Towns & Villages | Serenity 22 Barend

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Inside a rambling second-hand bookshop in Wigtown with wooden library steps and floor-to-ceiling bookshelves.

Wigtown: A Rainy Day Trip to Scotland’s Book Town

16 April 202616 April 202622 Barend

Wigtown is Scotland’s official National Book Town. It’s a small, quiet, charming little town with traditional houses interspersed with book shops.

Clock tower at the end of a Scottish High Street

Places to Visit in Gatehouse of Fleet

5 April 20256 April 202522 Barend

Gatehouse of Fleet is a lovely little village with only a handful of shops, but some definite points of interest and well worth a visit.

The picturesque main street has retained its old fashioned charm, with an assortment of small, mostly independent shops and cafés.

Kirkcudbright Galleries in the Town Hall

25 March 202527 March 202522 Barend

Kirdkcudbright (pronounced “kir-coo-bree”) – on the banks of the Dee Estuary – is a lovely little town to wander around, and a visit to the Kirkcudbright Galleries in the beautiful Town Hall building is highly recommended.

The Earth’s Crust Bakery Castle Douglas

9 March 20259 March 202522 Barend

An artisan bakery in Castle Douglas, that serves delicious organic savoury and sweet snacks.

Discover Dalbeattie – the Granite Town

4 March 202518 March 202522 Barend

Dalbeattie is known as the “Granite Town” of Dumfries & Galloway / South West Scotland primarily because of its rich granite quarrying history. The name is believed to be from Irish Gaelic; Dail Bheithe.

Complimentary Focaccia and dips at The Olive Retreat, Castle Douglas

Dining at The Olive Retreat Restaurant, Castle Douglas

25 February 202511 April 202622 Barend

Sadly, The Olive Retreat closed due to a fire on Tuesday 8th July 2025 😞

The same team has open another restaurant called Sambuca at 38 King Street, Castle Douglas, Dumfries and Galloway, DG7 1AD (where Mr Pook’s used to be). We’re looking forward to going and trying it out in the next few weeks!

13 miles WNW ~22 min drive DG7 1DX

The Olive Retreat is was a relaxed, family friendly mediterranean restaurant & café in the centre of Castle Douglas. We visited on a midweek evening. As it was fairly quiet we were given a choice of tables for two by the friendly waitress.

A pint of Guinness with a design "printed" on the head!

Wanlockhead Inn, Scotland’s Highest Pub

18 June 202420 July 202422 Barend

After we’d visited Crawick Multiverse, we made the short(ish) journey to Wanlockhead Inn, Scotland’s Highest pub (1531ft / 467m above sea level)! It’s about 10 miles (20 mins) from Crawick Multiverse.

The Birch Tree Hotel, Dalbeattie

5 April 202412 July 202422 Barend

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.

Breakfast outside on a picnic bench overlooking a wild landscape

Top 10 places to eat near the lodge

16 November 202314 March 202622 Barend

It’s actually a top 6 list at the moment! The Crab Pot opened, then closed again! 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.

Sculpture of a Stag at Bainloch Deer Park Visitor Centre & Bistro

Top 3 “must see” places near Dalbeattie, D&G

11 November 202327 October 202522 Barend

We keep coming back to Dumfries & Galloway because we have favourite places to return to, and keep discovering new attractions we want to see.

Before that, we spent years going on holidays and rarely returning to the same place twice!

So, if you only come to Serenity 22 Barend once, here are our top picks…