 
Rambles in Galloway
Topographical, Historical, Traditional, and Biographical
by Malcolm M'Lachlan Harper
Edmonston & Douglas, Edinburgh. 1876
THREE chapters from this book contain material relating to Buittle Parish, viz.:
Chapter II. Castle Douglas to Auchencairn.
Chapter XXIII. Castle Douglas to Dalbeattie.
Chapter XXIV. Dalbeattie and Environs.
CASTLE-DOUGLAS TO AUCHENCAIRN.
AMONG the many pleasant drives and walks that lie within easy distance of
Castle-Douglas, at once beautiful and deeply interesting in historical associations, there
are none which will afford the visitor more gratification than that which we have chosen
for the present Ramble.
The finely-wooded vale of Yerrock, through which the road passes, the delightful sea
views, and the beautiful remnants of hoar antiquity to be met with by the way, cannot fail
to interest and call forth the admiration of the traveller. It has always been a favourite
route of holiday seekers; and by many Castle-Douglas "auld boys," the broomy
braes of Gelston will be fondly cherished and remembered, as recalling many pleasing
reminiscences connected with the excursions of their nut-gathering and bird-nesting days.
The Glen of Yerrock is at all times inviting, but the season in which to see it to the
best advantage is either in early summer when the trees are in full and tender leaf, and
the hillsides are adorned with the golden flowers of the broom and the milky spray of the
hawthorn, or when it wears the more splendid and diversified tints of autumn. We have
chosen the former season for this Ramble, and the bright morning gives promise of a
beautiful day. So we leave Castle-Douglas by St. Andrew Street, getting a glimpse of
Carlingwark Loch as we pass near Whitepark. A walk of about two miles brings us to what
was, in the days of tolls in the Stewartry, Burntstick bar, and a short way up the road to
the right is Gelston village. Proceeding onwards, to Castlegower, we observe the remains
of a vitrified fort to the left; almost directly opposite, on the right, is Gelston
Castle, at a short distance from the road, and finely situated on a rising ground
tastefully laid out with trees. It was erected by the late Sir William Douglas, and being
a comparatively modern building, possesses no historical interest.
By the taste, judgment, and liberality of Sir William Douglas, the late Mr. Maitland,
and Colonel Maxwell, in laying out their estates of Gelston and Orchardton with ornamental
plantations, the scenery of this glen was so much improved that the genial and talented
editor of the Dumfries Courier, Mr. John M'Diarmid, described it as the Trossachs of
Galloway. It now well merits the appellation: a lake, with the hills reflected, being all
that is wanted to form a perfect picture of Highland scenery.
We are now walking leisurely through the sunlit glen, admiring, as we proceed, the
attractions of early summer. The road is delightful, and a choir of birds are chanting
their songs in the woods and hedges as we pass. Thriving plantations crown the precipitous
hills on both sides, and contrast beautifully with the grey and bald rocks of Screel
towering above them. Almost every point in the scenery of this Ramble is pleasing to the
eye, but such scenes must be seen to be duly appreciated.
Continuing our stroll we reach Douganhill, at a point where four roads meet. The one
to the left leads to the small village of Palnackie, which, previous to the introduction
of railways into Galloway, was of very considerable importance as a seaport. It was then
the port of Castle-Douglas, and the whole surrounding district was supplied from it with
coals, lime, slate, wood, etc. It is now almost deserted of its shipping, and has a drowsy
appearance.
About a mile up the road, leading onwards, is the picturesque old round tower of
Orchardton, situated amongst trees near the road side. This tower is the only one of the
kind in Galloway. It is chiefly interesting as being associated with a very romantic
incident in the life of a former proprietor of the estate of Orchardton, whose history
formed the groundwork of Sir Walter Scott's novel Guy Mannering. The account here given of
it is from Family Recollections, (Family Recollections, by Miss Goldie. Edinburgh. 1841.)
and is perfectly reliable.
