Dalbeattie

Dalbeattie - known as the Granite Town of the South - is a picturesque country town nestling in the valley of the River Urr, about 15 miles southwest of Dumfries.

Established in the 1790s as a planned town beside the water-power of the Dalbeattie Burn, the town thrived on granite extracted from local quarries. This was exported throughout the country and can still be seen in many of Dalbeattie's older buildings.

Dalbeattie is the shopping and amenity centre for the popular Colvend Coast holiday area and makes an ideal base to explore the region's many museums, art galleries, historic houses, castles and beautiful gardens. The area is also blessed with a wide variety of country and forest walks, golfing, fishing, and birdwatching. It's a particularly popular location for mountain bikers, thanks to the internationally famous 7Stanes Mountain Bike Trail in Dalbeattie Forest.

The town's best-known historical figure is Lt William McMaster Murdoch who was the First Officer aboard the ill-fated 'Titanic' and who played an active - if controversial - role in the great ship's dying minutes.