Dumfries and Galloway is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland and is located in the western Southern Uplands. It covers 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, on the North Channel coast, some 57 miles (92 km) to the west of Dumfries.
Wigtown is a town and former royal burgh in Wigtownshire, of which it is the county town, within the Dumfries and Galloway region in Scotland. It lies east of Stranraer and south of Newton Stewart. It is known as "Scotland's National Book Town" with a high concentration of second-hand book shops and an annual book festival.
Newton Stewart is a former burgh town in the historical county of Wigtownshire in Dumfries and Galloway, southwest Scotland. The town is on the River Cree with most of the town to the west of the river, and is sometimes referred to as the "Gateway to the Galloway Hills".
Wigtownshire or the County of Wigtown is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in south-west Scotland. It is popularly known as and referred to as The Shire. Until 1975, Wigtownshire was one of the administrative counties used for local government purposes, and is now administered as part of the council area of Dumfries and Galloway. As a lieutenancy area, Wigtownshire has its own Lord Lieutenant, currently John Alexander Ross. In the 19th century, it was also called West Galloway. The county town was historically Wigtown, with the administrative centre moving to Stranraer, the largest town, on the creation of a county council in 1890.
The Machars is a peninsula in the historical county of Wigtownshire in Galloway in the south-west of Scotland. Its name is derived from the Gaelic word Machair meaning low-lying or level land, known as "links" on the east coast of Scotland. Although there are no high peaks in The Machars, it is not flat and would best be described as undulating or rolling. The North Atlantic Drift or Gulf Stream creates a mild climate, and dolphins and basking sharks are frequently seen in the seas.
The Portpatrick and Wigtownshire Joint Railways was a network of railway lines serving sparsely populated areas of south-west Scotland. The title appeared in 1885 when the previously independent Portpatrick Railway (PPR) and Wigtownshire Railway (WR) companies were amalgamated by Act of Parliament into a new company jointly owned by the Caledonian Railway, Glasgow & South Western Railway, Midland Railway and the London & North Western Railway and managed by a committee called the Portpatrick and Wigtownshire Joint Committee.
Whithorn is the closed terminus of the Wigtownshire Railway branch, from Newton Stewart, of the Portpatrick and Wigtownshire Joint Railway. It served the town of Whithorn in Wigtownshire. The line was closed to passenger services in 1950, and to goods in 1964.
Sorbie is a small village in Wigtownshire, Machars, within the Administration area of Dumfries and Galloway Council, Scotland.
Garlieston is the closed terminus of the Garlieston branch of Wigtownshire Railway; running from a junction at Millisle. It served the coastal village and harbour of Garlieston in Wigtownshire. The Garlieston branch, together with the rest of the Wigtownshire Railway, closed completely in 1964.
The River Cree is a river in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland which runs through Newton Stewart and into the Solway Firth. It forms part of the boundary between the counties of Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire. The tributaries of the Cree are the Minnoch, Trool, Penkiln and Palnure which drain from the Range of the Awful Hand, the labyrinthine range of mountains and lochs, bogs, burns and crags, rising at its highest to The Merrick, Galloway, 12 miles north and visible from Newton Stewart.
Kirkinner is a village in the Machars, in the historical county of Wigtownshire in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. About 3 miles (4.8 km) southwest of Wigtown, it is bounded on the east by the bay of Wigtown, along which it extends for about three miles, and on the north by the river Bladnoch.
Millisle, later Millisle for Garlieston was a railway station that was near the junction for Garlieston on the Wigtownshire Railway branch line, from Newton Stewart to Whithorn, of the Portpatrick and Wigtownshire Joint Railway. It served a rural area in Wigtownshire. The line was closed to passenger services in 1950, and to goods in 1964.
Broughton Skeog (NX4554444071) was a railway station that was located near level crossing gates over a minor road on the Wigtownshire Railway branch line, from Newton Stewart, of the Portpatrick and Wigtownshire Joint Railway. It served a rural area in Wigtownshire and was named after the nearby farm. Although the station closed as far back as 1885 the line was not closed to passenger services until 1950, and to goods in 1964.
Sorbie (NX4351447562) was a railway station that was located close to the village of Sorbie on the then Wigtownshire Railway branch line to Whithorn, from Newton Stewart, later becoming the Portpatrick and Wigtownshire Joint Railway. It served a very rural district in Wigtownshire, however it lay next to a creamery, a waulk mill and Creech Mill. The station closed for passengers in 1950, and the line closed to goods in 1964.
Wigtown was a railway station on the Wigtownshire Railway branch line, from Newton Stewart to Whithorn, of the Portpatrick and Wigtownshire Joint Railway. It served a rural area in Wigtownshire. The station closed for passengers in 1950, and to goods in 1964.
Kirkinner was a railway station on the Wigtownshire Railway branch line, from Newton Stewart to Whithorn, of the Portpatrick and Wigtownshire Joint Railway. It served a rural area in Wigtownshire. Kirkinner is an area and village, 3 miles from Wigtown, bounded on the east by the bay of Wigtown, along which it extends for about three miles, and on the north by the River Bladnoch.
Causeway End or Causwayend was a railway station on the Wigtownshire Railway branch line, from Newton Stewart to Whithorn, of the Portpatrick and Wigtownshire Joint Railway. It served a very rural area in Wigtownshire. The station closed in 1885, however it remained open to goods as Causeway End Siding.
Palnure railway station (NX450634) was a railway station on the Portpatrick and Wigtownshire Joint Railway close to Newton Stewart and the junction for the branch to Whithorn via Wigtown. It served the small village of Palnure in a rural area of the old county of Kirkcudbrightshire, Parish of Minnigaff, Dumfries And Galloway.
Mains of Penninghame Platform railway station (NX410617) was a halt on the Wigtownshire Railway branch line, from Newton Stewart to Whithorn, of the Portpatrick and Wigtownshire Joint Railway. It served a rural area of farms, including the large Mains of Pennighame and the nearby Clachan and old Kirk of Penninghame in the Parish of Penninghame, old Wigtownshire.
