The Outdoor Hotel

For shops, eateries and ample opportunities for stocking up on high end and locally made knitwear, Dumfries is a 20-minute drive away. Burns pilgrims can pay homage at the poet’s home, his statue and his mausoleum, and take refreshment at his favourite inns, The Hole I’ the Wa’ and The Globe, while walking the five-mile Burns Trail. For trails of the mountain biking kind, the rough country 7stanes courses of Mabie and Dalbeattie are half an hour away and it’s an hour to the Forest of Ae. If you’re in search of walks and wildlife, take a trip to Talnotry in Galloway Forest Park, combining rambles with meeting the herds on the Red Deer Range and Wild Goat Park, an hour from base. Also an hour away, various paths around the Grey Mare’s Tail Nature Reserve are where you can meet feral goats, spot kestrels and eagles, and stop off at Britain’s fifth-highest waterfall. Seeking further watery exploits? It's just under an hour to Loch Ken and the Galloway Activity Centre where you can combine laser tag and archery with windsurfing, kayaking and waterslides, then finish off with zipwire rides at height.