Go out of the farm courtyard gate, turn right, walk along the road for about a half mile, past the large white Craigs House on the hill on the left of the road. Take a left down a twisty narrow road (watch out for cars…) past Craig End Farm. At the bottom of the hill, you will go left and find yourself walking back, parallel to Craigs Road, past the Old Quarry on the left. At the T junction, take the 90 degree left and come back up a paved narrow lane, through a tree lined avenue, where you will find yourself back out right at the corner of Craigs Farm.

Go out of the farm courtyard gate, turn left, walk along the road, down then up the dip in the road, then turn left at the sign for “Maiden Bower” which will take you to The Chrichton over the Crags Ridge. This is a magnificent green park campus that was once a Community Hospital and is now held in trust with all sorts of beautiful preserved community / council buildings there – a gorgeous church, a Holiday Inn hotel, the Japanese Garden, the Chrichton Central Cafe, the Easterhall Bistro, Shax charity superstore, etc.

Leave the house and follow the previous description to Maiden Bower, until you get to the top of the Maiden Bower path. At this point, turn right into the trees, walk through them until you’re going along the Crags Ridge path, (with great views of Dumfries) turn left via a gate along the side of a field and then right into more trees and either descend left via the Golf Course (FORE!) or at the very end of that path all the way right back down onto Craigs Road, by turning right down the hill through yet another field.

This is further along Glencaple Road from The Chrichton. It is a perfect little hilly park, with both formal and natural landscaped zones. The formal area, with it’s rose beds and immaculate lawn, features a series of painted murals depicting the life of Robert The Bruce, (including his links to Dumfries) created by local artists.

This is longer walk again, along Kingholm Road from Castledykes Park heading into Dumfries. It’s a former shipping dock with a lovely riverside walk, a bandstand, a little maze, trampolines, putting golf, etc. Dock Park then affords access to The Whitesands and Dumfries Town Centre.

Go all the way down the hill, through The Chrichton grounds, exiting out of the lower Chrichton Farm gate to walk towards Kingholm Quay, through some low-rise housing. This is a cute little riverside / harbour hamlet that features The Swan, which is a good pub with a beer garden that oXers classic pub-grub style meals. Kingholm Quay also has AnchorAntiques, a tiny vintage store on the riverside.

Great for fancy celebrations. Down a little back “close” (alleyway) off the Town Centre. This was famously Robert Burns’ favourite inn (or “howff” in Scots dialect). It offers excellent food - certainly soon to be a Michelin star – with a delicious, brilliant Scottish oriented menu. It’s a bit pricy (but not Big City pricy…) with really nice staff that offer a lovely, attentive but laid-back, service.

Set back off the Whitesands – it’s got a super yummy, small but always changing menu from a proper chef, reasonable to pricy, only open late in the week and weekend evenings, it’s always busy and best to be booked. Sometimes, if you rock up in a small party around 8:30, and promise to be quick, they have been known to squeeeeeze you in.

In an old sandstone building on Buccleuch St. – one of the best Indian restaurants you’ll find in any town or city. Their garlic pickle masala chicken is the stuff of (our family’s at least) dreams. They offer a huge choice from a really extensive - overwhelming, even - menu.

A tiny hole-in-the-wall Italian restaurant with fab Italian thin crust pizzas and good pasta dishes. A family favourite, it has a friendly, comedic, owner who has the most extraordinary gravelly Mafia Don voice – Mama Mia!

This is a good, traditional pub-grub pub with a nice big grassy area out the front of the bar, used as a beer garden. Lovely on a Summer evening. It is in Kingholm Quay, on the Riverside - offering drinks and meals daytime and evenings. Good parking across the road.

Set back from Whitesands on the corner of The Vennal, this is an eclectic real-ale bar with a quirky selection of seating options, in what was an old retail unit. The friendly staff really know their stuff, and offer a lovely craft beer geek experience. They are always very happy to let you taste new beers before you make your choice. Also has a little sheltered beer garden out the back. No food service.

A (long-ish - 30 minute) walk from Craigs Farm (which always seems longer on the way back for some reason…) on St. Michaels Street. A small traditional pub with vintage décor and bar set-up with a “snug” room in the rear. It might seem at first like a bit of an old-man’s “locals only” pub, but the staff are always friendly and welcoming to strangers. There is a very tiny beer terrace along the side of the pub out the back. No food service.

Also on St. Michaels Street, a kind of “Wetherspoons-y” type of vintage / modern vibe. As the name suggests, it has a number of pool tables, darts boards and shows all the big football and rugby matches on multiple big TVs. Greens is popular with Dumfries’s younger drinkers. The staff are friendly, with a decent selection of drinks. There is a small beer garden out the back. No food service.

Only a 10 minute drive from Craigs Farm, this is a very well preserved triangular medieval moated fortress castle. It’s easy and fun to imagine / fantasise what life would have been like for the inhabitants here, many hundreds of years ago. Requires the purchase of a modestly priced ticket to park and visit.

A tiny museum set up in what was Robert Burns home when he lived in Dumfries. The exhibit pays a heartfelt homage to Scotland’s greatest poet and philosopher. Requires purchase of a modestly priced ticket to visit.

A small but perfectly formed local council supported Art Gallery, with a permanent collection of Scottish and local artists work. There is almost always an interesting visiting exhibition too. Not to mention a shop that is choc-full of eclectic craft and art from local artists, designers and creative people.

An old-school hospitality fancy Victorian hotel near the Town Centre. It features a truly great, award winning, spa and pool, for a brilliant day of massages, self-care and other pampering activities. Also offers good food and drinks at reasonable prices.

You can walk or drive to The Crichton. This is a magnificent green park campus, with lots of space to walk, exercise a pooch, fly a model plane. It was once a Community Mental Health Hospital, now held in trust with all sorts of beautifully preserved educational and social society buildings there. We love the beautifully maintained Japanese Garden and the Chrichton Central Cafe. There’s also a gorgeous church, a Holiday Inn hotel, the Easterhall Bistro, not to mention Shax, the vintage charity / thrift superstore.

The closest shop to Craigs Farm, down the hill on Greenbrae Loaning. Classic corner-shop vibes, with a decent selection of basic goods. Does a good breakfast bacon / square sausage roll with machine coffee as a bargain “meal-deal” in the mornings. Has an ATM.

Near the Town Centre (opposite The Cairndale Hotel) this is the closest supermarket – easiest to go there by car, but you can - if you fancy - walk there from Craigs Road, in a half hour, through St. Michaels Cemetery. As well as the usual Morrisons good stuff, the store has an unusually fantastic butcher and fishmonger with extremely good quality local fresh meat and fish. Has an ATM.

A lovely little vintage and antique store in Glencaple. Always an eclectic selection of household and design objects, with a leaning towards mid-century modern collectables. A number of our objects on display at Craigs Farm have found their way to us from here.

A small vintage and house clearances shop with a wide selection of antiques, tchotchke, glass and ceramic ware. Also a good (variable, depending on what house clearances they’ve done recently) selection of vintage furniture in the middle room.