It is there narrated that "soon after the battle of Culloden a number of
prisoners were one day brought in by a party of military before Mr. Goldie, then
Commissary of Dumfries, who had, alas! no alternative but to order military execution to
be done upon them, after it was proved that they had formed part of the rebel army. They
had contrived to hide themselves and get to the Galloway coast, nearest to the Isle of
Man, where they were skulking in hopes of some smuggler, or foreign vessel, enabling them
to escape.
As they were just about to be led out to execution, Mr. Goldie observed one
young man, of superior and interesting appearance, attempting to tear a written paper,
when he immediately called out to an officer who guarded him, 'seize that paper,' which
was immediately done. Upon reading it, Mr. Goldie said, ' Why, young man, you were
attempting to destroy yourself. This paper is your commission from the King of France as
an officer in his army; and I now detain you as a prisoner of war, instead of sending you
off to be shot as a rebel.'
"The young man was accordingly put in a place of confinement, and not a very
severe one, considering what prisons then were, as he afterwards related that his chief
occupation consisted in counting the large square stones with which his apartment was
flagged, in every possible direction, and thus trying what their number could be raised
to. But he did not continue long thus employed. A rumour speedily arose in the town that
this was the long-lost heir of the house of Orchardton, an old Roman Catholic family.
An old female domestic, hearing the surmises, made her way to his place of
confinement, when a little conversation left no doubt that he was indeed the only son of
the late Sir Robert Maxwell, who had sent him at an early age to the college of Douay, the
usual place of education at that time for young men of family or fortune of the Catholic
religion. Sir Robert himself being superannuated, his brother, who then took the
management of him and his son and estate, wrote desiring that he should be educated for
the priesthood. The young man, not relishing this destiny, made his escape from college,
and enlisted in the army of Louis XV., and was one of that part of it which was sent to
Scotland to assist in the enterprise of Prince Charles Edward.
Young Maxwell had thus actually been taken wandering as an outcast, and in danger of
forfeiting his life, on the confines of his own estate, unconscious of his rights, while
his uncle was equally unconscious of the danger to his unjust possession, which lurked so
near him. The whole of the facts were, however, so recent, and could be so easily proved,
that Mr. Goldie immediately proceeded to take all necessary steps for the security of the
young Sir Robert, and also to put him in possession of his estate, when the death of the
uncle removing the formidable obstacle, the usual legal formalities, after proving the
identity of the heir, put him in possession of his father's fortune and title. Sir Robert
soon married Miss M'Clellan, a niece or near relation of the last Lord Kirkcudbright, and
took up his residence at Orchardton, where he continued, while he lived, the ornament and
delight of the country, uniting all the gentlemanly dignity of the old school with the
bland and graceful gaiety of foreign manners.
The intimacy which arose between Sir Robert and Mr. Goldie and his family through this
romantic beginning, was long continued on very affectionate terms." Sir Robert being
a partner in the Ayr or Douglas and Heron Bank, lost a large portion of his estate when
that bank stopped payment. He died suddenly in September 1786, whilst on the road to visit
the Earl of Selkirk.
From the papers to which the lawsuit gave rise, Miss Goldie gives some very curious
details in regard to the settlement of the property of Sir Robert Maxwell, grandfather to
the one before mentioned.
A rare fern, Gelerach Officinarum, grows on the walls of the tower. In Moore's Brilish
Ferns, it is described as " a dwarf evergreen, distinct-looking, and very pretty
fern, growing in tufts."
Resuming our walk from the point where the four roads meet, the one to the right
leading to Auchencairn is followed, and a brief walk brings us to Potterland, its name
being derived from a pottery which was at one time in operation in the vicinity. Near to
Potterland a few old hollies and ash trees mark the site of an ancient chapel, dedicated
to St. Merinus, called Kirkmirren. There was also a burying-ground here, traces of which
are still discernible. The traveller will at this point observe the old road to
Castle-Douglas. This is also a very pleasant road for the rambler. It skirts the base of
Screel, and from the heights near to Kirkland of Gelston, where are the remains of the old
church of Gelston and the churchyard, a splendid prospect is obtained of the Solway and
English coast, with the Cumberland hills closing in the distance. Northward is the range
of hills bounding Galloway and Ayrshire.
