Days Oot

You cannot visit anywhere outside Dumfries without a car. Nonsense! While the region doesn’t have the best bus service in the world, don’t discount it. You can set off from the stances at the Whitesands and the Loreburne Centre and be on a Solway beach in half an hour, up a hill in an hour, or in Edinburgh or Glasgow in time for lunch. Sweetheart Abbey, Caerlaverock, Criffel, Threave Castle, the Devil’s Porridge, Moffat, Stranraer and a good deal more are all on a direct bus route. Stance 4 shares the info on which bus to take, where to get off and what to do when you get there.

Buses can also offer a cheap day out. If you are under 22 or over 60 the bus is free with a National Entitlement Card, so a day at the coast costs the price of a poke of chips. For everyone else, the Scottish Government’s £2 cap on single fares is already running in the Highlands and Islands and across Glasgow and the west, and Ministers say they plan to legislate for it nationwide, so Dumfries and Galloway’s turn should be coming. Until then, the day tickets are still good value, and the view out the window is included. Gen up on your bus knowledge now as everything is improving. Electric buses are replacing the old diesel workhorses and the Kirkcudbright and Lockerbie buses can take bikes (sometimes).

While the column is called Stance 4, that doesn’t mean that’s where your bus will go from.