Stone circles aren’t something I associated with Dumfries and Galloway. I think of them more as an up north, Western Isles and Orkney sort of thing.

But here this one was on the road between Kirkcowan and Wigtown. Torrhouse stone Circle is a Bronze Age monument.

Here are three of the stones and a local farm animal, not to mention a tree shaped like a lollipop:-

Kirkinner is in the former Wigtownshire area of Dumfries and Galloway a few miles south of Wigtown itself.

Its War Memorial is in the form of a large (mortared) cairn embossed with a circular shield and is inscribed, “To the glory of God and in memory of the men of this parish who fell in the Great War 1914-1919.” Below the names it reads, “1914 Their name liveth for ever 1919.”

It’s amazing what you see when wandering about a town on an early summer’s evening.

A train track in someone’s garden.

Unfortunately I couldn’t get far enough back to get it all in one photo:-

This lies down Bank Street from the Town Hall beside the road that leads down to the Martyr’s Stake.

Memorial from southwest:-

Wigtown War Memorial From East. Upper names, World War 2. Lower names, the Great War:-

Memorial from Northwest:-

Wigtown formerly in Wigtownshire and then Wigtown and Kircudbright and now Dumfries and Galloway is in deepest southwest Scotland.

Main Street looking south:-

Main Street looking north, town hall to centre right:-

Looking north past town hall, War Memorial in middle distance:-

Wigtown sells itself as Scotland’s book town, its Hay-on-Wye if you like. Unlike in Hay-on-Wye I actually bought a book. The bookseller was much taken when I told him the tale.

THE Bookshop:-

The Scottish room:-

There are several shops selling books but not much else there apart from coffeshops and the like.

We took a walk down a path leading to the Martyr’s Stake.

In southeast Scotland they had a particularly innovative method of execution in those parts back in the day. Tying the victims to stakes and letting the tide rise to drown them. This is a memorial (now well away from the sea) to people martyred in such a way for their beliefs:-