Proceeding onwards, we shortly afterwards pass the lodge and entrance-gate to
Orchardton House, which is finely situated near the Bay of Orchardton, and commands a
series of delightful hill, park, and sea views. The woodwork of the present roof of this
house was taken from the old castle of Kirkcudbright. The grounds of this fine estate are
very tastefully laid out and trimly kept, and many of the trees would form excellent
studies for the artist.
Torrs House, situated near the road, on our right, and commanding a beautiful view of
the Bay of Auchencairn, with the green island of Heston in the middle distance, is next
passed, and a short way farther on is the road leading up to Collin and Forest House; on
the road to which, at the top of Collin Brae, is the site, marked by a few old fir trees,
of the Ringcroft of Stocking, where the famous ghaist or Rerrick spirit played its
unearthly pranks.
Auchencairn village is now reached, and, after our pleasant walk, the inn is visited
for a little rest and needful refreshment.
CASTLE DOUGLAS TO DALBEATTIE
BEYOND Castle-Douglas railway station, Ernespie House is a prominent object on the
left, after which there is nothing calling for special remark till the valley of the Urr
is reached, where the traveller will observe, on the left, one of the largest and most
perfect moats in Scotland. It stands on the west side of the Urr, about half-a-mile below
the church. It is evidently artificial, and is platformed on the summit. These are common
in Galloway, and are generally believed to have been formed as places of meeting for
dispensing justice.
Some of them are supposed by antiquaries to be six, seven, or eight hundred years old,
and "there was," says the author of Caledonia, "a moat hill in every
district of North Britain, during an age when justice was administered in the open
air."
A singular family tradition respecting the gift of this moat to a woman named Sprotte,
for her loyalty and hospitality to Robert the Bruce after an encounter with Sir Walter
Selby on the banks of the Urr, was inserted in the Dumfries and Galloway Courier of 1st
October 1822. The combat between them is said to have been brought to rather an
ignominious conclusion by Dame Sprotte seizing the English knight by a lock of hair which
escaped from his helmet, and pulling him backwards to the ground, when he had no other
alternative but to give himself up a prisoner. The two knights after washing their bloody
hands in the river Urr were conducted to the cottage of this good woman, and entertained
to a bowl of brose as breakfast. As a recompense to their entertainer for her loyalty,
Bruce offered as much land as she could run round while he and Selby finished the bowl of
steaming brose, the terms of holding the land to be, that should ever any of the kings of
Scotland pass the Urr they were to partake of brose from Robert the Bruce's bowl. The
story is called "Robert Bruce's Bowl," and was related by Simon Sprotte, a
descendant of the heroine.
On the estate of Redcastle, about a mile east from the Moat of Urr, there is a
remarkable memorial stone standing in a field; it is a block of granite in its natural
state, about ten feet high, and is mentioned in Caledonia among the antiquities of
Kirkcudbrightshire, but nothing is known, by history or tradition, as to the event which
it has been reared to commemorate.
The Rev. Dr. James Muirhead, minister of the parish of Urr, who died in 1808, was the
author of the well-known humorous song "Bess, the Gawkie." Dr. Alexander
Murray was ordained assistant minister and successor to Dr. Muirhead in 1806, and
continued to perform his clerical duties there till 1812, when he was appointed Professor
of Oriental Languages in Edinburgh University.
The late Robert Kerr, author of "Maggie of the Moss," a long poem which is
inserted in Nicholson's Traditions of Galloway, showing considerable talent, was born at
Midtown of Urr on 2nd September 1811, and died at Redcastle on 30th September 1848.
Several short pieces of his in our possession are remarkable for tenderness and truth. The
following is worthy of a place in any collection.
"MY FIRST FEE.
