Drummore Voyage Tips and guide

Contents

Drummore is a village in Dumfries and Galloway in southwest Scotland. It's the most southerly village in Scotland, near the tip of the Rhins, the peninsula that ends at the Mull of Galloway. It's a tiny place with a population of 534 in 2011, but has facilities out of proportion to this, serving as a visitor base for this scenic area.

• 54.690196-4.8941451 Kirkmaiden information Centre, 21 Mill Street, ☏ +44 1776 840207. Open May-Sep. As well as local info, they have internet access and genealogical archives. (updated Jan 2019)

Stranraer 17 miles north is the transport hub, with trains from Glasgow and Ayr, buses from Dumfries, and ferries from Belfast and Larne to the port at Cairnryan.

By car from Glasgow follow A77 south, from Carlisle and Dumfries follow A75 west, then turn off onto A716 south towards Mull of Galloway.

Bus 407 runs along A716 from Stranraer via Lochans and Port Logan to Drummore four times a day M-Sa, taking 45 min.

You need a car or bike to get around the area.

• 54.6351-4.85631 Mull of Galloway. This is the southernmost point of Scotland, at the tip of the Rhins. It's a scenic headland with a lighthouse (nowadays automatic) and is a nature reserve managed by the RSPB. (updated Jan 2019)
• 54.6652-4.96462 Crammag Head has views across to the Ards peninsula in Northern Ireland. There's been a lighthouse on the Head since 1913, but the present structure is a metal tower installed in 2009.
• 54.7439-4.95693 Logan Botanic Garden, Port Logan DG9 9ND. Mar-Oct: daily 10AM-5PM; early Nov & Sundays in Feb: daily 10AM-4PM. Impressive gardens with a wide variety of subtropical plants. Adult £7. (updated Jan 2019)
• Logan House Garden, adjacent, is a Victorian woodland garden. It's open Mar-Sep: daily 9AM-5PM, adult £4.
• 54.7307-4.96454 Logan Fish Pond, Port Logan, ☏ +44 1776 860606. Mar-Oct: daily. This is a remarkable natural aquarium, a pool in a blowhole hollowed out and kept fresh by wave action, used as a vivarium for fish. Or at least it was natural, until the 19th century Laird decided it would be better if enlarged by high explosives; although to be fair he stopped short of using these to catch his fish. Adult £4. (updated Aug 2020)
• See Stranraer for sights further north in the Rhins, especially Portpatrick village, and the limited amusements of Stranraer itself.

• Mull of Galloway Trail starts at the Mull and runs up the east shore of the Rhins via Drummore and Sandhead to Stranraer (26 miles). It continues up the coast via Cairnryan and Finnart Bay to Glenapp (11 miles), where it joins the Ayrshire Coastal Path to Skelmorlie (100 miles). The Mull-to-Stranraer stage is just right for a marathon, run annually in June, with a half-marathon from Ardwell to Stranraer.

• Drummore Stores, 20 Mill Street, Drummore DG9 9PS, ☏ +44 1776 840229. Scotland's southernmost store. Licensed general store and newsagent, open seven days. (updated Sep 2019)
• Drummore Post Office, 27 Mill Street, Drummore DG9 9PS, ☏ +44 1776 840201. M-Sa 7:30AM-5PM, Su 9AM-1PM. Postal services, National Lottery, gifts, confectionery and a small library section. Maps and local information are available in Scotland's southernmost Post Office, where you can get your postcards franked to state that fact. (updated Sep 2019)

• Mariners Coffee Shop, 45 Mill Street, Drummore DG9 9PS, ☏ +44 1776 840550. Daily 8AM-6PM. Superb breakfasts and local produce cooked on the premises. Sandra and her family run a friendly eatery and cafe, catering especially for anglers. Free Wi-fi. (updated Sep 2019)
• Queens Hotel is best bet for local dining, see Sleep.

• Ship Inn, 5 Shore Rd, Drummore DG9 9PU, ☏ +44 1776 840471. Daily noon-11:30PM. Great reviews for this dog-friendly pub with food. (updated May 2022)

• Queens Hotel, 29 Mill Street Drummore DG9 9PS, ☏ +44 1776 840300. Traditional, family-run hotel with restaurant. B&B doubles from £60. (updated Jan 2019)
• B&Bs are in the village centre.
• 54.6959-4.89991 Clashwhannon Caravan Park and Public House, Drummore DG9 9QE (on A716), ☏ +44 1776 840632. Holiday self-catering accommodation in static caravans, open all year, they don't take tourers or campers. Also a public house serving food. Pool room, bar and dining room. Caravans from £60 per night, £330 per week. (updated Sep 2019)
• 54.6704-4.8822 Maryport Holiday Park, Drummore DG9 9RD (2 miles south of Drummore), ☏ +44 1776 840359. Mar-Jan. A holiday park with only static caravans for sale or for hire - no tourers, no tents. On the sea shore. (updated Jan 2019)

As of March 2022, you might get a basic mobile signal from Three, but nothing from the other UK carriers. Finish up any important calls before you leave the main road at Stranraer.

• North via Stranraer to Alloway near Ayr, Robert Burns' birthplace, and ferries run from Ardrossan to the Isle of Arran.
• East via Newton Stewart and Dumfries to Gretna and Carlisle or northeast into the Scottish Borders.