Road trip from Glasgow thru SW

You are spoilt for choice! This is an area still undiscovered by the average tourist but has a lot to offer. A lot depends on what you are interested in - Castles and Stately homes (Culzean, Drumlanrig, Dumfries House...) ruined castles (Cardonness, McLellands Tower...) ruined abbeys (Glenluce, Sweetheart, Dundrennan...) Gardens (Threave Castle gardens, Castle Kennedy Gardens, Logan Botanic Gardens) lochs (Glen Trool is the equal of any in the Highlands) ancient remains (Cairn Holy, Drumtroddan Standing Stones) early Christian heritage(Whithorn , Isle of Whithorn, St Ninian's Cave) WW2 links (Garlieston for the Mulberry harbours) Museums (Gem Rock museum in Creetown) whisky distillery (Bladnock)...

There is the SWC300 which will give you ideas for an itinerary.

The Undiscovered Scotland website has loads of ideas of things to do and see on the way. Follow the links from the map page for
text pages with information and photos.

The Walk Highlands website is the place to go for ideas for walks.

If using google maps for driving times, it is recommended to add 25% to their times PLUS time for stops. Driving in this part of Scotland can be quite slow. This is the place to slow down and enjoy.

There are lots of attractive small towns along the way for overnight stops, or choose one place for several nights and make day trips from there.

I used to enjoy a drive down to Dunure and Croy Shore quite often. There's a little ruined castle at Dunure (that you used to be able to clamber around willy-nilly) and the beach at Croy Shore is a good one. It used to be the case that you could take a car right on to the beach at Croy Shore and it's a great spot to watch the sunset looking out across the sea to Arran.

Caerlaverock castle is in the area I'd add that, possibly consider a day over to Arran.
Another place is Wigtown, Scotland's book town which is a very easy place to spend a day.

Sorry for the late reply!
Thank you all for the suggestions.
Looking forward to the trip.
Slainte, Tom

By the way the inside of Caerlaverock Castle is currently closed to visitors for Conservation work- you can still see the exterior and explore the grounds.

With a week for that area you might want to also head east. The four Borders Abbeys are very interesting and there are a couple of ruined castles (Tantallon, Dirleton) a bit north of the abbeys. St. Abbs is a pretty little fishing village.

We have visited Scotland multiple times - I am curious why you have chosen to focus on the southwestern part of Scotland.

I am curious why you have chosen to focus on the southwestern part of Scotland.

It isn't on the typical tourist itinerary which is one very good reason to pick the area. It has so much to offer the visitor. Scenically it is excellent with coastline, lochs and some serious mountains. We've had many many holidays there and there are still places I've not been to!

Thanks Cindy,
I had the same thought that with a week or so we would have time to check out the SE coast.
St. Abbs looks lovely!
The main reason for the choice is that on our previous trip we saw much of the Highlands and West and NE coast, so we would like to see the South coasts.

Do your plans include overnight stays away from the Glasgow area? If so, we have really enjoyed our stays at these hotels: Dryburgh Abbey Hotel, Kingshouse Hotel (for Glencoe) and the George Inn in Inveraray (for a visit to the prehistoric area of Kilmartin).

I’d second the idea of a day trip over to Arran.Its a beautiful island, well worth a visit.Brodick Castle and gardens are glorious.The Auchrannie is a lovely place for lunch.The Lochranza distillery is very attractive with a lovely shop and it’s a fine drive round to that wee village too.Nice beach at Brodick Bay (the Duke’s Beach) and at Sannox directly below a towering mountain backdrop.

One of my favourite drives south from our home in Glasgow is to Culzean Castle, probably my favourite castle in Scotland with wonderful grounds that you could spend most of the day exploring.There are many small sandy coves which the coastal path (the Whale Path to me is the best) allows access to albeit down many steps!

Before that, it’s worth having a stop in at pretty Alloway where Rabbie Burns thatched cottage is (tours available) and the Burns Birthplace Museum and cafe itself , the latter doing excellent scones and fairly reasonably priced light lunches.The Alloway Kirk and the old Brig o’Doon of Tam o’ Shanter fame are a stroll away as are the Burns Memorial Gardens.

The coastal drive on a nice day between Alloway and Culzean is superb.If clear, the Antrim coast on the horizon too as well as mountainous Arran.

Turnberry beach is probably the best beach on the coast and worth a stroll when the tide is out in particular.

Dumfries House is superb and well worth visiting.The grounds have been substantially developed too.

I knew it wasn't right when I posted it but the name escaped me. It's not Arran you can see from Dunure and Croy Shore. It's Ailsa Craig, an uninhabited rocky island a few miles off the coast.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ailsa_Craig

Thanks scotlandmac!
just the kind of info i was hoping for.
Also I would love to know what places I should consider staying each night based on travel times and things to see each day? For example, would you make it all the way to Portpatrick in 1 day with several of the aformentioned stops, including lunch and a beach walk or 2 from Glasgow? And where for night 2 or 3?
Thanks so much for everyones help it really elevates a persons holiday.
We saw so many cool sights on our last trip to Scotland as a result of suggestions on this forum!
Slainte, Tom

If you stay on the mainland (that is don't cross to Arran) and work your way down the coast then Portpatrick is entirely do-able in a day. If you drove straight through it is probably about 3 hours.

If you must do Arran as your only Clyde island (and I simply don't know why on here Bute and Cumbrae are ignored) I would go round from Glasgow to Tarbert (Loch Fyne) and access Arran via the back door on the Claonaig to Lochranza ferry).

At least two nights on the island) then the main ferry route to either Ardrossan or Troon- Troon is more sensible if heading on down the coast by car.

Thence Portpatrick. If you went to Bute instead you could get away with one night there, and Cumbrae could be done in a day (but is best experienced without the day trippers) with an overnight stay.

I would stay two nights at Portpatrick (the second day to explore the rest of the peninsula- Logan Botanic Gardens and the Mull of Galloway) then the next night somewhere on the Machars (the Isle of Whithorn)- in Whithorn, Port William or Wigtown.

Then the following night in Dumfries- there is quite a lot to do on the trip from the Machars to Dumfries- including Gatehouse of Fleet, Kirkcudbright, Arbigland (for John Paul Jones), Sweetheart Abbey and much else.

Thanks isn23n,
I was hoping you would chime in!
I will look over your suggestions on the Clyde isles.
And 2 nights in Portpatrick or Stranraer makes good sense.
Tom