Dumfries

Dumfries, ‘the Queen of the South’, is a historic country town famed for its connection with Scotland’s National Bard Robert Burns.

Dumfries lies on the banks of the River Nith and this charming town, which became a royal burgh in the 12th century, has countless attractions and an intriguing history. Lady Devorgilla, matriarch of the powerful Balliol family, was a great benefactress to the town. She paid for the building of the first bridge over the Nith and nearby Sweetheart Abbey, founded in 1273 to honour her late husband. In the town’s Greyfriars monastery in 1306, Robert Bruce murdered John Comyn, ally of the Balliols and Bruce’s chief rival for the then-vacant Scottish throne, leading to Bruce’s coronation and the Scottish War of Independence. Today, Greyfriars church shadows the site of the original monastery. Dumfries has been home to various well-known individuals, including J.M. Barrie, author of Peter Pan and Robert Burns. The town has several sites associated with the bard who lived in Dumfries in his later years and died there in 1796. Burns’ former house is now a museum dedicated to him, while the town also boasts his favourite howff – or drinking haunt – the Globe Inn.