Whithorn Priory

Candida Casa was the name given to the church established by St Ninian in Whithorn, Galloway, southern Scotland, in the mid fifth century AD. The name derives from Latin: casa (meaning hut) and candidus/candida (meaning shining or glittering white), referring possibly to the stone used to construct it, or the whitewash used to paint it.

Whithorn (Scots pronunciation: [ˈʍɪthorn], Taigh Mhàrtainn in modern Gaelic), is a royal burgh in the historic county of Wigtownshire in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, about 10 miles (16 km) south of Wigtown. The town was the location of the first recorded Christian church in Scotland, Candida Casa 'White/Shining House', built by Saint Ninian about 397.

Whithorn is the closed terminus of the Wigtownshire Railway branch, from Newton Stewart, of the Portpatrick and Wigtownshire Joint Railway. It served the town of Whithorn in Wigtownshire. The line was closed to passenger services in 1950, and to goods in 1964.

Rispain Camp is the remains of a fortified farmstead 1 mile west of Whithorn, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It is one of the major Iron Age archaeological sites in Scotland. The property is in the care of Historic Environment Scotland. Access is through a farm off the A746 South of Whithorn. The name Rispain may derive from a local equivalent of the Old Welsh word rhwospen meaning 'the chief of the cultivated country', a name certainly appropriate to as prestigious a farm as this. Today it consists of two broad earth banks separated by a ditch, originally almost six metres deep surrounding an enclosure of almost half a hectare. Its defences are so well preserved that until the mid-1970s archaeologists believed the site to be either a Roman fort or mediaeval farmstead. However excavations in the early 1980s provided evidence that it was inhabited between the 100 BC and 200 AD by local Celtic farmers. Radiocarbon dating has provided evidence that the site was definitely occupied around 60 BC.Excavation revealed traces of a timber gateway to the north east, which would probably have been connected to a timber stockade running along the top of the inner rampart. There was also evidence of large timber roundhouses inside the enclosure, one of which is thirteen and a half metres in diameter. In the ditch's south eastern corner excavation uncovered a square pit, possibly a cistern. Cattle, sheep and pigs were kept and hunting in the surrounding countryside provided venison. Barley and wheat may not just have been used as foodstuffs but also, in the case of barley, used in the brewing of alcohol.

Glasserton is a civil parish in Dumfries and Galloway, south-west Scotland. It is on the Machars peninsula, in the traditional county of Wigtownshire. The parish is about 8 miles (13 km) in length, varying in breadth from 1 to 3 miles (1.6 to 4.8 km), and contains 13,477 acres (54.54 km2).

Broughton Skeog (NX4554444071) was a railway station that was located near level crossing gates over a minor road on the Wigtownshire Railway branch line, from Newton Stewart, of the Portpatrick and Wigtownshire Joint Railway. It served a rural area in Wigtownshire and was named after the nearby farm. Although the station closed as far back as 1885 the line was not closed to passenger services until 1950, and to goods in 1964.

St Ninian's Cave is a cave in Physgill Glen, Whithorn, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It features in the climax of the acclaimed 1973 horror film The Wicker Man. It is a place of Roman Catholic pilgrimage by way of its association with the Scottish saint Ninian. Excavations in the cave in the 1880s and the 1950s uncovered a collection of early medieval carved stones. There were 18 in total, most of them built into a post-medieval wall, others lying loose in the cave's interior or at its mouth.Rockfalls near the entrance have diminished the size of the cave over time, as seen at right.

Sorbie (Scottish Gaelic: Soirbidh) is a small village in Wigtownshire, Machars, within the Administration area of Dumfries and Galloway Council, Scotland.It is located midway between Wigtown and Whithorn on the A714 road. Farming forms the principal local industry in the area. The Sorbie Village Hall is used by a number of groups.Sorbie Parish Church, in the centre of the village, dates from around 1755 and is a large T-plan structure, now de-roofed. Millisle Church, 1 km west of Garlieston, was designed by Alan Stewart, the 10th Earl of Galloway (1835 - 1901). A junction on the Wigtownshire Railway opened in Millisle in 1876. Sorbie Railway Station on the Wigtownshire Railway branch of the Portpatrick and Wigtownshire Joint Railway which closed in the 1964 formerly served Sorbie village. For many years Sorbie had a creamery located beside the railway station, some of whose products were once exported via the port at nearby Garlieston. The creamery finally closed in the 1990s and the site occupied by a granite works. Galloway Granite has now relocated to Newton Stewart and the works now appear to be abandoned and in a state of dereliction.

Sorbie Tower is a fortified tower house 1 mile east of the village of Sorbie, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. The ancient seat of the Clan Hannay, it is in an L-shaped format, rubble-built in the late sixteenth century, possibly by Patrick Hannay. The poet and courtier at the court of James VI, Patrick Hannay was a member of this family. It was sold to the Earl of Galloway in 1677, and when the last of the line died in 1748 the tower became ruinous. It was given to the Clan Hannay by its owner in 1965. It remains to second floor level, although notably for a building of this kind there is no wall-walk or parapet. It is a scheduled monument. There are plans to restore it.The structure can be viewed both from the outside, free of charge, or, if you go to Garlieston Village and enquire within the village shop, you can go inside.

Millisle, later Millisle for Garlieston was a railway station that was near the junction for Garlieston on the Wigtownshire Railway branch line, from Newton Stewart to Whithorn, of the Portpatrick and Wigtownshire Joint Railway. It served a rural area in Wigtownshire. The line was closed to passenger services in 1950, and to goods in 1964.

Burrow Head is a headland located approximately two miles south-west of Isle of Whithorn, Wigtownshire, Scotland, and is the second southernmost point of Scotland (after the Mull of Galloway). St. Ninian's Cave is approximately two miles north-west along the coast. It is an important location for pilgrims who believe that St. Ninian spent some time on retreat there.Burrow Head's location and relative seclusion meant that during the eighteenth century it became associated with smuggling, from and to the Isle of Man (fifteen miles south) and Ireland.In more recent years, Burrow Head became famous as a location for the 1973 thriller film The Wicker Man. Until recently the stumps of the prop used as the wicker man in the film remained visible, but these have been gradually eroded by souvenir hunters. Today much of Burrow Head is occupied by a caravan park.

Sorbie (NX4351447562) was a railway station that was located close to the village of Sorbie on the then Wigtownshire Railway branch line to Whithorn, from Newton Stewart, later becoming the Portpatrick and Wigtownshire Joint Railway. It served a very rural district in Wigtownshire, however it lay next to a creamery, a waulk mill and Creech Mill. The station closed for passengers in 1950, and the line closed to goods in 1964.