Culzean Castle

Day Trip to Stunning Culzean Castle

View of Culzean Castle through old gate

Culzean (pronounced “cull-ane”, not “cull-zeen”) is a fair drive from the Lodge, however it’s well worth the effort to visit this amazing castle and country park. We set off around 9:30am and arrived at Culzean Castle at about 11:15am.

The huge grounds have a number of different car parks spread out over the estate.

Read more
Red Squirrel on Feeder

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 Gardens & House
Red Squirrel on Feeder

Threave Garden & Estate is a great day out and one of the highlights for us was seeing red squirrels!

Read more
Frontage of Street Lights Cafe Castle Douglas

Lunch at Street Lights Cafe in Castle Douglas

Frontage of Street Lights Cafe 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.

Read more
The Needle's Eye natural rock arch near Sandyhills Beach on the Solway Coast, accessible at low tide

Sandyhills Beach on the Solway Firth

The nearest beach, Sandyhills, is only a short 10 to 15 mins walk from the lodge along a quiet road.

It’s a large sandy beach, warmed by the Gulf Stream, so popular for paddling and exploring rock pools. It’s great for walking at low tide.

⚠️ The tide can move very quickly so we recommend you check the tide times.

To get there, turn left from Barend Holiday Lodges and stay on that road to the ‘T’ junction. Cross the road into the car park, then access the beach to the left of Sandyhills Bay Holiday Park.

Sandyhills Beach, looking across the bay
Read more