Press release -
Drive Dumfries
DUMFRIES and GALLOWAY is being highlighted as a destination for drivers on Drive it Day (April 23rd 2017) as a new map of tourist routes is unveiled.
The region is famous for its miles of dramatic coastlines, stunning scenery, breathtaking natural beauty, which combined with its quiet roads, makes it an ideal location for drivers, cyclists and motorcyclists alike.
The map, created by destination group Visit South West Scotland, highlights three routes and stretching more than 700 miles across the region.
The South West Coastal Route 300 is a circular route which mainly follows the coastline of the region and takes in the Solway coast from Dumfries to Kirkcudbright, then over to Glenluce across to the Mull of Galloway Lighthouse up to Portpatrick and then onto Girvan before heading inland through Sanquhar back to Dumfries.
The Burns Country Run is a route of 162 miles celebrating the life of Robert Burns. The route takes in his birthplace at Alloway near Ayr, as well as Dumfries where he spent his final years.
The Scottish Castle Route is 250 miles of stunning countryside with more than a dozen castles and abbeys to visit en route, including Cardoness Castle, Gatehouse of Fleet, and Lochmaben Castle near Lockerbie.
VisitScotland Regional Director Doug Wilson said: “Dumfries & Galloway is an ideal destination for visitors with a passion for touring. Its beautiful scenery and open roads make it a great location for a road trip, not to mention the many historic attractions and places of interest that line the routes.
“The success of routes such as the NC500 and the popularity of Scotland as a must visit destination for touring car enthusiasts has created a real opportunity and VisitScotland is supporting businesses in Dumfries & Galloway to capitalise on these and bring visitors to the region.”
Ian McAndrew, Chair of Visit South West Scotland, said: “Visit South West Scotland is the only industry membership organisation in the region and we recently published our 2017/18 leaflet and map which for the first time incorporates these three fabulous driving routes.
“The three routes take in the entire region and showcase what makes the South West of Scotland so unique. We hope that this new map will entice drivers out on National Driving Day and beyond to discover some of the most picturesque and remote roads in the country, whether it is in a car, motorbike, motorhome or bike, there really is something for everyone.”
The Visit South West Scotland map and leaflet, which details the huge variety of places to visit, eat, explore and things to do in Dumfries & Galloway, is available at iCentres across the region.
More information on the routes is available at http://www.visitsouthwestscotland.com/attractions/?type%5B%5D=routes
For more information on Dumfries & Galloway, visit www.visitscotland.com/destinations-maps/dumfries-galloway/
Pictured is Ian McAndrew, Chair of Visit South West Scotland with VisitScotland Regional Director Doug Wilson and Harry Hall from The Knowe in Carsphairn and owner of Mimi, the Triumph Stag.
Topics
- Tourism
Categories
- corporate communications
- dumfries and galloway
Regions
- Scotland
Notes to Editors
- Follow us on twitter: @visitscotnews
- VisitScotland is Scotland’s national tourism organisation. Its core purpose is to maximise the economic benefit of tourism to Scotland.
- The organisation’s core objective is to contribute to the Tourism 2020 Strategy ambition of growing tourism revenues by £1 billion by 2020.
- This will be supported by seven overarching strategies:
- Marketing: we will market Scotland and its outstanding assets to visitors from all parts of the world, including the promotion of Scotland to people living in Scotland to visit different parts of the country
- Events: we will support the national events strategy and its delivery, and sustain, develop and promote Scotland’s international profile as one of the world’s foremost events destinations
- Internationalisation and International Engagement: we will utilise all our platforms to enable Scottish-based tourism businesses to better understand international opportunities and market to a global audience and we will work within One Scotland Partnerships to optimise the potential of Scotland’s Diaspora and our strategic partners at regional, European and global levels
- Customer Experience: we will provide information and inspiration to visitors both locally and globally via their preferred medium of choice
- Quality and Sustainability: we will provide support and advice to businesses, with the goal of improving the quality and sustainability of the tourism sector in Scotland. We will provide quality assurance to visitors through our Quality Schemes
- Inclusive Tourism: we will strive to make tourism in Scotland inclusive and available to all
- Working in Partnership: we will listen to and work with the industry, partners and communities to shape our offering and support
- VisitScotland works together with tourism businesses to make tourism a success for everyone and ensure the industry continues to grow.
- The organisation employs 700 people and has offices and VisitScotland Information Centres across Scotland.
- Spending by tourists in Scotland generates around £12 billion of economic activity in the wider Scottish supply chain and contributes around £6 billion to Scottish GDP (in basic prices). This represents about 5% of total Scottish GDP.
- The Scottish Government is the Managing Authority for the European Structural Funds 2014-20 Programme. For further information visit www.gov.scot or follow @scotgovESIF
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- Where possible, a Gaelic speaker will be made available for broadcast interviews on request (Far an tèid iarraidh, agus far am bheil sin nar comas, bruidhinnidh neach le Gàidhlig aig agallamh)
- For holiday information on Scotland go to www.visitscotland.com
- For information about business events in Scotland go to www.conventionscotland.com
- 2017 Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology
- 2017 is the year to delve into the past and discover Scotland’s fascinating stories through a wide-ranging variety of new and existing activity to drive the nation’s tourism and events sector, boosting tourism across Scotland.
- The Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology begins on 1 January 2017 and will end on 31 December 2017. It will build on the momentum generated by previous themed years in Scotland including the 2015 Year of Food and Drink, Homecoming Scotland 2014, the Year of Creative and the Year of Natural.
- The Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology is a Scottish Government initiative being led by VisitScotland, and supported by a variety of partners including Creative Scotland, Scottish Tourism Alliance, Scottish Enterprise, The National Trust for Scotland, Historic Environment Scotland, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Built Environment Forum Scotland, Heritage Lottery Fund, Museums Galleries Scotland and Traditional Arts and Culture Scotland.
- The Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology is supported by £570,000 of Scottish Government funding.
- The Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology events fund is managed by EventScotland, part of VisitScotland’s Events Directorate.
- For more information visit visitscotland.com/HHA2017 or join the conversation at #HHA2017
