|
Practicalities
|
|
|
Dumfries
train
station is five minutes' walk east of the town centre, while
buses
drop you off at Whitesands beside the River Nith, where you'll also find the
tourist office
(Mon-Sat 10am-5pm; June-Sept also Sun noon-5pm; tel 01387/253862). Dumfries abounds in
guest houses
and
B&Bs
. For value and convenience, you can't beat
Morton Villa
, 28 Lovers Walk (tel 01387/255825; A?40-50), a large Victorian house with a pleasant garden near the station. If you're looking for a
hotel
, head for Laurieknowe Street, a five- to ten-minute walk west of Devorgilla Bridge, where you'll find the welcoming, family-run
Edenbank
(tel 01387/252759; A?50-60).
Redbank House
(tel 01387/247034,
; A?40-50) is a pristine red-brick mansion set within its own wooded garden at the edge of town on the A710, boasting a sauna, snooker room and gym.
By far the best option for food is Hullabaloo (tel 01387/259679), a stylish restaurant on the top floor of the RBC, with a summer terrace overlooking the river. Another daytime option is the Artists' CafAŠ , 6 Buccleuch St, which has an eclectic, inexpensive menu featuring wraps, tortillas, toasties and soup. For the evening, there's also the Rowan Tree Bistro , 20 Academy St (closed Mon & Tues), which offers a small, but simple selection of inexpensive local fish and meat dishes. Bruno's is a family-friendly Italian restaurant on Balmoral Road that's become a Dumfries institution, with the equally popular Balmoral chippie round the side which justifiably claims to sell the best chips in the southwest.
Two of Burns' favourite drinking places are still in operation: the
Hole in the Wa'
A
pub
, down an alley opposite Woolworth's on High Street, but for somewhere with a bit more atmosphere, make for the smoky, oak-panelled
Globe Inn
on the High Street. The
Robert the Bruce
pub, with its Neoclassical portico at the top of Buccleuch Street, is a typical and very popular church conversion by the J.D. Wetherspoons chain.
Films
are regularly shown at the RBC (tel 01387/264808; Tues-Sat). Grierson and Graham, 10 Academy St (tel 01387/259483), offer
bike rental
, useful for reaching the nearby Solway coast. Other useful information
for tourists (each section contains more specific sub-sections): |
|
United Kingdom,
|