"My mither was wae, for my faither was dead,
And they threatened to tak' the auld house ower her head;
Her earnings were scanty - the meal it grew dear,
And the auldest of five, I could whiles see the tear,
When she cam' hame at nicht, glisten bricht in her e'en,
Half-hid as it didna just want to he seen.
I said nae a word, but my heart it wad ache,
And I wished I was big for my puir mither's sake.
"There were farmers aroun' wanted herds to their kye,
And my mither had said she had ane that wad try.
I min' how I trembled wi' half fear, half joy,
When a maister cad in jist to look at the boy.
He bade me stan' up, and he thocht I was wee,
But my frank honest face, he said, pleased his e'e.
He wad tak' me, an' try me ae half-year an' see,
For a pair o' new shoon, an' a five shilling fee.
"We were proud to hear tell o't, a bargain was struck,
An' he ga'ed me a saxpence o arles for luck.
My trousers an' jacket were patched for the day,
An' my mither convoyed me a lang mile away,
Wi' charges an' warnings 'gainst a' kinds o' crime,
An' rules she laid down I thocht hard at the time.
If the kye should rin wrang I was never to lee,
Though they sent me away but my shoon an' my fee.
"Sae I fell to my wark, an' I pleased richt weel,
But a word or a wave an' I plied han' or heel;
But my troubles cam' on, for the fences were bad,
An' the midsummer flees made the cattle rin mad;
An' in cauld blashy weather, sair drenched wi' the rain,
Whiles wee thochts o' leaving wad steal o'er my brain,-
But in courage I dashed aye the tear frae my ee,
When I thocht on my shoon an' my five shilling fee.
"An' Martinmas brocht me my lang thocht o' store,
An' proudly I counted it twenty times o'er.
Ah, years have since fled in a fortunate train,
But I never ance met wi' sich rapture again -
The sailor just safe through the wild breakers steered,
Proud Waterloo's victor, when Bincher appeared,
Ne'er felt what I felt when I placed on the knee,
Of a fond-hearted mither my five shilling fee."
Speeding onwards, we cross the Urr by a wooden bridge, and Old Buittle farmhouse is
seen to the right, in a very pleasing situation in the valley. This house is built on the
site of the Castle of Botel or Buittle, at one time a place of large dimensions and great
magnificence, It is said to have been originally possessed by the ancient lords of
Galloway, and to have been the favourite habitation of Baliol. The vaults and traces of
fortification are all that now remain of the original structure.
Beyond this Craignair granite quarries are to be seen, and the prosperous little town
of Dalbeattie is soon reached.
DALBEATTIE AND ENVIRONS.
THE town of Dalbeattie is entirely of modern origin. It is said to have been
established as a village about 1780.
A traveller, about eighty years ago writes, "At Dalbeattie are mills, and a small
village, which seems thriving." The town is now one of the most considerable in
Galloway, and is every year increasing in population and wealth. It is very pleasantly
situated near the Urr; and the houses being rather irregularly scattered, give to it, when
viewed from a distance, the appearance of a large town, and add more to the effectiveness
of the landscape than if they were built more regularly. It consists of one main street,
with others diverging. In the principal street, which is spacious, there are some good
well-furnished shops, a town-hall, and a branch of the Union Bank. There are also in the
town churches of various denominations, and inns sufficient for the wants of the
neighbourhood. The bowling-green is in a sheltered situation near the Dalbeattie Burn.
To the natural advantages of its situation are to be attributed the great progress
which the town has made in material prosperity. In addition to the benefits of railway
communication there is a harbour on the river Urr, called Dub o' Hass, distant about five
miles from the Solway; and the river is navigable thus far for large vessels, while
vessels of smaller burden can come quite close to the town.
On the Dalbeattie Burn, which falls into the Urr, there are water-falls capable of
turning any kind of machinery; and, from the spirit of enterprise which the inhabitants
generally appear to possess, numerous important branches of trade are carried on along its
banks. But the granite quarries contribute most to the wealth of the place, and afford
employment to a great number of skilled workmen and labourers.
