Themed Walking Breaks
To be a wee bit different, we have a compiled an fascinating menu of unique themed walking breaks which may be of interest to some of you. At present we have three themed walks with others to follow. The self-led-walks are all in and around the theme area. At a welcome meeting we go over the walks itinerary and provide a back-up service if required.
They are:
1. Theme Town Walks - food, artists and books.
2. Five Red Herrings Murder Mystery Tour - 1930's detective novel.
3. National Trust Properties Walks - NTS properties in Galloway.
4. Luxury Walking Breaks - using the best accommodatyion in the area.
5. Walking and Sightseeing Breaks No.'s 1 and 2 - visiting noteable Places of Interest.
6. Walking and Cycling Breaks - a menu of the best walking and cycling routes.
Each theme has a 4 and a 7 day walking break.
1. Theme Town Walks
Dumfries and Galloway region has three theme towns, all within the galloway area. They are:
Castle Douglas market town is a food theme town in recognition of the large number of independent food related business, including butchers, bakers, chocolate makers. There are also many other independent shops which make it a popular place for visitors from outwith the area to visit for shopping and even sample the food.
Kirkcudbright has been known as an artists town since the 1800’s. The special light as well as the scenery saw numerous artists make their home in the town – and this is still the case. The fishing port has several art galleries, the county museum and other attractions which make it a popular tourist resort in the summer.
The last theme town was actually the first one constituted as a theme town, i.e. Wigtown book town. Wigtown was the old county town for Wigtownshire before local government reorganisation. There are over 20 book shops and related businesses in and around the town and you can easily spend a whole day browsing around.
Click here to see the walk details.
2. Five Red Herrings Murder Mystery Tour
To add an extra dimension to your holiday, we have decided to arrange a walking break with a unique murder mystery theme. We have used the Five Red Herrings book, set in Galloway featuring many real places still in existence.
The fiction novel was first published in 1931 and written the celebrated novelist Dorothy L. Sayers, who lived in Gatehouse and Kirkcudbright for many years. The book was also serialised in television in1974 with the lead role being taken by the actor Ian Carmichael. We have notified and obtained permission from the Dorothy L. Sayers Society to operate this tour and acknowledge the information found in the Society’s ‘Tour of Galloway By Car’ booklet.
The tour has accommodation bases in the towns of Kirkcudbright, Gatehouse of Fleet and Newton Stewart – all of which have many other attractions. This coincides with the book largely being set in Kirkcudbright and Gatehouse of Fleet with Newton Stewart being central to other significant locations.
As most of the places written about in the book are still here, reading the book either before or during your break will bring it to life. We can supply a copy of the re-printed book on arrival or you can easily obtain a copy from Amazon beforehand.
Click here to see the walk details.
3. National Trust Properties Walks
Central Galloway has five National Trust properties – all within a reasonable distance from each other. We use our local knowledge to arrange accommodation and design walking breaks incorporating visits to the properties – although one is offshore and inaccessible – and other interesting features between and around these properties.
The properties are:
Threave Estate
Rockliffe
Broughton House
Murray Isles
Venniehill
Bruce's Stone - an extra option for the 7 day tour.
Entry Tickets
If you are not a member of the Trust, we can arrange 3, 7 or 14 day Discovery Tickets which gives entry to the two entrance charging properties, Threave Estate and Broughton House. This would also give you access to other NTS properties in Scotland during this period.
Click here to see the walk details.
4. Luxury Walking Breaks
By Luxury Walking Breaks, we mean walking breaks including accommodation in the best hotels or country houses of the region. We also have the knowledge and organisational ability to collaborate with other businesses to arrange any other luxury requirements you may wish.
We have arranged luxury cycling breaks in the past and tailored the accommodation and other aspects to suit. Apart from reasonable distance walks, there are always other things to see and do in the area – which we can advise on at a welcome meeting.
Please note, our service includes arranging the full walking and accommodation package for you, as well as providing advice or making any other arrangements you require e.g. booking golf tee times, spa and therapy centre bookings etc. can advise on at the welcome meeting at your accommodation.
As there are a limited number of top hotels and country houses in the area, please contact us as early as possible if you are considering one of our Luxury Walking Breaks - we can then discuss your requirements and secure accommodation bookings if desired. We can also arrange National Trust and other top quality self-catering cottages in the area if preferred.
To ensure you are aware of the standard of accommodation offered, we provide information, including websites addresses, on the 4 star hotels and country houses we have used.
Click here to see the walk details.
5. Walking and Sightseeing Breaks No.'s 1 and 2.
For those who may only want to do a walk for part of the day or have a rest day during their break, we have a 4 day and 7 day self –led walking tour which incorporates visiting some interesting places in the region by car.
The places we have selected cover right across the region, indeed to the southernmost tip of Scotland at the Mull of Galloway. Although we have selected what we think is an excellent walking and sightseeing tour of the region, by viewing our Places of Interest list, we could change one or two of the 8 Walks below to others you may have a particular interest in e.g. The David Coulthard museum for F1 racing enthusiasts. Part of our service is to use our local knowledge to help you select a walk and sightseeing break to suit your requirements.
6. Walking and Cycling Breaks
As we have been operating cycling holidays successfully for around 5 years, we are able to combine some cycling along with a walking holiday.
We offer a 4 day break, including cycle hire for the 4 days, from one accommodation location in Castle Douglas.
We also offer a 7 day break, with either 4 or 7 days cycle hire (7 days would give you full flexibility to choose when to walk or cycle), using one or two accommodation places. The second place would be a suitable day’s cycling distance from the first accommodation location to allow a circular 7 day tour. In both cases we, suggest sufficient cycle and walking routes, some combined, to cover at least the number of days on your break.
In order that we arrange a ‘joined up’ break, we need to know the location of your preferred accommodation. We will compile and offer an outline cycling and walking break proposal for you to consider.
To look at our cycling website, www.gallowaycycling.co.uk click here.