7 10 430 https://glenkensarchive.scot/glenkens_archive/files/original/33/694/NG_19_Parson_s_family_days_by_Loch_Ken.jpg f5127b19d1869a66c45e4bbf4eb3b862 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource New Galloway Images Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context CG_NG_I Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Set of four photographs Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Parson's Family days by Loch Ken Description An account of the resource Set of 4 family photos of the Parson Family on the banks of Loch Ken Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Cultural Glenkens Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource National Lottery Heritage Fund Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Avril Bridgeman Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1950s Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context CG_NG_I_19 https://glenkensarchive.scot/glenkens_archive/files/original/33/693/NG_18_New_Galloway.jpg 6e2b8ffb0f9e687e757172415f5c95ff Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource New Galloway Images Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context CG_NG_I Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Print Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource New Galloway Print Description An account of the resource A print of New Galloway looking south down the main street towards Kenmure Castle and Loch Ken. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context CG_NG_I_NG 18 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Cultural Glenkens Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource National Lottery Heritage Fund Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Avril Bridgeman Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1800s https://glenkensarchive.scot/glenkens_archive/files/original/32/692/Davie_Paterson_05.12.25.mp3 ad2e96244c08bcf56efb91516d850036 https://glenkensarchive.scot/glenkens_archive/files/original/32/692/Davie_Paterson_Date_Correction_05.12.25.mp3 aaa2c77f3484f53b51d937099c6dc5df Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource New Galloway Oral Histories Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context CG_NG_OH Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Jo Jackson Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Davie Paterson Location The location of the interview Davie Paterson's sitting room in his home in New Galloway Date of Recording 05.12.25 Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) 00.33.43 Bit Rate/Frequency Rate at which bits are transferred (i.e. 96 kbit/s would be FM quality audio) 1536kbps Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Davie Paterson Description An account of the resource Davie remembers his childhood days growing up in New Galloway Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context OH NG 2/3 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Cultural Glenkens Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource National Lottery Heritage Fund Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Davie Paterson Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1960/70 heritage people https://glenkensarchive.scot/glenkens_archive/files/original/36/690/251114_Isobel_Cuthbertson_OH_D_1.mp3 eaa296bba1104034010f8d30ad819dfa Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Dalry Oral Histories Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context CG_D_OH Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Anthony Bird Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Isabelle Cuthbertson Location The location of the interview Isabelle's kitchen in her home in Dalry Date of Recording 14.11.25 Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) 00.13.08 Bit Rate/Frequency Rate at which bits are transferred (i.e. 96 kbit/s would be FM quality audio) 170kpbs Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Isabelle Cuthbertson Shepherdess Description An account of the resource Isabelle remembers her life as a shepherdess in the Glenkens Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context OH D 1 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Cultural Glenkens Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource National Lottery Heritage Fund Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Anthony Bird Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1970 heritage people https://glenkensarchive.scot/glenkens_archive/files/original/32/689/John_McGaw_27.11.25_OH_NG_5.WAV 077b22b06970723dd57dd7e35c1b108b Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource New Galloway Oral Histories Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context CG_NG_OH Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Jo Jackson Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed John McGaw Location The location of the interview John McGaw's house in New Galloway Date of Recording 27.11.25 Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) 00.01..46 Bit Rate/Frequency Rate at which bits are transferred (i.e. 96 kbit/s would be FM quality audio) 1536 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource John McGaw Childhood Memories of New Galloway Description An account of the resource John recalls a time in the 1970's when the pupils at New Galloway Primary School had some extra days off school Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context OH NG 5 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Cultural Glenkens Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource National Lottery Heritage Fund Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available John McGaw Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1970's heritage people https://glenkensarchive.scot/glenkens_archive/files/original/32/688/John_McGaw_25.11.25_OH_NG_4.WAV 08e5912292524fec085c4963fd7826c2 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource New Galloway Oral Histories Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context CG_NG_OH Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Jo Jackson Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed John McGaw Location The location of the interview John McGaw's house in New Galloway Date of Recording 25.11.25 Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) 00.3.06 Bit Rate/Frequency Rate at which bits are transferred (i.e. 96 kbit/s would be FM quality audio) 1536 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource John McGaw New Galloway Memories Description An account of the resource John recalls a time during WW2 when his Father investigated a suspicious event on the Paddy Line Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context OH NG 4 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Cultural Glenkens Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource National Lottery Heritage Fund heritage people https://glenkensarchive.scot/glenkens_archive/files/original/20/687/20260202_CAP_AnnualReport_2025.jpg fa169f19c584abc735d44a3aebfcf62b https://glenkensarchive.scot/glenkens_archive/files/original/20/687/20260202_CAP_AnnualReport_2025.1.pdf 65aa851f66b45aaa316e7b06afeeaf46 PDF Text Text pdftext_placeholder Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Community Action Plan Description An account of the resource Documents relating to the Glenkens and District Community Action Plan, initially drawn up by Glenkens & District Trust in 2020. Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document Glenkens & District Community Action Plan Steering Group Annual Report 2025 Glenkens & District Community Action Plan Goal: The Glenkens & district will be a connected, resilient and carbon neutral place where people will want to live, to work, to bring up their families and to grow old. It will be somewhere that other places in Scotland look to for inspiration. 1. Executive Summary 2025 has been another year of effective delivery of the Glenkens & District Community Action Plan priorities. Frontline delivery projects have been consolidated and evolved to deliver excellent outcomes for Glenkens residents, despite the extremely challenging external context of restricted funding landscape and limited available public sector support. In addition, the CAP Steering Group has been strongly advocating for the rural voice to be heard at regional and national levels – working to alleviate some of the challenges our communities face at a systemic, upstream level, rather than just intervening to mitigate the symptoms. Rural communities are at the heart of the long-term economic and wellbeing prosperity of Dumfries and Galloway and the whole of Scotland, not least through their contributions to food production, timber production and energy generation. This needs to be recognised and valued by urban decision makers, not just seen as inefficient cost bases from which resources can be extracted. This advocacy is extremely challenging work, requiring the ongoing support of huge amounts of volunteer time and in the face of a significant power imbalance between hyper-local community development organisations and national and regional agencies. There is recognition at the highest policy level that retaining an active and diverse population in our rural areas is important to the long-term prosperity of Scotland but the challenge for us all is how we achieve this in the long term when faced with the short-term challenges and drivers of decisions. However, we have continued to make good partnerships and build relationships towards achieving common outcomes, and this report evidences the concrete gains that can be made towards supporting sustainable rural communities for all our benefit, by mitigating rural disadvantage and averting rural depopulation through Community Wealth Building principles and long-term holistic strategies. 