The Scotlanders Campaign with Solway Tours in Dumfries and Galloway! #LoveDandG
The Scotlanders are a passionate group of travel bloggers who are doing a fantastic job of highlighting the wonderful country that we live in. Their passion for Scotland and promoting its history, scenery, culture and food and drink comes across loud and clear. The six people who make up the Scotlanders have different areas of interest however they come together to share with the world all that is good about Scotland. We have followed their travels on Twitter and Instagram for a while now and it was clear to us that they hold the same passion for promoting Scotland as a high quality destination as Solway Tours do! We contacted them a few months ago to enquire about some partnership working in order to promote our wonderful Region, Dumfries and Galloway.
A few months later it was all planned! Four of the Scotlanders were to spend a weekend in Dumfries and Galloway where they would visit some of the key historic sites, scenic spots, attractions and of course sample some of the best food and drink in the Region. We had the pleasure of guiding two of the Scotlanders for the weekend, Dougie from Great Travel Images and Laura a travel blogger and the newest Scotlander recruit. There is so much to see and do in Dumfries and Galloway so it was not hard to fill a weekend full of amazing historic sites, scenic spots and of course an afternoon tea and an ice cream along the way! Below are some of the highlights of our first day of guiding them around the Region.
Day One with the Scotlanders in Dumfries and Galloway!
With so many fantastic sites across our Region it was hard deciding where to take the Scotlanders to over the two days! We showed them some of the reasons why we #LoveDandG!
Caerlaverock Castle
Unique for its triangular shape the Maxwell stronghold is steeped in a turbulent history and is well worth a visit when you are in the Region.
Sweetheart Abbey
A stunning Abbey built for Lady Dervourgilla as a memorial to her late husband John Balliol.
Afternoon Tea at the Abbey Cottage
The Abbey Cottage is a fantastic tea room which sits right next door to Sweetheart Abbey and serves a great selection of sandwiches, teas, cakes and a delicious afternoon tea.
Rockcliffe
A picturesque, small rural seaside village with rocky shores and incredible views!
Orchardton Tower
Orchardton Tower is a fantastic tower house near Dalbeattie and is the only free standing round tower house in Scotland. The views from the top are amazing and a dream location for photographers!
Dundrennan Abbey
A stunning Cistercian Monastery established in 1142 by Fergus of Galloway.
Irongray Churchyard
We pride ourselves on taking guests to some of the hidden historic gems in Dumfries and Galloway. We took Dougie to Irongray Church to tell him the story of two local women remembered there. Jane Haining the only Scot to be killed in Auschwitz concentration camp and Helen Walker whose story was then used for the character Jeanie Deans in Sir Walter Scott’s book Heart of Midlothian.
At the end of a busy and exciting day Laura and the other Scotlanders had a lovely evening planned in the picturesque town of Portpatrick at the Fernhill Hotel. For Dougie it was time to say farewell. We thoroughly enjoyed having the opportunity to guide Dougie around and we look forward to seeing more of the great images he has captured from our wonderful Region. A great day with two lovely people who share the same passion for promoting Scotland as we do and we look forward to working with them again to promote Dumfries and Galloway further.
In a future blog post we will outline where we explored on day 2 and hear from the Scotlanders about what their thoughts were after their weekend in D&G!