The development of this industry in the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright is of comparatively
recent date. Though it had been long known that granite existed in great abundance in
certain districts of the Stewartry, it was seldom made available for building or other
purposes. When Tongland bridge was erected in 1805, the stones employed in its erection
were freestone blocks transported from Annan and the Isle of Arran, and freestone from
Dumfriesshire quarries was generally used in the decorative portions of buildings.
The late Mr. Andrew Newall was the first to introduce the trade of granite hewing into
Galloway. About seventy years ago he opened a quarry at Craignair, and conducted a small
and remunerative business; but it was not till 1825 that anything like an impetus was
given to the trade. In that year a portion of Craignair Hill was leased by the Liverpool
Dock Trustees, for the purpose of obtaining blocks of granite to be used in the erection
of the docks. Quarries were opened, and extensive operations were energetically and very
satisfactorily prosecuted till 1832, when the works were abandoned for others at
Kirkmabreck, already mentioned. Recently the quarries of the Liverpool Dock Trustees have
been again made use of, and now afford occupation for several hundreds of labourers.
Two of the Craignair quarries are worked by Messrs. D. H. and J. Newall, who turn out
great quantities of dressed granite. A third is leased by Mr. Charles Newall, who is one
of the contractors for the Thames embankment. Other three are leased by Messrs. Shearer,
Smith, and Co., who are also subcontractors for the works on the Thames. Messrs. Shearer
and Co. have also a quarry in operation at Old Lands, on the opposite bank of the Urr,
which gives employment to a large number of workmen; and at present they are contractors
for the erection of a lighthouse, which is to be constructed of granite, in the island of
Ceylon.
The granite polishing works of Messrs. Newall, and Messrs. Shearer, Smith, and Co., are
situated in Dalbeattie. The machinery is propelled by powerful steam engines, and the
operations carried on are so very interesting as to be well worthy of a careful
inspection.
The environs of Dalbeattie are not lacking in rural beauty and historical association.
A very enjoyable and interesting road leads along the banks of the Urr past Redcastle, the
Moat of Urr, Haugh Village, and Spottes, joining the mail road from Castle-Douglas to
Dumfries a short distance from Chapelton. With a stroll up the Glen of Spottes, near Haugh
Village, and distant about four miles and a half from Dalbeattie, the visitor is sure to
be gratified. It is a sweet secluded spot, with finely-wooded banks, sylvan nooks, a
murmuring stream, and a foaming waterfall.
The site of the ancient castle of Buittle, before spoken of, and the remains of Corra
Castle, to which Queen Mary was conducted by Lord Herries on her way to Terregles after
the battle of Langside, are easily reached in a walk from Dalbeattie, and the scenery
along the road, leading past the entrances to Munches and Kirkennan, to the village of
Palnackie, is delightful.
Munches House, about two miles from Dalbeattie, is a handsome modern building of the
native granite, in a very pleasant and sheltered situation near the river Urr. In the
adjacent grounds are many noble specimens of the Scotch fir. The farm-steadings and
workmen's houses on the estate have a neat and comfortable aspect, and the attention and
taste of the proprietors of Munches, and the adjoining estate of Kirkennan, which now
appertains to a member of the Munches family, have contributed much to adorn and beautify
the landscape.
The Maxwells of Munches have always been distinguished by their zealous endeavours to
promote the prosperity of the country. As enlightened and improving agriculturalists their
example and encouragement have tended much to advance the progress of agriculture in this
locality, and as superiors of the greater part of the burgh of Dalbeattie they have at
different times contributed in no inconsiderable degree to the improvement and prosperity
of the place. The present proprietor, Mr. Wellwood H. Maxwell, is a worthy representative
of the family, and very highly esteemed by all classes. For many years be has acted as
Convener of the Stewartry, and had the honour of representing it in Parliament from 1868
to 1874, when he retired. He was the principal originator and promoter of the
Castle-Douglas and Dumfries Railway, and for about eleven years was Chairman of the
Company.
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