New 250 mile Coast to Coast cycle route gets green light

An exciting new 250 mile on-road cycle route covering the length of the South of Scotland has received the green light to progress to delivery stage. The Coast to Coast route will run from Stranraer to Eyemouth, making it one of the longest in the UK and a new challenge for experienced cyclists. Walking and…
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Celebrating Galloway Place Names

The Galloway Glens Place Names Day marks a celebration of recent work to better understand and interpret Galloway’s Place Names. Social media posts through the day will build to an event in the evening featuring regional and national place names enthusiasts. Since 2018, the Galloway Glens Scheme has been working with the experts from the…
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Webinar for D& G Businesses to apply for new licence

South of Scotland Destination Alliance (SSDA) and Dumfries & Galloway Council join forces to host the ‘must-attend’ digital session for businesses in the region who now require a short-term let licence to operate The SSDA has teamed up with Dumfries and Galloway Council to host a free online information session for anyone running holiday lets…
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Galloway Glens Winter Programme launches

This week sees the launch of the Galloway Glens Winter Programme, a series of eight events covering everything from Geese to Romans, with everything in between… Join us, and a range of partners, to bring the stories of the Ken/Dee valley to life. Four of the eight events are delivered in ‘hybrid’ format, with attendees…
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Faces from the past revealed at Whithorn

Talking 3D digital reconstructions of a young 14th-century woman and a cleric with a cleft palate  were unveiled as part of this year’s Wigtown Book Festival. The Whithorn Trust Event, brought together three of the experts whose remarkable work is bringing us face to face with people buried at Whithorn Priory, in Galloway, in the…
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Galloway Nobel Prize winner James Mirrlees honoured with lecture and birthplace plaque 

Galloway Nobel Prize winner Sir James Mirrlees was honoured this weekend when a plaque was unveiled at his birthplace and an annual lecture series named after him was inaugurated at Wigtown Book Festival.  Sir James (1936-2018) was born at Mill Cottage Minnigaff – the son of a bank teller who was awarded the Nobel Prize…
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From rock stars to astronomers – Wigtown Book Festival enjoys a stellar first weekend

Wigtown Book Festival has got off to a great start with a host of compelling speakers ranging from Deacon Blue frontman Ricky Ross, TV’s Red Shepherdess Hannah Jackson (pictured above right) and actor Gerda Stevenson to Astronomer Royal Professor Lord Martin Rees and Scotland’s National Chef Gary Maclean. Audiences took advantage of sunny weekend weather…
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SSDA Newsletter September 2022

Message from our Chief Executive, Melanie Allen… “It has been heartening to speak to and meet members over the past few weeks with so many messages of support. I am very excited to be working with the team to drive forward the SSDA tourism strategy for the South of Scotland over the next few months.…
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Festival of Folklore

Festival of Folklore IV Has Landed

Festival fever has hit Upper Nithsdale, Dumfries and Galloway, with the triumphant return of the Festival of Folklore! Award-winning storytellers and Festival founders, Mostly Ghostly, are delighted to announce their fourth Festival of Folklore will run from Wednesday 21st – Sunday 25th September. Having come through some pretty big challenges in 2020 and 2021, the…
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“Crucial” new survey of tourism businesses launched in South of Scotland as operating challenges grow

First South of Scotland Destination Alliance ‘barometer survey’ aims to gain vital insight into how tourism businesses in the region are faring and their priorities for the coming year   The South of Scotland Destination Alliance (SSDA) has launched its first ‘barometer survey’ of tourism and hospitality businesses in the South of Scotland, aiming to…
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