The Wild Days guide
Kirkandrews Bay is a small rocky inlet on the Borgue coast, with one of the oddest little villages in Galloway at its head: a ruined medieval kirk, and buildings that look like toy castles. A shore path leads west to the Iron Age fort at Castle Haven.
Why it’s worth the trip
In 1894 James Brown, a Manchester draper made rich by the department store Affleck and Brown, bought the Knockbrex estate and set about rebuilding it in his own style. Kirkandrews Kirk, finished in 1906 as a village hall, is built like a small castle, with crenellations, mock portcullises and a chimney disguised as a turret. Nearby Corseyard dairy was built to look like a great castle tower.
The real old church is a ruin in its walled graveyard by the shore. It was given to Holyrood Abbey in the 1170s and abandoned after 1670. The Covenanter Robert McWhae, killed in 1685, has a memorial here, and the pedlar-poet William Nicholson is buried here too.
Make a wild day of it
Follow Core Path 181 west along the shore to Castle Haven, about 700 m, where Galloway’s only galleried dun, an Iron Age stone fort, sits on a rocky point. Carry on round Castle Haven Bay to Knockbrex and the Carrick shore.
Tides and safety
The inlet drains at low tide and the Solway tide comes back quickly across the flats of Wigtown Bay, so check tide times before exploring the rocks. It is remote, with no lifeguards. In an emergency call 999 and ask for the Coastguard.
When to go
Late spring and summer, when the coastal fields are drier and the path easier to follow.
Good to know
- Parking: there is no signed public car park at Kirkandrews. If you drive, park considerately and never block gates, farm tracks or the kirk.
- Facilities: none. Cream o’ Galloway’s cafe is near Borgue.
- Dogs and access: Scotland’s right of responsible access applies. Cattle graze the shore fields, so keep dogs under close control.