2. Background The Glenkens and District Community Action Plan was published in 2020 after extensive community consultation. It was designed to enable any funds coming in the area to be spent strategically and to best effect and to encourage the communities of the Glenkens to work together where possible. It was then crucial that the priorities expressed by the Glenkens communities in the Plan should be moved forward and so the Community Action Plan Steering Group was formed in 2021. Their remit is to own the CAP on behalf of the community, to keep it relevant and to check in on delivery. They are supported operationally by the Glenkens Community and Arts Trust – specifically in 2025, the GCAT Chief Executive, Helen Keron, and going forward Andrew McConnell. In 2021, the Glenkens and District Trust, our local wind farm community benefit funder, aligned its funding strategy heavily with this Community Action Plan and others across its area of benefit. Our Community Action Plan Goal is supported by four themes: 1. 2. 3. 4. A Connected Community An Asset Rich Community An Economically Flourishing Community A Carbon Neutral Community and has a 2023 Addendum: • A Vision for Land Use in the Glenkens. Since 2021, the communities of the Glenkens have increasingly worked in partnership to achieve the Community Action Plan priorities across these themes. We stand ready as a high-capacity, committed community partner for anyone wanting to trial solutions to national priorities on the ground in a remote-rural community. 2 3. Community Action Plan refresh The Glenkens Community Action Plan is now 5 years old and while it continues to serve as a useful articulation of community priorities, the external context within which it operates has changed significantly. The 2021 CAP made no reference to educational or medical and health care provision or land use changes, simply because they were not under threat at that time. The new post-Covid world also presents new societal challenges that we need to reflect and respond to. The CAP Steering Group has therefore embarked on a CAP refresh process, with the aim of publishing an updated CAP in Summer 2026. We know that our communities are already over-consulted, and so the process has been designed to do the work of gathering in existing data – in particular, Local Place Plans – and national best practice behind the scenes. From this, a first-draft Community Action Plan will be created for the communities to critique. Their feedback can then be incorporated to create a final-draft version for final community review. This is a more respectful use of their time, and, we hope, will result in another excellent document with input from a wide range of Glenkens residents and stakeholders that will guide our community development ambitions to 2030 and beyond. Also as part of this refresh process, the Glenkens and District Trust will be embarking on an evaluation and celebration of the impact of more than £1.5 million of wind farm community benefit funds invested locally in pursuit of CAP delivery to date. You can find out more about the CAP Refresh process as it evolves and delivers on the dedicated Glenkens Hub webpage, https://glenkens.scot/glenkens-community-action-plan. 3 4. 2025 Delivery 4.1. Internal Context After an extremely challenging year for GCAT in 2024, where funding constraints and uncertainty hindered their ability to deliver CAP projects as much as they would have liked, 2025 has been a much more positive story. The CatStrand Arts programme received a number of multi-year funding awards that have guaranteed this delivery and also contributes materially to GCAT core costs – building, energy costs and insurance, the Chief Executive and the Business Support salaries. These last two in particular are core to CAP delivery on our behalf. We are therefore pleased to see the ongoing designation by the Glenkens and District Trust of GCAT as a ‘key anchor organisation’ in the Glenkens. This is because not only do they provide significant impact within the community, but they also leverage in significant other funds and provide support to other groups in the area in furtherance of the Community Action Plan. This decision means an annual contribution of £50,000 to GCAT, subject to availability of funds and satisfactory continuing delivery, which is making a material difference to GCAT’s ability to continue to support CAP delivery. At a Strategy Day in June 2025, the Board of GCAT re-confirmed their commitment to CAP Delivery as a core strategic mission of the organisation, as well as delivery of the CatStrand Artistic Vision. We look forward to continuing our very effective delivery model with both GCAT and the Glenkens and District Trust. 4 4.2. Comings and Goings Our Chair, John Paterson, stepped down in September 2025 for health reasons. John served the CAP Steering Group very well, bringing huge enthusiasm as well as his expertise in rural communities and the forestry industry. He is much missed and we wish him all the very best for the coming years. He has been ably replaced by Robert McTurk, a local landowner and tenant farmer. Robert also brings huge expertise to the Steering Group, as well as a deep knowledge of the Glenkens that is very much valued. Barney Fryer stepped down from the CAP Steering Group in March 2025 when his role at the Loch Ken Trust ended. Barney always had an eye to the big picture, and ensured that our local contribution and strategies tied in with global goals and aspirations. We wish him all the very best in his new phase of life! Richard Middleton stepped down in September 2025 to focus on his other community and agricultural commitments. Richard brought an extraordinary range of skills and experience, from education to regenerative agriculture, and his calm experience will also be much missed. Morag Paterson joined the Steering Group in May 2025 as the third GDT-nominated Trustee. She brings significant experience in land use, diverse forestry and biodiversity, as well as cultural inputs from her day job as an artist. Helen Keron, Chief Exec of GCAT, stepped down in November 2025 when she resigned from GCAT. Helen has played a critical role over the last four years in developing and supporting the CAP SG and other community groups. She has also been a powerful advocate for the Glenkens and for rural areas in general at both a local and national level for the Glenkens and rural communities in the Glenkens. Andrew McConnell has taken over the role and is looking forward to continuing to support CAP delivery through GCAT as it evolves and grows. 4.3. Emerging Priorities Building on the track record of CAP delivery from 2022-2024, but being cognisant of an everchanging external context, the emerging themes of 2025 have been: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Rural depopulation Local Place Planning Land Use change Education and Learning Community Wealth Building All of these themes underpin the successful delivery of the Glenkens and District Community Action Plan Goal, and so the CAP Steering Group and GCAT and have been working on these priorities throughout the year, as well as those ongoing projects that are directly delivering CAP priorities. 5 4.4. Rural depopulation Rural depopulation is a pressing concern for both the Scottish Government and Dumfries and Galloway Council. Active and thriving rural communities are key to the long-term prosperity and wellbeing of Dumfries and Galloway and Scotland in many ways, from food and energy production to environmental stewardship. Nobody wants to see ghost villages due to urban centralisation. As a remote-rural community, we are already able to demonstrate the inevitable and unwelcome end-points of some regional and national policies with respect to rural depopulation. We are therefore looking forward to seeing the publication of the University of the West of Scotland and CoDeL report into Rural Depopulation that Dumfries and Galloway Council commissioned in 2025. The Glenkens is a case study in this report. The report was funded by the Scottish Government in order to inform the development of future policy interventions for DGC. It is hoped that this will result in fewer urban-centric policies like those detailed below, and in more effective ‘metrics of success’ for rural areas that consider the social contract between urban and rural. This contract has been in place for decades, respecting the vital role of rural communities in servicing urban communities with food, power and timber by acknowledging that our children are more expensive to educate and our public transport more expensive to operate. The contract is creaking now under current funding models that push local authorities to view rural communities as nothing more than expensive, inefficient cost bases. This cannot go on if our region is to thrive. Examples Policy decisions Outcomes for rural areas Consolidation of regional services to save money, coupled with poor public transport. Lack of housing due to second homes, lack of affordable house building and the recent contraction of the private rental market due to EPC conditions. Consolidation of the school estate for financial and educational reasons, coupled with poor public transport. Lack of childcare due to market forces or insufficient statutory provision. A view of the area as simply somewhere to holiday. Lack of Community Wealth Building principles embedded in development permissions. Older people move out of the area to be closer to centralised services. Working-age people move out of the area. National planting targets School age families move out of the area to be closer to the schools. Pre-school age families move out of the area in order for both parents to be able to work. The hollowing out of thriving and sustainable communities. Developments appear purely extractive to local communities and so are resented. Developers struggle to find a local workforce if their host communities have no schools, transport or houses. 