7 miles NW ~13 min drive DG5 4AH
Our Experience
We visited The Birchtree Hotel on a midweek evening in March. Initially we sat in the Bar area, unaware that there’s a separate restaurant area upstairs.
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The Birch Tree Hotel, Dalbeattie
Places to Eat
Top 10 places to eat near the lodge
It’s actually a top 8 list at the moment! The Crab Pot is coming soon, we’ll review it in April. Also one or two of our other favourite places have closed in the last few months, so we’ll be using it as an excuse to eat out at a few more nearby 😋
This list reflects our tastes and preferences, but we hope you’ll also enjoy going to eat at all of these places!
They’re listed in order of distance from the lodge, and there’s a short summary and a link to our review where applicable so that you can find out more.
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Lunch at Abbey Cottage Tearoom by Sweetheart Abbey
12 miles NE ~20 min drive DG2 8BY
These small but pleasant tea rooms are right next to the Abbey ruins but are run independently and open at times when the Abbey is closed. There’s indoor and outdoor seating and also a small gift shop too.
Read moreDalbeattie Garden Centre, Shop, Tea Room
6 miles NW ~12 min drive DG5 4DS
Dalbeattie Garden Centre is reasonably priced and has a good selection of plants. The shop is surprisingly big and has necessary gardening items as well as toys and gifts.
Read moreMackintosh at the Willow Glasgow Visit
96 miles N 2 hours drive G2 3EX
Mackintosh at the Willow Tea Rooms on Sauchiehall Street in Glasgow are the last surviving tea rooms designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh and originally opened in 1903. (Not to be confused with The Willow Tea Rooms on Buchanan Street, which are Art Nouveau and Mackintosh themed but not designed by Mackintosh himself.)
For those with a love of all things Mackintosh the tea rooms are a real treat.
Read moreLoch Arthur Farm Shop and Café
Loch Arthur farm shop, near Beeswing in D&G, offers a great selection of crafts, gifts, and locally produced organic fruit and vegetables, plus pantry staples.
11 miles N ~17 min drive Beeswing, DG2 8JQ
There’s also a pleasant little café that offers a range of delicious items including homemade cakes.
Read moreGreat Lunch at Designs Café Castle Douglas
13 miles WNW ~20 min drive DG7 1DZ
Designs Gallery & Cafe in King Street, Castle Douglas – established for over 25 years – serves coffees, cakes and lunches (see a picture of the menu below).
We’d been in shop before but didn’t notice the entrance to the café (it’s to the right of the steps in the middle of the shop)!
Go down the stairs through some doors to the ‘basement’ and then the café counter is on your left. Tables then extend on your right all the way to the back of the building. At the end of the room, through some double doors, there’s also a light and airy (but still warm in colder weather) conservatory that leads out into the garden.
Read moreLuigi’s Restaurant in Dalbeattie Review
June 2024: Luigi’s appears to be closed. We’ll keep an eye on this and update this page if things change!
We visited Luigi’s Italian Restaurant on a midweek evening. It’s a small restaurant so we booked a table, but we could have just turned up as it was fairly quiet.
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Threave Garden & Estate Castle Douglas Review
Many years ago, before we had our children, we visited Dumfries & Galloway with another couple and camped at Hoddom Castle near Ecclefechan. During that holiday we visited Threave Castle, but at the time we didn’t know about Threave Gardens.
We discovered it a few years back when looking for a holiday cottage near Castle Douglas and ended up staying at the Gate Lodge. That holiday eventually led to us getting the lodge at Barend!
Threave Garden & Estate is a great day out and one of the highlights for us was seeing red squirrels!
Read moreLunch at Street Lights Cafe in Castle Douglas
13 miles NW ~20 min drive DG7 1DZ
Street Lights is a small family run café in the town centre, which serves a wide variety of soups, sandwiches, toasties, paninis, etc. There are good veggie, vegan and gluten free options, as well as delicious home baked cakes. They also do take away.
It was quite busy when we visited, but they found us a table for five.
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