The Glenkens (Scottish Gaelic: An Gleann Cain) is located midway along the western section of the Southern Upland way in the historic county of Kirkcudbrightshire in Galloway, Scotland. The Glenkens is made up of the parishes of Carsphairn, Dalry, Kells, Parton and Balmaclellan. [1] The name comes from the River Ken which runs through the valley before flowing into the River Dee and then down to the sea. [2]
Glasgow is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated population of 635,640. Straddling the border between historic Lanarkshire and Renfrewshire, the city now forms the Glasgow City Council area, one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and is governed by Glasgow City Council. It is situated on the River Clyde in the country's West Central Lowlands.
Dumfries and Galloway is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland and is located in the western Southern Uplands. It comprises the historic counties of Dumfriesshire, Kirkcudbrightshire, and Wigtownshire, the latter two of which are collectively known as Galloway. The administrative centre and largest settlement is the town of Dumfries. The second largest town is Stranraer, 75 miles to the west on the Irish Sea coast.
The River Tay is the longest river in Scotland and the seventh-longest in Great Britain. The Tay originates in western Scotland on the slopes of Ben Lui, then flows easterly across the Highlands, through Loch Dochart, Loch Iubhair and Loch Tay, then continues east through Strathtay, in the centre of Scotland, then southeasterly through Perth, where it becomes tidal, to its mouth at the Firth of Tay, south of Dundee. It is the largest river in the British Isles by measured discharge. Its catchment is approximately 2,000 square miles (5,200 km2), the Tweed's is 1,500 square miles (3,900 km2) and the Spey's is 1,097 square miles (2,840 km2).
The River Tweed, or Tweed Water, is a river 97 miles (156 km) long that flows east across the Border region in Scotland and northern England. Tweed cloth derives its name from its association with the River Tweed. The Tweed is one of the great salmon rivers of Britain and the only river in England where an Environment Agency rod licence is not required for angling. The river generates a large income for the local borders region, attracting anglers from all around the world.
The River Forth is a major river in central Scotland, 47 km (29 mi) long, which drains into the North Sea on the east coast of the country. Its drainage basin covers much of Stirlingshire in Scotland's Central Belt. The Gaelic name for the upper reach of the river, above Stirling, is Abhainn Dubh, meaning "black river". The name for the river below the tidal reach is Uisge For.
The lords of Galloway consisted of a dynasty of heirs who were lords and ladies who ruled over Galloway in southwest Scotland, mainly during the High Middle Ages. Many regions of Scotland, including Galloway and Moray, periodically had kings or subkings, similar to those in Ireland during the Middle Ages. The Scottish monarch was seen as being similar to a high king. The lords of Galloway would have either paid tribute to the Scottish monarch, or at other times ignored him. The Lords of Galloway are fairly well recorded in the 12th and 13th centuries, but the records are incomplete or conflicting at other times. Later on, the kings were known as "lords" at the Scottish court, and "kings" at home, finally becoming "lords" in both arenas.
The Water of Ken is a river in the historical county of Kirkcudbrightshire in Galloway, south-west Scotland.
It rises on Blacklorg Hill, north-east of Cairnsmore of Carsphairn in the Carsphairn hills, and flows south-westward into The Glenkens, passing through Kendoon, Carsfad and Earlstoun lochs, all of which are dammed to supply the Galloway Hydro Electric Scheme. At Kendoon Dam the Ken is joined by a major tributary the Water of Deugh. From there, the river flows south, passing St. John's Town of Dalry and New Galloway, before widening to form the 9-mile long Loch Ken.
The Black Water of Dee also enters halfway down the loch, and from Glenlochar, at the south end of the loch, the river continues as the Dee towards Kirkcudbright and the coast.
There are a number of interesting bridges over the Water of Ken. Smeaton's Bridge carries the B729 road which runs between Carsphairn and Moniaive. It crosses the Ken a half mile above the confluence of the Stroanfreggan burn. This bridge has a single arch 42 ft long.
A few miles further downstream the High Bridge of Ken spans the river at a narrow ravine on the B7000 back road from Carsphairn to St John's Town of Dalry. The bridge has 2 arches each 24 ft long. British listed buildings website describes the bridge as early 18th century, possibly earlier origin.
Further downstream again the Ken Bridge lies between St John's Town of Dalry and New Galloway.This bridge carries the A712 road and dates from 1822. It has 5 granite arches and is 340 ft long. Immediately adjacent to the bridge is the Ken Bridge Hotel.
The Galloway Hills are part of the Southern Uplands of Scotland, and form the northern boundary of western Galloway. They lie within the bounds of the Galloway Forest Park, an area of some 300 square miles (800 km2) of largely uninhabited wild land, managed by Forestry and Land Scotland. The unusual place names reflect a mixture of the Old Norse and Scottish Gaelic languages and hint at the range of influences which have acted on society within the area over the centuries.
George Henry Thompson was a Scottish National Party politician and Roman Catholic priest. He served as the Member of Parliament for Galloway from October 1974–79.
The Anglo-Scottish border is a border separating Scotland and England which runs for 96 miles (154 km) between Marshall Meadows Bay on the east coast and the Solway Firth in the west. The surrounding area is sometimes referred to as "the Borderlands".
Edward James Cowan FRSE was a Scottish historian.
Cairnsmore of Carsphairn is a hill in the Carsphairn and Scaur Hills range, part of the Southern Uplands of Scotland. An alternative name, rarely used nowadays, is Cairnsmore of Deugh. It is the highest hill in the range, and its summit is just under six kilometres northeast of Carsphairn village as the crow flies, in the far north of Kirkcudbrightshire.
Loch Ness is a large freshwater loch in the Scottish Highlands extending for approximately 37 kilometres southwest of Inverness. It takes its name from the River Ness, which flows from the northern end. Loch Ness is best known for alleged sightings of the cryptozoological Loch Ness Monster, also known affectionately as "Nessie". It is one of a series of interconnected, murky bodies of water in Scotland; its water visibility is exceptionally low due to a high peat content in the surrounding soil. The southern end connects to Loch Oich by the River Oich and a section of the Caledonian Canal. The northern end connects to Loch Dochfour via the River Ness, which then ultimately leads to the North Sea via the Moray Firth.
The Carsphairn and Scaur Hills are the western and eastern hills respectively of a hill range in the Southern Uplands of Scotland. Ordnance Survey maps don't have a general name for the hill area as a whole. Also, Ordnance Survey use "Scar" rather than the local spelling of "Scaur" - the word is pronounced as "Scar" however. In their Landranger Series of maps, it requires four separate sheets to cover the area.
Galloway and West Dumfries is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood) covering part of the council area of Dumfries and Galloway. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the plurality method of election. It is also one of nine constituencies in the South Scotland electoral region, which elects seven additional members, in addition to the nine constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.
Kells, a parish, in the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright, 14 miles from Castle-Douglas, and 19 from Kirkcudbright; containing, with the burgh of New Galloway, 1121 inhabitants.
Kenmure Castle is a fortified house or castle in The Glenkens, 1 mile (1.6 km) south of the town of New Galloway in Kirkcudbrightshire, Galloway, south-west Scotland. The site was occupied from the Middle Ages, and the house incorporates part of a 17th-century castle. This was remodelled in the 19th century, but the house has been derelict since the mid-20th century. It was the seat of the Gordon family of Lochinvar, later raised to the peerage as Viscounts of Kenmure. The ruin is a scheduled monument.
Finlay Hamilton Carson is a Scottish Conservative Party politician serving as Convener of the Rural Affairs, Islands and Natural Environment Committee since 2021. He has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Galloway and West Dumfries since 2016.
The 2017 Dumfries and Galloway Council election took place on 4 May 2017 to elect members of Dumfries and Galloway Council. The election used the twelve wards created as a result of the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004, with each ward electing three or four councillors using the single transferable vote system form of proportional representation, with 43 councillors being elected, a reduction of 4 members and 1 ward since 2012.
Dee and Glenkens is one of the thirteen wards used to elect members of the Dumfries and Galloway Council. It elects four Councillors.