with the nearest comparable alternatives being Carlisle across the border or Ayr to the north.
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Dumfries is the largest town in Dumfries and Galloway, sitting on the River Nith about 30 miles northwest of Carlisle and 80 miles south of Glasgow. The population is roughly 34,000. Robert Burns spent the last five years of his life here, dying in 1796 at a house on Burns Street (now a museum). His mausoleum is in St Michael's Churchyard. The football club, Queen of the South, takes its name from the town's old nickname and plays at Palmerston Park, one of the more compact grounds in the Scottish leagues. Devorgilla Bridge, a 15th-century stone bridge across the Nith, is still standing and still used by pedestrians.
Dumfries is the administrative centre for Dumfries and Galloway Council, which is the largest council area in Scotland by land mass and one of the most sparsely populated. The Crichton campus on the southern edge of town, a former psychiatric hospital converted into a university and business campus, is architecturally impressive. The Whitesands area along the riverfront floods regularly, which has been a problem since medieval times and remains one today. The A75 connects Dumfries to the ferry port at Cairnryan (for Belfast and Larne) and the A76 runs north toward Kilmarnock. For those interested in adult companionship in Dumfries and Galloway, the town is effectively the only settlement of real size in the region, with the nearest comparable alternatives being Carlisle across the border or Ayr to the north.
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