The Galloway Steading

Keen golfers will be chuffed to learn they can play 18 holes a mere 10 minutes’ walk away from the pods, and there’s another challenging course at Newton Stewart (25 minutes’ drive). Garden-lovers can get their fair share of greenery and planting ideas at Castle Kennedy Gardens or Glenwhan Gardens and Tearoom (both 10 minutes). The lauded ‘book toun’ of Wigtown (half an hour) has – as its nickname suggests – plenty of antiquarian book shops to browse, and it’s also a gateway to the remote Machars peninsula. Spend a day there exploring secluded seaside villages like Whithorn (35 minutes) or walking along sandy beaches like Monreith (25 minutes) and Garlieston (35 minutes). You can stare out across the Irish Sea from another peninsula when visiting the Mull of Galloway Lighthouse Visitor Centre (40 minutes) at Scotland’s most southerly point. It’s a great base for bracing walks along the clifftops, and if you have a head for heights you can clamber up to the lighthouse tower. When you’re heading off on Irish adventures, the Belfast ferry terminal is at Stranraer (15 minutes).