Scenery

The skies were clear but not bright, as if a thin layer of muslin were stretched above Galloway. Anything might happen on such a day. Brilliant sunshine could appear by noon, only to disappear behind heavy clouds come three o’ the clock, followed by a downpour at supper.

~ Whence Came a Prince

Low hills rose and fell on both sides, covered with heather in muted shades of purple and brown, framed against the darkening sky.

~ Whence Came a Prince

It’s a lovely setting and heavily wooded. A canopy of trees, birch and oak among them, hangs over us as we move away from the water.

~ My Heart’s in the Lowlands

We’ll drive along the Solway coast to Southerness, home to one of the oldest lighthouses in Scotland, built in 1748.

~ My Heart’s in the Lowlands

Nothing holds the stones in place except gravity and the skill of the builder, yet many dykes have withstood two centuries of storms, crisscrossing the farmlands like gray charcoal lines drawn by the Master’s hand.

~ My Heart’s in the Lowlands

They had the narrow country road to themselves, the edges lined with dry stane dykes—stone fences fitted together without mortar—and beyond them, grazing sheep.

~ Whence Came a Prince

Nestled in a valley with sheep-covered hills rising on both sides, we’re surrounded by all that defines Dumfries and Galloway: a faint mist on the hilltops; impossibly green grass; and whitewashed houses.

~ My Heart’s in the Lowlands