|
Things to Do
A supermarket, petrol station, High Street and the Station Park are all within 5 minutes’ walk of Number 6. The Station Park includes Moffatasia (water feature for children), a boating lake, putting green, and a children’s adventure playground. The High Street and Well Street have a good range of independent shops including the famous Moffat Toffee Shop. The nearby Moffat Museum is also well worth a visit. There are many places to eat in the town including several hotels, cafes and a number of restaurants. For more detail about facilities and activities, see
the
Visit Moffat website.
For somewhat further afield,
go to
Visit Dumfries and Galloway and
for the Scottish borders go to
Visit Scotland and follow the links.
Moffat is a wonderful base for walking. It has been designated Scotland's first Walkers Welcome town and hosts a Walking Festival every autumn.
For the less energetic there are
numerous short walks and strolls along
the rivers and through the woods in the
area. The
Southern Upland Way passes close to the town and there are several shorter sections of this path that can be tackled. The higher hills such as Queensberry, Hartfell, and White Coomb
offer more strenuous challenges.
Click here for a detailed weather
forecast.
Also in the Southern
Uplands the Grey Mare’s Tail (a
National Trust property with a
300-foot waterfall) and St Mary’s Loch are within 30 minutes by car and they must be visited. On the way, watch out for red squirrels and wild goats. Also close to Moffat is the Devil's Beef Tub, a dramatic landform used by the Border Reivers to hide stolen cattle.
There is plenty of interest for garden lovers. Moffat has won a “Britain in Bloom” award in recent years. Craigieburn Gardens in Moffat have their own Sherpa to help tend the Himalayan varieties grown there.
Dawyck Botanic Garden is about 30 minutes drive away while
Threave Gardens at Castle Douglas is delightful in all seasons.
The area is excellent for bird watching. You can start in the garden of Number 6, the haunt of many garden and woodland birds including woodpeckers and nuthatches. Keep an eye open for the dippers and herons along the river. A local
nature reserve is 15 minutes’ walk away while the valley of Moffat Water is the haunt of several raptors including, on occasion, the golden eagle. The Solway coast is within 45 minutes’ drive, where you will find Caerlaverock Castle and the adjacent
Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust reserve that attracts large numbers of waterfowl and wetland birds. Further west along The Solway coast is an
RSPB reserve at Mersehead. For nature lovers interested in the flora and fauna of Dumfries and Galloway an informative website is
www.dgerc.org.uk.
The River Annan flows within 50 yards of Number 6 but the best fishing begins a few miles downstream. The Annan can produce good sea trout and some fine salmon at the end of the season, when the water is high. Brown trout give good sport in the summer. Telephone 01683-300592 for further details on fishing. Nearer to hand are the fishing ponds at
Hammerlands, Moffat where other family activities are also available.
The local
18-hole golf course
offers perhaps the most stunning views
of any in the country. Visiting golfers
are welcome. Within an hour’s drive are
at least
15 other courses.
This is Robert Burns country and he was a regular visitor to Moffat. He patronised the Black Bull which is the nearest pub to Number 6 (5 minutes’ walk).
Click here for more information on
Burns’ (and other famous people’s)
connection with Moffat and district.
Last but not least, the clear skies above Dumfries and Galloway mean that it is increasingly acknowledged as an excellent location for viewing the planets and stars.
|