52% afforestation of Carsphairn parish, with more commercial planting planned across the whole area. 6 The Glenkens is bucking the D&G trend for depopulation, due in part to the huge volunteer efforts to build a thriving community over many decades. However, it is an ageing population and one that is increasingly reliant on fatigued volunteers and a more challenging funding environment. All of our CAP work in 2025 has been viewed by the CAP Steering Group through a depopulation lens, but we need to find a way to work strategically with the regional and national agencies to achieve change – many of the issues above are out of our hands. 4.5. Local Place Planning We see statutory LPPs as a great opportunity for the Glenkens, due to the status being placed on them by the Local Authorities and Scottish Government. However, we need them to work for us and our pre-existing work on the Community Action Plan. We have therefore used GCAT and the Glenkens Community Spaces Network to coordinate a Glenkens response to this. Within the Glenkens, Dalry, Carsphairn, New Galloway & Kells, Balmaclellan and Crossmichael have all had their Local Place Plans registered with Dumfries and Galloway Council. At the end of 2025, Balmaclellan and Crossmichael had completed their final consultation and awaited registration with D&GC, New Galloway and Kells undertook the final consultation in early 2026. All reflect and amplify our CAP ambitions. We will use these Local Place Plans as a significant input into our 2026 CAP refresh, as above. 7 4.6. Land Use change More innovative work was carried out on Land Use, led by the Land Use sub-committee of the CAP Steering Group, and much of this in a very productive partnership with Dalry Community Council. NatureScot tells us that we are one of very few communities driving such strategic, balanced responses to land use change across the country. Highlights included: • Land Notes was the first Glenkens Land Use Festival, delivered in August 2025 through CatStrand Arts and Cultural Glenkens, as well as Dalry CC and the Land Use sub-committee. It used GCAT’s unique combination of arts and community development to amplify community issues through the arts and was a truly amazing weekend. • GCAT created a standalone edition of the Glenkens Gazette: ‘Life and Land in the Glenkens’ in March 25, which sets out our community issues and responses in a new and engaging manner. • Supporting Dalry CC in creating a landscape-scale Nature Networks feasibility study in late 2025, which will inform possible new areas for planting to create joined-up habitats for our important wildlife. Thanks very much to all the land owners and managers who have joined in this project, as well as the Pollinators project – it has shown a lot of potential. On the back of all this work, GCAT has submitted as application to the Nature Restoration Fund to create a Glenkens Nature Restoration Strategy in 2026. If successful, this will be an important next step in putting the Glenkens Land Use Vision into action. Through 2025, the Glenkens and rural communities more widely were represented on the South of Scotland Regional Land Use Partnership by GCAT Chief Executive Helen Keron, ensuring that the voice of rural communities is heard in these important discussions. The Glenkens is a case study in the SoS Regional Land Use Framework and in the 2025 Just Transition Committee report into A Just Transition for Dumfries and Galloway. Many thanks as ever to all the volunteers on the Land Use sub-committee who put a huge amount of time, expertise and enthusiasm into moving this important topic forward. 8 4.7. Education and Learning The Education and Learning sub-committee has been working through 2025 on three fronts: • Policy and Processes: Monitoring and responding to Dumfries and Galloway Council’s internal policies as they affect Glenkens schools e.g. the mothballing policy, the Schools Estate policy, the 2026/27 Budget. • Under 16 education: Working with the Dalry Parent Council to see if there is any route to maintaining a secure secondary school provision in the area, as well as supporting our remaining primary schools. Carsphairn Primary School was officially closed this year, and Dalry Secondary School was put out to consultation for closure in late 2025. This only highlights the criticality of our remaining schools and early years support to making the Glenkens an attractive place for working-age families to move to. • Post-16 education: Based on wide community input, this has centred around the possible creation of a 16+ Education and Learning Hub for the Glenkens, possibly funded by the community benefits that will accrue from the Kendoon-Tongland transmission line renewal – if that is a community priority. This will be a key aim of the CAP refresh process, to understand where the communities would like this capital funding used. We want to explore what a modern and sustainable educational provision in the Glenkens could look like. We have a decades-long pipeline of land-based industries coming into the area – how can we use that to ensure that our young people have access to high-quality jobs, housing and opportunities so that our communities thrive? The variety of jobs and opportunities available in both the short and long term was demonstrated at the Skills Fair held in Dalry in September. Building on the important report into Rural Education commissioned by the Glenkens and District Trust last year, the E&L sub-committee published a report ‘Education and Learning in the Glenkens’ in June 2025. In this, we call on the Council and other partners to value our rural communities, acknowledge the importance of our schools to our sustainability, and therefore work with us to find new and creative partnership models for supporting our young people and our communities. 9 4.8. Net Zero action The Energy Efficiency in Glenkens Community Buildings report published in 2023 has catalysed action in 2025 by at least 2 community groups: • • GCAT’s venue the CatStrand has been decarbonised entirely by replacing its oil boiler with Air Source Heat Pumps, powered by solar panels and batteries and a renewables-only electricity contract. The Glenkens Community Centre in Dalry has had major structural works to enhance its energy efficiency and ongoing sustainability, supported by funding from Scottish Power Energy Networks Transmission Net Zero Fund and also South of Scotland Enterprise. This collection of projects shows the power of working together to create (in this case) a Feasibility Study and evidence base that then catalyses and empowers individual organisations to make the changes that they want to see. 4.9. Community Wealth Building The Glenkens interprets CWB in its widest sense and sees it as critical to achieving Theme 3 of the CAP, An Economically Flourishing Community. CWB principles are also woven into the Glenkens Land Use Vision. For us, Community Wealth Building is not just about community benefits (money) – rather, it is about working in partnership with those organisations who create wealth from or within the Glenkens to ensure that some of that generated wealth supports the communities hosting the organisations. It could include partnership work on housing, skills and training, jobs, access roads, recreation or de-risking local social enterprises. The Glenkens is in receipt of welcome but relatively modest amounts of wind farm community benefit funds. (c.£300k pa over 10 Community Councils). However, this could rise substantially over the coming decade, and so we have organised ourselves robustly and (we believe) uniquely. The Glenkens is seen as leading the way in cross-community cooperation, leading to strategic and effective use of community benefit funds to achieve community priorities. See Section 6 below for our structures. We have responded to many consultations on the subject over 2025, often jointly with GDT, always advocating for keeping decision-making about community benefits at the heart of the host communities. These included the ScotGov consultation on Good Practice Principles for onshore wind and the DESNZ consultation on possible mandating of community benefits, the Ofgem consultation on the transmission owners price control. 10 4.10. Ongoing projects – 2025 update. 4.10.1. Glenkens Community Spaces Network. The GCSN Facilitator, Becca Nelson, continues to support the volunteer committees of the Glenkens public buildings with their excellent work for the Glenkens Town and Village Halls. She has established herself as a trusted supporter of the committees and therefore as a single point of contact for organisations looking to work with them. In this way she has been able to add significant unforeseen value over the year, not least through her extensive work this year on a coordinated Glenkens-wide approach to Local Place Plans. GCAT has also been able to amplify her support through funding for an additional day a week from the National Lottery ‘Awards for All’ fund to support the quieter Town and Village Halls in activity programming. Looking forward, the Glenkens and District Community Fund has decided to use some of the Windy Rig community benefit funding it receives from CREFL to support the Network on an ongoing basis, which is a testament to the degree to which it has brought our communities together. 4.10.2. Glenkens Hub The Glenkens Hub has grown again over 2025, cementing its use as a central community resource. Specific pages have been added for the CAP Refresh process and archive. It hosted pages for Glenkens Food Month 2025, the Glenkens Land Notes Festival and the Galloway Glens Legacy Fund when it re-opened in September 2025. In addition, Gail Challis has completed a significant piece of work in creating the Glenkens Archive, which is hosted on specialist software that provides an excellent search mechanism. Reports and Resources are being transferred to the new Archive, but if you would like a secure home for any Glenkens history, do get in touch with Gail. Another useful piece of work, aligned with our focus on Rural Depopulation, was the creation of Our Glenkens. This is a library and SM channels hosting short videos about some of the amazing young people who live and work in the Glenkens. Inspired by the very successful Uist Beo model, it seeks to change the narrative of rural living as a second-class option by shining a spotlight on the many amazing reasons to live here. In 2026, @OurGlenkens will be expanding to include videos on people living sustainably in the Glenkens. The Glenkens and District Community Fund will use some of the Windy Rig community benefit funding it receives via CREFL to support the Glenkens Hub on an ongoing basis, which is recognition of the extent to which it now underpins and supports all our communities. 11 4.10.3. PYT Community Housing The Pamela Young Trust has progressed its plans for 3 properties in the centre of Balmaclellan and has now completed Riba-stage 3, following receipt of Planning Permission. These homes will be made available at affordable rents and the intention is to build two 2 bedroom cottage flats and one 3 bedroom house. Tender prices are being sought and funding assembled. Should this prove successful then the current timeline provides for work starting on site in October 2026. Their plans to take the Glenlee houses back into community ownership from SPEN have stalled due to the lack of decision on the Kendoon-Tongland overhead transmission line but remains a possibility. 4.10.4. Galloway Food Hub The Galloway Food Hub has had a very successful 2025, with a list of 33 local producers and increasing its customer numbers. After seed funding from the Glenkens and District Community Fund in 2021 and 2022, they have since secured funding from outwith the Glenkens to grow their delivery area and update their marketing reach. They rely heavily on volunteers and committed staff to fuel the growth, but the rewards are very tangible. Looking forward, they hope to increase deliveries to weekly from fortnightly, inspire more local vegetable growers and secure a delivery vehicle to reduce the reliance on volunteers’ cars. 4.10.5. Glenkens Youth Group The Glenkens Youth Group had a great 2025, providing a safe and undirected space for young people (P7 – S3) to hang out in. The Monday evening sessions are very youth-led, and this year there were themes of cooking, crafts and music. They sourced external funding for a programme of summer activities, including a trip to the Titanic, water sports and archery, and joined CatStrand Young Creatives in a trip to the Edinburgh Fringe – giving Glenkens young people opportunities some of them have never had. Looking forward to 2026, the group will continue to be very youthled and will look to strengthen its links with the Council Youth Service still further. It is funded by the Glenkens and District Community Fund to August 2027 because of the importance of offering our young people meaningful opportunities as per the Community Action Plan. 4.10.6. Loch Ken Ranger Service It has been a great year for the Loch Ken Trust Ranger Service, with increased ranger patrol coverage from our rangers and volunteers. Loch Ken Trust have become further embedded in their communities, thanks to funding from a variety of sources, including continued support from Glenkens and District Trust Community Fund and Drax plc. In 2025 Loch Ken Trust have expanded on all areas, including their Ranger Education programme, Youth Water Safety Awareness and community engagement events, focussing on how to enjoy accessing the outdoors safely and responsible. A particular key area of focus has been their resilience work, which this year has included supporting our communities with resilience planning, a test event, and, in partnership with Scottish Ambulance Service, the formation of a community cardiac responders’ group. The Loch Ken Trust’s core work remains regularly patrolling Loch Ken and working together with their communities to look after and protect this special place. 12 5. Governance We have organised ourselves via a robust structure with clear accountability and sound governance principles that allow us turn aspiration into action that makes a real difference on the ground. We believe this structure to be unique across Scotland, and we have found over the last 4 years that it has provided us with a solid base from which to ensure delivery, maintain accountability and keep priorities relevant. It has survived changes in personnel and external context that means it is institutionally robust to the long-term nature of wind farm funding. Organisational Roles: • • • Glenkens & District Trust: • Build the available funding pot through effective liaison with wind farm (and other) developers. • Administer the funds effectively and transparently. • Membership drawn from Community Councils providing a local democratic basis. • Governing Documents and Meeting Reports here: Governance Info & Resources | Glenkens & District (glenkenstrust.org.uk) Community Action Plan Steering Group: • Own the Community Action Plan. • Keep it relevant and prioritise delivery according to resource constraints. • Membership from across the Glenkens. • Terms of Reference here: Glenkens Hub - Community Action Plan Steering Group • Meeting Reports published after each Steering Group meeting: Glenkens Hub Community Action Plan Steering Group. Glenkens Community and Arts Trust. • Anchor organisation, leading on delivery of the CAP, through a concentric model of delivery / support / partnerships. • Strategy, Annual Accounts and Newsletters here: GCAT - GCAT 13 6. 2026 Priorities At their November 2025 meeting, the CAP Steering Group set out the following priority areas for CAP delivery in 2026. • • • • Continue advocacy for underlying themes, as per Section 3.2. Continue support of ongoing delivery projects, as per Section 3.3. Refresh the Community Action Plan, using the LPPs as key inputs. Support Andrew McConnell as he takes over the role of GCAT Chief Exec. However, it is important to note that the current speed of progress and even some of the existing gains are at risk if regional and national agencies cannot see the value of rural communities and of working with hyper-local development trusts or similar to achieve their shared outcomes. 7. Looking Forward - Challenges • • • • • • GDT’s funds are limited due to current fund structure and delays in further wind farm construction due to lack of grid capacity. Kendoon-Tongland decision – both with respect to new wind farm timelines, transmission line community benefits and the Glenlee houses renovations. Potential centralisation of community benefit funds regionally and nationally. Constrained resources and volunteer fatigue leading to lack of capacity to advocate on themes at national and regional levels. Continuation funding for existing projects across the Glenkens. Lack of regional partnerships towards ambitions of Themes 3 and 4. 8. Looking Forward - Opportunities • • • • High level of national and regional interest in our work on land use and education and skills in particular. Glenkens LPPs are an example of best practice regionally and have demonstrated the benefits of working together cross-Community Council. More work with Developers could result in Community Wealth Building pilot projects. An increasingly engaged and empowered community available to partner with regional and national organisations on creative pilot projects. 9. Conclusion Although excellent things have already been achieved by working together, there are clear challenges to the Glenkens communities continuing to progress towards their ambitions. The CAP Steering Group is very focussed in supporting our local groups to build on what has been delivered and to create a positive and constructive Glenkens community that works together to achieve real results. 14 The funding context for all community groups is getting more difficult as the national funding landscape contracts and demands get higher. There is a need for national funders to understand and value the needs and demands of rural areas better in their decision making - for example the low population density, the difficulty in finding trained people to do work and the challenges of having a regular flow of work. There is one easy solution for the public sector conundrum of ‘how to do more with less’ – create fund structures that allocate funds in a timely manner, with a sensible timeframe for project completion and with multi-year provision. This will allow third sector organisations across the region and country to deliver significantly increased outcomes for the same amount of financial outlay. A less easy, but necessary solution, is for public sector reform that puts delivery of joint priorities at the heart of the process and is open to new models that best achieve that. Use the power of your communities and you might be surprised at the outcomes! While there is a pipeline of wind farm developments in the Glenkens & district which is likely to result in additional community benefit payments being made locally, the timescale of these is extending and there will not be a material change in the level of local funding available in the short term (3-5 years). The importance of a sufficiently-resourced anchor organisation to our delivery model cannot be understated. Without the organisational structure of GCAT, the support of its Board and, in particular, the Chief Executive role within it, the pace of delivery would have been much slower and many of the benefits of cooperation and coordination lost. Having access to that paid resource and expertise has been crucial to the ability of the CAP Steering Group to carry out its role over the last 4 years. In addition, there is a fantastic cohort of willing and able volunteers who have already achieved much for the Glenkens & district. But if more ambitious projects are to be achieved, more paid and expert assistance is needed to support these volunteers. If more volunteers are to come forward to support community groups, there needs to be a recognition that the majority of volunteers will not have unlimited time and cannot be expected to take on tasks at a level of responsibility and accountability that should reasonably be paid roles. The more ambitious projects in Themes 3 and 4 will need good partnership working with South of Scotland Enterprise, Dumfries and Galloway Council and other regional bodies. Their support is actively being sought. There is much focus on community empowerment and Glenkens groups are ready and willing to take up this challenge - but we do need strategic partnerships to allow them to deliver effective outcomes. We look forward to a challenging but rewarding 2026 and thank you to all the many people who have worked so hard this year to make the Glenkens what it is. Glenkens and District Community Action Plan Steering Group. December 2025 15 Appendix 1: 2021 – 2025 Delivery Highlights. Note that this list is of projects directly catalysed by the Community Action Plan. Many other excellent projects are also being delivered around the Glenkens in alignment with CAP priorities. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • In 2021, Propagate created the Glenkens Food Hub, now the Galloway Food Hub. They connect local food and drink producers to local people through an online shop and volunteer-led deliveries – supporting the local economy and shortening supply chains. In 2022, GCAT formed the Glenkens Community Spaces Network, in direct response to CAP priorities. This network supports and amplifies the efforts of our many volunteer Town and Village Hall committees. In 2022, GCAT obtained CLLD funding to commission a report into the Energy Efficiency of 11 Glenkens public buildings and 2 domestic archetypes. This catalysed Net Zero upgrades in 3 public buildings in 2023 and 2024. In 2022, Local Initiatives in New Galloway (LING) started the Glenkens Youth Group as an unstructured place for P7-S3s to hang out in. In 2023, GCAT took this over and it remains very well received by the young people who attend regularly. In 2021, the Loch Ken Trust started its Ranger service, one of the first community ranger services in the country. The Pamela Young Trust has been working since 2024 to move forward plans for community housing in Balmaclellan and Glenlee, sourcing external funding for feasibility studies. In early 2023, GCAT created the Glenkens Hub as a sister website to their very popular Glenkens Gazette. It is now an invaluable repository of community information as well as bringing the communities together through advertising events, news and jobs. Also in 2023, D&G Citizens’ Advice Service (DAGCAS) started an outreach clinic in the Glenkens, funded by the Glenkens and District Community Fund to bring their regional services directly to the people of the Glenkens. The Scottish Childminders Association has been working through 2023 and 2024 to offer a package of support to people wishing to become childminders in the Glenkens area. In July 2023, the Glenkens Land Use Vision was adopted as an Addendum to the CAP after a large amount of community engagement. Commenced participation in 2023 in NatureScot’s ‘Community Engagement in Landscape Change’ project, one of only five project areas in Scotland. In March 2024, commissioned further reports on the ‘Feasibility of Land Use Forum’ and ‘Participatory Monitoring of Landscape Change’. In August 2024, hosted Just Transition Commission visit documenting land use change in D&G. November 2024 – published report on the review of rural education. March 2025 saw the creation of a snapshot prospectus of ‘Life and Land in the Glenkens’. June 2025 – Report on Education and Learning in the Glenkens In August 2025 we used the report on Participatory Monitoring to create a Land Use Festival, weaving arts and community. Dalry CC and CatStrand Arts partnership. In August 2025, Propagate secured funding for Pollinator Pathways action. Delivered the Glenkens Skills and Jobs Fair in September 2025 November 2025: Submitted Nature Restoration Fund application to Nature Scot. November 2025 – provided a response to the D&GC Budget Consultation 16 Appendix 2: CAP SG Governance Membership The CAP Steering Group was formed in December 2021 with 9 volunteer members after an open call for membership. Barney Fryer left the Group in March 2025, and Richard Middleton in October 2025. Morag Paterson joined in May 2025. John Paterson Chaired the Steering Group through 2024 but stepped down in September 2025, to be replaced by Robert McTurk. Therefore at December 2024, the Steering Group membership is: • • • • • • • • Robert McTurk, Dalry - Chair Fiona Smith, Balmaclellan (GDT) Caroline Reeves, Crossmichael Joe Seed, Corsock Tom Marshall, Parton (GDT) Sarah Ade, Carsphairn. Jennifer Harvie, Dalry. Morag Paterson, Dalry (GDT) In 2026, we will be calling for an additional member to bring the group back up to 9 people. Governance 1. For all governance info, including member bios, Terms of Reference, Annual Reports and previous Meeting Reports, see Glenkens Hub - Community Action Plan (CAP) Steering Group. 2. From the CAP SG Terms of Reference: Purpose The purpose of the Community Action Plan Steering Group (CAP SG) is to be the custodian of the Glenkens and District Community Action Plan (the CAP). It will maintain the CAP and agree any updates. The CAP SG will also promote, support and assure delivery of the CAP. Membership / Structure The CAP Steering Group will have no legal structure, and in the first instance will not have a constitution beyond these Terms of Reference. This is because it holds no funds, has no monetary decision-making powers and its purposes as described above can be achieved effectively by a nonincorporated non-constituted group working closely with GDT and the GCAT Executive Manager. 17 There will normally be a maximum of 9 people on the CAP Steering Group. Up to 3 will be GDT Trustees, up to 6 will be active members of the community and no more than a third will be GDT Trustees. Relationship with the Glenkens and District Trust The CAP SG helps GDT be better connected with the Glenkens and wider district communities in order to inform their funding strategy. Relationship with the Glenkens Community and Arts Trust The CAP SG will have two relationships with GCAT: • GCAT as a delivery organisation, which will be managed by the same processes as are applied to all such organisations contributing to CAP delivery. • GCAT’s mandate to lead on delivery of the Community Action Plan, led by the GCAT Chief Executive. Care should be taken to always distinguish between these two roles. 18 Appendix 3: Supporters Thank you to the many Funders and Partners who have supported delivery of the Glenkens & district Community Action Plan so far: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • The Glenkens and District Community Fund, administered by Foundation Scotland. The Glenkens and District Trust The Glenkens Community and Arts Trust CARES Carsphairn Renewable Energy Fund Limited. CoDeL Community Enterprise’s ‘Accelerate’ programme. Creative Scotland Drax Dumfries and Galloway Council The Energy Savings Trust, through Plugged In Communities The Galloway and Southern Ayrshire UNESCO Biosphere The Glenkens Community Shop Glenkens Community Councils The Holywood Trust The National Lottery Heritage Fund. NatureScot The Princes Trust The Rural Housing Fund The Scottish Government’s ‘Community Led Local Development’ fund (CLLD). The Scottish Government’s ‘Community Mental Health and Wellbeing’ fund. The Scottish Government through Scottish Rural Action. South of Scotland Enterprise Sustrans The UK Government’s ‘Community Led Vision’ fund The UK Government’s ‘Levelling up’ fund Local trusts and individuals – thank you all! 19  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Glenkens & District Community Action Plan Steering Group Annual Report 2025 Description An account of the resource 2025 has been another year of effective delivery of the Glenkens & District Community Action Plan priorities. Frontline delivery projects have been consolidated and evolved to deliver excellent outcomes for Glenkens residents, despite the extremely challenging external context of restricted funding landscape and limited available public sector support. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context CAP_34 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource GCAT Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Glenkens & District Trust Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available CAP Steering Group Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2026 CAP https://glenkensarchive.scot/glenkens_archive/files/original/1/686/GlenkensGazette152_cover.jpg a46967c90cd33886ee750c70e6217c94 https://glenkensarchive.scot/glenkens_archive/files/original/1/686/GlenkensGazette152.pdf 87c34e16116affebe972bf356b0c03af PDF Text Text pdftext_placeholder Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Glenkens Gazette Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Glenkens Gazette Description An account of the resource <p>Find out more about the Gazette: <a href="https://glenkens.scot/gazette-home" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Glenkens Gazette home page</a> If you would like to submit an article or take out an advert, please email the editor Sarah Ade: <span>&nbsp;</span><a href="mailto:glenkensgazette@hotmail.com">glenkensgazette@hotmail.com</a></p> <p>The Glenkens Gazette is a member of, and regulated by <span>&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.impressorg.com/">Impress</a>.</p> <p>The Glenkens Gazette is an initiative of Glenkens Community &amp; Arts Trust (SC032050) and represents the voice of the community (not necessarily the views of GCAT).</p> Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document www.gallowaycommunitytransport.org email: gct@catstrand.com / gctadmin@catstrand.com phone: Jon 07841 512449 / Jason 07704 662925 FEBRUARY - MARCH 2026 INTRODUCING THE GCT GIG BUS! February/March 2026 - THURSDAY 5TH MARCH ISSUE 152 FIRST TRIP Planning submitted for loch-side observatory Galloway Community Transport are proud to be working in partnership with the CatStrand, by providing a sustainable transport option for people who can't drive / don't want to drive to selected live performances. The service will operate where there is most demand, so please select your pick up location when booking. Spaces are limited, so please book early! lans have been Pick up timings to be determined once passenger submitted to numbers and locations are finalised. FREE INSIDE THIS ISSUE New CatStrand Gig Bus ...turn to p5 P Dumfries & Galloway Council for James a brand Yorkston is a singer-songwriter and author from the East Neuk of Fife, Scotland and former Fence Collective member. Since signing to new observatory Domino on the banks of Records in 2001, James has released a steady flow of highly acclaimed albums, leading to him touring his music worldwide. Clatteringshaws Loch. The Trustees of the Scottish Dark Sky Observatory (SDSO) are delighted to announce that plans for a new astronomical facility have been submitted to Dumfries & Galloway Council. High density hydro Scan this QR code for tickets (for bus only, gig tickets ...turn to p14 available separately from CatStrand) If approved, the plans will allow a MINIBUS DRIVING Clatteringshaws Loch photographed by Marc Charron VEHICLE HIRE FOR MEMBERS conversion of the former Forestry We have vehicles for hire by community & Land Scotland Clatteringshaws organisations. ranging from 4 seat Forest’s ‘gold tier’ Dark Sky Park to include reception Visitor Centre,We near are New looking adapted for drivers toahelp us designation, awarded by the area, gift shop, exhibition/ Galloway, into an observatory capacity to 16 seats, including deliver our services onarea, theafollowing education simple café and International DarkSky Association and visitor centre. accessibility in 2009 and the first of its kind wheelchair in visitor WCs. This would be route: achieved through Europe. In turn, it is anticipated Fi McClelland, Manager of the the creation of two observation that increased visitor numbers, about membership and Scottish Dark Sky Observatory For information domes, each featuring a large ...turn to p17 particularly over the traditionally (SDSO), who have submitted 517 Kirkcudbright/Borgue/Brighouse telescope, along with a6 terms and conditions of hire see the GCT quieter winter months, will create “The aim is metre diameter, 360° digital Bay. This will bethe 1 -proposal, 2 dayssaid: a week, additional economic website benefits or phone: 07841 512449 to create a unique educational planetarium dome. for local communities and and tourism attraction that 7 hours per day. CPC training can 07704 662925 The existing building would be businesses.” Continued on p2... will capitalise on the Galloway Land and living in the Glenkens be provided Our driving roles are offered on a self-employed basis and are paid at £13 per hour. For an informal discussion, please call Jon on 07841 512449 or email gct@catstrand.com D www.gallowaycommunitytransport.org umfries & Galloway Council is carrying out a consultation REGULAR SERVICES We are modifying our regular shopping considering future service at time of publication, please call options for Dalry for further updates: 07841 512449 Secondary School. Stravaiging in the Part of this process is to gather feedback from the wider community; the more people from across the communities of the Glenkens who make their voices heard, the more likely the outcome will be along the lines of what the comunity wishes to see. Glenkens ...turn to 24 Turn to page 2 to find out when drop-in sessions are running and more about the consultation. News from the communities of Balmaclellan, Carsphairn, Corsock, Crossmichael, Kirkpatrick Durham, Laurieston, Mossdale, New Galloway, Parton and St John’s Town of Dalry GAZETTEnews Glenkens Gazette page 2 CONTENTS Stargazing in the Glenkens News p1-5 People p6-9 Environment p10-15 Community p16-23 History p24 Arts p25-26 Information p27-28 Transport p29 Events p30-31 Continued from front page... The SDSO completed their purchase of the Clatteringshaws site in November 2024, supported by funding from South of Scotland Enterprise (SOSE). Fi continued: “The site, which enjoys spectacular daytime views over adjacent Clatteringshaws Loch, very good accessibility and a ready-made large car park is widely regarded as an ideal home for the new astronomical facility, located as it is in the darkest part of the world-renowned Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park. "We are excited about taking the next steps with this project, and look forward to keeping Gazette readers updated with progress in the planning process.” Pictured are plans of the layout of the proposed Scottish Dark Sky Observatory at Clatteringshaws © ARPL Ltd Dalry Secondary School community consultation Continued from front page... Louise Rae, School Estate Specialist, with the Education, Skills and Community Wellbeing department of D&G Council, said: " The drop-in sessions will focus on community conversations around alternatives to closure. "Following this a public survey will be circulated which will take cognisance of conversations and suggestions put forward during the drop-in sessions. This will be electronic but we will ensure paper copies are also available. "For those that can’t attend the dropins, as well as those that do, this will be an opportunity to gather comments/ feedback from all. "We anticipate the public survey to run between 16 February and 27 March 2026. During this timeframe through colleagues in youth work we will also be capturing feedback from pupils. A report will ultimately go to Education, Skills and Community Wellbeing Committee on 30 June 2026." Dalry School Parent Council is urging people get involved. Parent council chair, Anne McEwan, said: "As a Parent Council we are looking to ensure that all parents have their voices heard throughout the consultation process. "We support access to education within the Glenkens for statutory education which is what the parent forum has clearly expressed as a preference." COMMUNITY CONSULTATION DROP-IN SESSIONS: Thursday 5 February Lagwyne Hall, Carsphairn, 12noon to 2pm Dalry Secondary School, 3pm to 6pm Glenkens Gazette GAZETTEnews Celebrating seven years of community funding J oin the Glenkens & District Trust to celebrate seven years of community benefit funding! A celebration event is being held at Dalry Town Hall on Thursday 26 February to take a look at the difference that the Glenkens & District Community Fund has made in supporting the hard work of volunteers and organisations over the last seven years. Over this period the fund has distributed over £1.5 million in grants, which has unlocked a further £3.25 million in investment into the area from other funders. The Glenkens & District Community Fund distributes funds provided by from Blackcraig and Windy Rig Wind Farms. Decisions on grant awards are made by the trustees of Glenkens & District Trust, who are individuals appointed by our local community councils and others drawn from across the fund area, all of whom give their time as volunteers. The fund is run in partnership with Foundation Scotland, an independent charity, which provides fund administration and grant management support. From funding science workshops page 3 for schoolchildren to fixing the roofs on village halls, helping local producers to find an outlet for their produce, or awarding financial grants for Glenkens residents to help them to gain work-related qualifications, the fund has had a huge impact on Glenkens communities and residents of all ages. All are invited to drop in between 4pm and 7.30pm to find out more about the huge range of projects and initiatives that have been supported or made possible by the Glenkens & District Community Fund. Light refreshments will be available. Becca Nelson Carsphairn SWI celebrates 90th anniversary O n 4 December 2025 members and friends of Carsphairn SWI gathered in Lagwyne Hall to celebrate the Institute’s 90th birthday. The hall looked resplendent with balloons, lights, streamers and Christmas trees added to the beautifully set tables. The evening encompassed both birthday and festive revelries. What a party it was! Friends from other Stewartry Institutes joined the celebration. Melissa Ade welcomed everyone, and Christine Whipp shared messages and cards from wellwishers within the Stewartry and further afield. Then everyone was invited to enjoy the buffet provided by members and friends, which was a real feast of variety, flavour and colour. Lots of laughter and catching up went on over the meal. Liquid refreshments including mulled festive drinks were served throughout. Melissa invited Mary McMorran, a well-known past member of Carsphairn SWI, to cut the 90th birthday cake after everyone had sung Happy Birthday. Tea and coffee were served along with the cake. The evening then took another welcome turn as Aaron Jones entertained everyone with vocals and guitar. Aaron played some traditional folk songs - some well-known and a couple less so. He talked about the origin of his music and included everyone by explaining the choruses and encouraging those present to join in. The atmosphere in the hall was poignant as people listened and took part. Aaron even played a Christmas favourite (the gathering's, rather than his, maybe?!). As the festivities drew to a natural close, Irene McCreath thanked everyone for being there on the evening and for taking part and contributing to the celebration. Everyone was gifted a coaster to remind them of the special birthday. As coats were put on and farewells were made, people reflected on what a memorable party it had been. Carsphairn SWI is vibrant and looking to the future with enthusiasm, commitment and excitement. Christine Whipp Glenkens Gazette GAZETTEnews page 4 150 years of New Galloway Town Hall I n November, Local Initiatives in New Galloway (LING) marked 150 years since the burgh’s town hall was expanded and enlarged with a grand old gala ball. Attendees were dressed to the nines, with a veritable rainbow of kilts and trews invading the dance floor in the upper hall. The night’s choreography was greatly enhanced by Sam Rushton’s social dance classes, which had been running in the lead-up to the event. Meanwhile in the Lower Hall, the tables were groaning under the weight of a generous spread provided by Sylvia, of Kitty’s Tearoom, next to which was a scratch bar expertly run by the new owners of the Kenmure Arms - Victoria, Polly, and Kate. The event was partly funded by New Galloway and Kells Community Council and Dumfries and Galloway Council and was attended by councillor Katie Hagmann, who delivered a speech reminding us of the role that the town hall has played in New Galloway’s history. Far from just providing a meeting place for local government, the building has housed religious worship, criminals and courts, and many personal, civic and cultural celebrations – to which we can now add our gala ball. Celebrating 150 years of this historic building came at a time where many are questioning the relevance of village and town halls, viewing them as outdated spatial challenges. Demonstrating how the function and role of such places can evolve together with the needs of the community while promoting civic engagement and pride is central to LING’s ethos. Our purpose is to ensure that community assets are preserved and maintained so that they can be loved by future generations, and to promote their integration into holistic regeneration plans to combat rural depopulation. At the heart of it all is people, and so we would like to thank the volunteers who freely gave their time and experience, bringing their best qualities to bear on organising and running this event with us. The biggest endorsement of the night came during clean-up on the following day, when our volunteers found the heel of a gentleman’s shoe in the upper hall. Presumably this was a result of its owner’s exertions on the dance floor, and so thick was the fog of joviality that its absence went unnoticed! Dominique Pope Dalry's Hogmanay ceilidh recently written by creative folk like our local historian Angela Miller. T he old tradition of celebrating Hogmanay in Dalry Town Hall as a village community was revived over ten years ago, and has now become a valued part of the community's calendar. Once again on 31 December people from Dalry and the Glenkens, family and friends, gathered to welcome in the New Year together. responsibility since she was a teenager, and is now a confident and accomplished leader. The dances were expertly called by Ian Buckley from Laurieston. Live entertainment was provided throughout the evening by an amazing array of local talent. But though the dances are big part of the evening, a traditional ceilidh also involves spontaneous participation from singers, poets and storytellers. Dalry is home to an eightpiece live ceilidh band, led by young fiddler Ellen Bielinski. Ellenn has shouldered this There were a variety of songs - traditional ones celebrating the Glenkens as well as ones We heard humorous readings of poems and tales, including one from the gifted pen of local writer Laura Rimmer, and the authentic voice of Dalry's own multi-talented shepherdess, Isobel Cuthbertson. Norman Ritchie provided the traditional tongue-in-cheek Hogmanay quiz, which focuses mainly on local knowledge. Then there was more dancing... and then the bells, with Auld Lang Syne to cheer us all into 2026. As usual all the entertainment was home-grown and provided free of charge. Donations were collected at the door for the upkeep of the town hall, which provides such a great venue for the occasion. As a now well-established Dalry resident, and as a musician, I find myself in charge of organising the event. I find this a privilege and a pleasure, and am appreciative of the strong support of some very helpful folks and exciting, stimulating local talent. Anne Chaurand Photograph of Hogmanay taken by Angella Miller Glenkens Gazette GAZETTEnews page 5 Thanks from the Glenkens Youth Group A fter the October holidays we relocated to the newly refurbished Community Centre in Dalry. We kicked off the term with a Hallowe’en party, decorating the space with ghosts and skeletons and ourselves with gruesome scars and wounds thanks to the expertise of Ellie and Sanna. Tesco in Castle Douglas very kindly donated towards our snacks and drinks. The lovely new kitchen room is a great space to relax and play board games, arts and crafts or to sit and catch