Rough Firth

Rockcliffe is a small, coastal village in Kirkcudbrightshire, Dumfries and Galloway in Scotland, with a view of Rough Island, Hestan Island, the Solway Firth and sometimes the Cumbrian coast. Rockcliffe lies on the eastern side of the River Urr estuary, and gives access to Rough Island by way of both firm mud exposed at low tide and a natural, tidal causeway. Road access is from Dalbeattie (six miles or ten kilometres) and Dumfries (twenty miles or thirty kilometres); although Kippford is nearby there is no direct road route. Rockcliffe is also linked to Castle Point (site of a Roman fort), Glenstocken, Portling and Sandyhills by footpath. The village is a combination of both residential and holiday let properties. Local business in Rockcliffe is mainly holiday lets, though the village also has one tea room, a caravan site and the surrounding farming industry. Salmon fishing with nets at Rough Island and cockle fishing are both occasionally based from the beach. The village has a car park and a public toilet, now including a defibrillator, but no other facilities to speak of. An ice cream van can usually be relied upon to be open for business in the bay on even the cloudiest days. The site of the 5th century Dark Ages hill fort called the Mote of Mark adjoins Rockcliffe. Furthermore this site is an example of a vitrified fort. Baron's Craig, is a Victorian country house designed by Alfred Waterhouse in 1879. It was in use for much of the 20th century as an hotel and known as the Baron's Craig Hotel. [1] Hotel extensions were added by architects Sutherland, Dickie and Copland in the early 1970s. The Rockliffe Gallery occupies part of the building and organises a series of annual exhibitions. [2] Small parts of Rockcliffe have been bequeathed to the National Trust for Scotland.

Kippford (/ˈkɪpfəd/; otherwise Scaur) is a small village along the Solway coast, in the historic county of Kirkcudbrightshire in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. Also known as the Solway Riviera and has the most expensive property in Dumfries & Galloway.

"Rough Island" is also used as a translation of "Garbh Eilean", a common Scottish name for islandsRough Island is a 20-acre (8 ha) uninhabited tidal island located in the Rough Firth off the Solway Firth, Scotland, in the historical county of Kirkcudbrightshire, the same region where the River Urr flows into the Solway. The isle of Rough is 79 feet (24 metres) at its highest point.

Palnackie is a village in the parish of Buittle in the historical county of Kirkcudbrightshire in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It has a population of approximately 250 and is a working port on the Urr Water. Palnackie is home to the Grande Internationale World Flounder Tramping Championships.

Hestan Island is a small coastal island at the southern foot of the River Urr estuary in the Solway Firth, in the historical county of Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland. This small island measures approximately 460 by 270 metres (1,510 by 890 feet) and at its highest elevation sits at just over 50 metres (160 feet) above sea level. The isle of Hestan lies at the mouth of Auchencairn Bay in the region of Dumfries and Galloway in the former county of Kirkcudbrightshire. A lighthouse was built on the eastern side of the island by Alan Stevenson in 1850. At certain conditions of low tide the island is accessible on foot as there is a natural causeway of shingle and mussels from Almorness Point to the northern tip of Hestan. The island can also be reached on foot from Rockcliffe during the time of spring tides, but requires wading (knee to thigh deep) across the lowest parts of the river Urr out on the mudflats. It is a two-mile walk and, unlike other parts of the Solway mudflats and, say, Morecambe Bay, you can walk faster than the incoming tide if you leave Hestan a bit late. At the southern tip of the island is the notably-named "Daft Ann's Steps", a series of pinnacles where, legends say, a girl of lesser intelligence attempted to lay stepping stones ahead of her to reach the Balcary Point and drowned.There are ruins of a manor house built for Edward Balliol near the north of the island. In the 18th century the island was used as a centre of smuggling activity, with goods being stored in the caves on the south west of the island where there was reputed to have been shelves cut into the rock. Samuel Rutherford Crockett made great play with this in his novel The Raiders. Balcary House, on the opposite shore, now Balcary Bay Hotel, was used by a firm of smugglers which used its cellars to conceal their contraband. The island is a popular destination for sea kayakers.Hestan Island is one of 43 tidal islands that can be walked to from the mainland of Great Britain and one of 17 that can be walked to from the Scottish mainland.

Urr Water or River Urr (arc. River Orr) is a river in which flows through the counties of Dumfriesshire and Kirkcudbrightshire in southwest Scotland.

Orchardton Castle overlooks the Solway Coast. Built in the 1880s, this is a Grade B listed property formerly known as Orchardton House. Built around a Scottish Baronial-style mansion located in Auchencairn in the historical county of Kirkcudbrightshire in Dumfries and Galloway in Scotland. It overlooks the Solway Firth, with views to Cumbria and Hestan Island.

Colvend and Southwick is a community council area and civil parish within the Stewartry area of Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It is also part of the Church of Scotland parish of Colvend, Southwick and Kirkbean. It is in the historic county of Kirkcudbrightshire. Colvend Church was designed by architect Peter MacGregor Chalmers in 1911.Southwick Church designed by Peddie & Kinnear 1891.Southwick House, C18th/19th mansion house, home of Sir Mark McTaggart-Stewart MP, Baronet (1834 -1923), MP for Wigtown Burghs from 1874–80 Kirkcudbrightshire between 1885 and 1910.

Auchencairn ([ɔxən'kʰɛ:(r)n]) is a village in the historical county of Kirkcudbrightshire in the Dumfries and Galloway region of Scotland. It is located on the coast of the Solway Firth at the head of Auchencairn Bay and lies on the A711 road between the town of Dalbeattie to the east and Kirkcudbright to the west.

Buittle Bridge, also known as Craignair Bridge is a bridge over the Urr Water just outside Dalbeattie in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. Completed in 1797, it replaced and earlier two-span bridge of the same name which was destroyed in a flood a short time after its completion; the remains of this older bridge, comprising the base of its pier and some remnants of its south-west abutment, survive a short distance upstream.Buittle Bridge has a single depressed arch, with a span of approximately 90 feet (27 m), and a humpbacked carriageway. Unusually wide for a single-span stone bridge, its voussoirs, springers and soffit are made of ashlar, and its spandrels and parapet are of rubble. Historic Environment Scotland note that the masonry work on the bridge is unusually fine.The bridge was designated a Category A listed building in 1989. It is still in use, carrying the A711 road south-west out of Dalbeattie towards Castle Douglas and Kirkcudbright, and spanning the boundary between the parishes of Haugh of Urr and Buittle.

Dalbeattie (, Scots: Dawbeattie, Scottish Gaelic: Dail Bheithe meaning 'haugh of the birch' or Dail bhàite 'drowned (i.e. liable to flood) haugh') is a town in the historical county of Kirkcudbrightshire in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. Dalbeattie is in a wooded valley on the Urr Water 4 miles (6 km) east of Castle Douglas and 12 miles (19 km) south west of Dumfries. The town is famed for its granite industry and for being the home town of William McMaster Murdoch, the First Officer of the RMS Titanic.

Dalbeattie Town Hall is a municipal building in the High Street in Dalbeattie, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. The structure, which is used as community events venue, is a Category B listed building.