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SCOTLAND’S SOUTH WEST
COASTAL 300 ROUTE
New tourist route in Scotland
Scotland is without doubt an ideal location for a summer road trip. The “South West Coastal
300” opened last year, following a coastal route in Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway, in the
south-west, going through charming coastal villages and green hills. It is the perfect
opportunity to discover a region little known to tourists.
S
andy McKnight is a pagan, a bibliophile,
a metal detectorist and – at 71 – claims
to be Scotland’s most-tattooed man. Flames,
skulls, demons, dragons: his entire body is
covered, with the exception of his face and a
rather delicate area lower down. I learn all this
standing at the counter of the Bookshop in
Wigtown, having stopped off on the South
West Coastal 300, a new 300-or-so-mile driving
route looping through Dumfries and Galloway,
and parts of Ayrshire. - Wigtown, Scotland’s National Book Town
and celebrated for its annual book festival, is
one of the highlights of the route; the Bookshop
is one of the highlights of Wigtown; and Sandy
is one of the highlights of the Bookshop. He is
its most regular and most colourful (literally
and figuratively) customer. The Bookshop is
labyrinthine and atmospheric, home to 100,
second-hand books and almost as many first-
class nooks.
THE GUA R DI A N PETER ROSS
A “FORGOTTEN CORNER”
- In Bythell’s memoir, Diary of a Bookseller,
he quotes from a 1916 guide which states that
Galloway – the area that includes Wigtown
- “has remained unknown to the world longer
than any other part of Scotland, with the pos-
sible exception of the island of Rockall”. This is
still true. In the country’s far south-west, Gal-
loway is often described as a “forgotten corner”.
Unless you’re catching a ferry to Northern
Ireland, it isn’t really on the way to anywhere.
- pagan person whose religious beliefs are not part of any
of the established world religions / to claim to boast,
declare, assert / skull cranium / area region, zone /
counter stand where transactions are carried out in a shop
etc / to loop to make a circuit, circle, here, to pass through. - celebrated famous, renowned / highlight best/most
memorable part / atmospheric ambient, evocative /
nook secluded corner. - memoir autobiography / Diary of a Bookseller (VF) Le
Libraire de Wigtown / to quote from to cite from / to
state to say, note, specify / to remain to stay, continue (to
be) / to catch, caught, caught here, to take.
WigtownMull of Galloway lighthouse St Ninian’s CaveAllowayKirkcudbrightDunure Castle, in South Ayrshire. (Istock)Scotland at a glance
78,772 km
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5.4 million inhabitants 800 islandsAA 09-10-806-Steph.indd 9 27/06/2019 17: