If you were asked to name a village in Scotland which is south of both Carlisle and Durham you might be more than a little perplexed. However, if you were a bit of a smartypants, you might have said, Drummore, at the southern end of the Rhins of Galloway. And you would have been right! We’re here because we decided to visit the  lighthouse which is just two miles further south and as far as you can go without ending up in the sea.

As you can see it wasn’t a great day for visiting lighthouses, or birdwatching or anything else for that matter. Even driving was difficult. We found out later that it was only this little area that was under a cloud, about 15 miles away the whole country was bathed in sunshine … c’est la vie! Hence we ended up at the Mariners Coffee Shop hoping to brighten our mood if not the weather. Not sure about brightening our mood but it certainly changed it. This place is a tad different!

Bike enthusiasts

A veritable cornucopia of what might otherwise be justifiably called ‘junk’. It’s soooo bad, it’s good! There’s a drum kit as you come in and behind that a motorbike in the window. Not just any old plastic replica but an actual full sized motorbike. Goodness knows why it’s there, it’s not on display or anything. It’s just there taking up room. Given the motorbikes outside you begin to understand that this place may be owned by bike enthusiasts. As if further evidence was needed the ceiling is completely covered in old speedway progammes from all over the UK. 

Fred Wedlock greatest hits

Music enthusiasts as well! One wall was decorated with old vinyl LPs. Not the covers but the actual records and they displayed somewhat diverse tastes … Elvis, the Beatles, Santana, Chopin Nocturnes, Bob Dylan, Elaine Delmar and, of course, Fred Wedlock’s Greatest Hits.

Southerly scones

The amount of stuff in here is slightly overwhelming, everywhere you look there is something else. In amongst it all though we did notice some scones. Pat decided  on cheese while I went for my usual fruit. Unfortunately they did not live up to their exotic surroundings. Or maybe they did? Mine was okay but nothing special while Pat left half of hers … disappointing. No topscone but this would have qualified as Scotland’s most southerly scone had it not been for the fact that there was a scone bearing cafe at the lighthouse. It was a typical touristy kind of place, however, so we decided to give it a miss. This place had much more in the way of quirky character but probably has to settle for second most southerly scone.

Likewise the prize for Scotland’s most southerly telephone box would have gone to a Saracen foundry K6 in the village but we accidentaly deleted the photo, sorry! The eagle eyed Pat however spotted this K6 at a farm not far from the village, so maybe it should take the prize … it’s a bit on the small side and might even be a K2. Difficult to tell sometimes when they are manufactured in China, no attention to detail. No idea why it’s there either!

Big scare

Outside the village there was an interesting map in the sand dunes showing Luce Bay with a bit outlined in red which is designated a danger area by the Ministry Of Defence. They use it to test weapons. For some reason the most southerly bit is labeled “Big Scare“! Ooooh, that should keep Putin at bay! What with the Facebook, Skripal, and Windrush scandals still going strong and, the ultimate distractions of Royal babies and weddings, Brexit has all but vanished off the radar. Among all the clutter  in the Mariners however was a sign which probably sums up the ongoing Brexit negotiations.DG9 9PS            tel: 01776 840550               Mariners Coffee ShopTA