Dumfries and Galloway is one of the 32 unitary council areas of Scotland, located in the western part of the Southern Uplands. It is bordered by East Ayrshire, South Ayrshire, and South Lanarkshire to the north; Scottish Borders to the north-east; the English county of Cumbria, the Solway Firth, and the Irish Sea to the south, and the North Channel to the west. The administrative centre and largest settlement is the town of Dumfries. The second largest town is Stranraer, located 76 miles (122 km) to the west of Dumfries on the North Channel coast.
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 one of the historic counties of Scotland, covering an area in the south-west of the country. Until 1975, Wigtownshire was an administrative county used for local government. Since 1975 the area has formed part of Dumfries and Galloway for local government purposes. Wigtownshire continues to be used as a territory for land registration, being a registration county. The historic county is all within the slightly larger Wigtown Area, which is one of the lieutenancy areas of Scotland and was used in local government as the Wigtown District from 1975 to 1996.
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 the Portpatrick and Wigtownshire Railways Act 1885 into a new company jointly owned by the Caledonian Railway, Glasgow & South Western Railway, Midland Railway and the London and 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 is a small village in the historical county of Kirkcudbrightshire in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, on the Palnure Burn, just outside Newton Stewart.
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 Penninghame and the nearby Clachan and old Kirk of Penninghame in the Parish of Penninghame, old Wigtownshire.
