| REGIONS
Agriculture dominates much of the region's industry
which includes cheese production and sea food processing;
local produce is abundant. At home in the fields are
herds of beef and dairy cattle. It is the home of the
famous Belted Galloways (or 'Belties') - black cows
with a white band around their middle. There are also
a number of working farms open to visitors and some
offer guided tours, introducing animals and showing
how local produce is made. Other manufacturing ranges
from industrial and domestic rubber goods, plastic film,
pharmaceuticals and furniture. The famous 'Hunter' wellington
boots are produced in Dumfries.
Twenty two per cent of the land area in the South West
of Scotland is commercial forest, providing forest trails,
picnic areas and other woodland facilities all complementing
the variety of visitor attractions, which include archaeological
excavations of international significance at the site
of Whithorn, the romance of Gretna Green and large numbers
of places associated with Robert Burns, drawing visitors
from all over the world.
Caerlaverock Castle and the National Nature Reserve
are well worth a visit where you can see a host of rare
and protected species, the natterjack toad being one
of these. Barnacle geese flying down from the Arctic
Circle are guests in the area during the winter and
other wildlife can be seen from the vantage points through
the Galloway Forest Park - red deer, peregrines, oyster-catchers,
golden plovers and otters.
The castle, strikingly well preserved, dates back to
the 13th century and was the seat of the Maxwell family,
later Earls of Nithdale. It was besieged by Edward I
during the Wars of Independence and in 1640 fell to
a 13 week siege mounted by the Covenanters. Sticking
to history, the region has seen its fair share of inventiveness
- the first steamboat chugged into action on Dalswinton
Loch back in 1788 and the first submarine was built
at Annan.
Wanlockhead is the highest inhabited village in Scotland
at 1,500 feet and Drummore is the most southerly Scottish
village, located in the South Rhins of Galloway. Drummore
is situated on the eastern side of the Mull of Galloway
offering beautiful views up the Soloway Firth; on a
clear day you can see the Irish coastline, the Lake
District mountains in Cumbria and the Isle of Man to
the south. Stranraer at the foot of Loch Ryan provides
ferry and SeaCat hovercraft connections both to and
from Northern Ireland.
From Langholm in the East to Portpatrick in the west,
more than 2,700 miles of road carry international and
national traffic as well as serving local needs. They
provide an effective network of communications bringing
Glasgow or Edinburgh within two hours driving time.
London can be reached by rail and European centres by
air in less than five hours.
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