up with friends. In the hall, we have managed to set up the snooker table, table tennis table and a badminton court at the same time which has proved great for the more energetic. In early December , four youngsters from the group helped to run the Community Café in Dalry Town Hall. They worked very hard all morning, setting out the cakes, taking orders and serving the teas and coffees raising money for the Paragon Music Charity. A huge thank you to Piri, Jasmine, Aiden and George. That same weekend a small number attended the Catstrand Youth Players Pantomine – Babes in the Wood. The performance was fantastic, well done to Izak and Caitlin and the rest of the players. We finished the term with a Christmas Party. We played games, music and enjoyed pizzas, cakes and mocktails, with another very kind donation, this time from the Co-Op in Castle Douglas. The umbrellas, flamingos and twizzle sticks created amazing hair creations!! In November, the group decided to apply to the Glenkens Community Charity Shop in Dalry to fund an outing in the New Year and we were once again delighted to hear that we had been awarded £600. We are planning to visit Bouldover in Dumfries, for a climbing experience in February. Finally, after Christmas, I received an email informing me that a resident of the Glenkens has very generously donated £150 to the Youth Group funds. We are so grateful to all of the above for their kind and invaluable donations to the group and as ever to the Glenkens Community and Arts Trust for their continuing support. THANK YOU! Sue Curtis, Youth Group Deliverer GALLOWAY COMMUNITY TRANSPORT www.gallowaycommunitytransport.org email: gct@catstrand.com / gctadmin@catstrand.com CatStrand gig bus PamelaFEBRUARY - MARCH 2026 Young Trust ... new for 2026! HE GCT GIG BUS! Balmaclellan G update hone: Jon 07841 512449 / Jason 07704 662925 AY 5TH MARCH nsport are proud to be th the CatStrand, by nother milestone has been reached in ansport option for people the proposals for a small affordable nt to drive to selected live A housing development in Balmaclellan. Tender documents have now been issued for the build with a response date of 13 February. Once these responses here there is most demand, are received and analysed, funding will be sought, and up location when booking. if successful, it is envisaged that the build would start in October 2026. ase book early! As part of the process a drainage survey on the wider village rmined passenger areaonce has been carried out and this is available to anyone by contacting Alan Smith (alan.smith12345@btinternet.com). e finalised. The document is fairly technical in nature and details and can be made available via a sharepoint link. The survey wasauthor part-funded by the the Glenkens andNeuk District songwriter and from East Community Fund and would be invaluable to anyone Fencecontemplating Collectiveother member. Since signing to works in the village requiring new or mes has released aconnections. steady flow of highly amended drainage to him touring his music worldwide. alloway Community Transport is proud to be working in partnership with the CatStrand to provide a sustainable transport option for people who can't, or prefer not to, drive, for select performances. The service will operate where there is most demand, so please choose your pick-up location when booking. Spaces are limited, so book early! Pick-up timings to be determined once passenger numbers and locations are finalised. The first Gig Bus will be for the James Yorkston concert on Thursday 5 March. James Yorkston is a singersongwriter and author from the East Neuk of Fife, and a former Fence Collective member. Since signing to Domino Records in 2001, James has released a steady flow of highly acclaimed albums, leading to him touring his music worldwide. See p29 for booking info... Glenkens Gazette GAZETTEpeople Glenkens Youth Correspondent page 6 Joshua Wells, aged 16, is our Gazette youth correspondent and in each edition he will be writing about topics which interest him. In this issue Joshua talks about Balmaclellan Village Hall. 2 025 was a big year for everyone in Dumfries and Galloway, and a great year for people to attend events and celebrations. The Balmaclellan Village Hall has been a great example of an event-filled venue, holding events from January to December and seemingly never taking a moment to rest. Balmaclellan Village Hall has held its place as a centre-point of the village community for many years. The hall, being more than just a building, often organises and hosts events, celebrations, and gatherings for village residents and visitors to come together. Some key happenings have been the Bangers and Mash Night, the Yuletide Fayre, and the Glenkens Children’s Christmas Party, with each one providing a fun-filled experience for village hall visitors. On 15 November, guests were able to enjoy a sensational performance from a live band at the Bangers and Mash Night. As the name suggests, after the exciting performance, the 70 guests were able to grab an affordable bite to eat. They were given a generous helping of juicy sausages, rich and buttery mashed potatoes, and hearty mushy peas. Once full after a great meal, visitors were able to take part in an engaging quiz, testing their general knowledge in areas such as sport and entertainment. Alongside their admission to the quiz, participants were given a free raffle ticket. After many extra tickets were bought for a better chance of winning, the raffle quickly began. Winners were able to collect a brilliant prize (expertly displayed by me). Another well-attended event was the Yuletide Fayre on 29 November, where people could browse and buy a selection of unique gifts and crafts. Stalls filled the hall, allowing guests to peruse the varied selection on offer. While browsing, Christmas shoppers could buy a wide range of products, such as Christmas coasters and handmade tea cosies. Visitors were not limited to stall items; various tasty festive treats and drinks provided the perfect excuse to have a rest before continuing their shopping. To mark the final event of 2025, kids and adults alike were able to find enjoyment at the Glenkens Children’s Christmas Party. This annual tradition began with a great chance to try out circus skills. After this funfilled experience, it is safe to say that the Glenkens is home to some impressive hula hoopers and jugglers. Soon after, children could regain their energy by grabbing a plate of delicious food, such as refreshing melon and perfectly sized cheese pieces. Once the children’s bellies were full, adults could take part in a brilliant raffle with prizes for both kids and parents. One of the young visitors did an excellent job picking tickets from the raffle bucket. The fun didn’t end there, however, as the children played an exciting game of pass the parcel, with a tasty treat in every layer of wrapping. The moment everyone was waiting for was Santa. Spreading festive cheer, Santa met with 25 children to listen to their Christmas wishes and give out pre-Christmas gifts. The events held at Balmaclellan Village Hall throughout 2025 have shown just how important it is to the local community. From lively evenings with music and food to festive fairs and children’s parties, the hall has offered something for everyone. With strong attendance, plenty of laughs, and lots of community spirit on display, it is clear that the village hall continues to be at the heart of Balmaclellan, and locals will no doubt be looking forward to what events are still to come. GCAT festive farewells I n December the Glenkens Community & Arts Trust team and friends gathered at the Lochinvar Hotel to celebrate the contribution of three very special women at a triple leaving do. After many years at the heart of the CatStrand kitchen, Eileen Edgar has retired and is now enjoying a wellearned change of pace. Eileen was thanked for her warmth, dedication, and the huge contribution she has made over the years. Gill Warnock, who has played a vital part in strengthening GCAT’s systems and helping place the organisation on a solid financial footing, has moved on to a new role. Gill was thanked for her commitment, expertise, and support. Helen Keron, GCAT’s first Chief Executive, was thanked for her outstanding leadership and for everything she has done for GCAT and the Glenkens. We wish Eileen, Gill, and Helen every happiness and success in their next chapters, and we thank them for the lasting impact they have made on GCAT and our community. Andrew McConnell, GCAT Chief Executive Glenkens Gazette GAZETTEpeople page 7 Happy first Valentine's Day to Andrew and Pia H ere is a heartwarming love story to celebrate the happiness of long-term Glenkens resident, Andrew Mellor, and his new wife Pia. Pia’s story: “We met on 24 December 2024, when I visited friends in Dalry. Then we met again a week later, at the Hogmanay Ceilidh in Dalry Town Hall, and then on a group walk up the Mulloch on January 1st. “Secret Valentine cards were not for us – on the second of January 2025 we exchanged email addresses before I returned to Sweden the next day. In August - 101,680 words later - we had our engagement party in Sweden. And in September, wedding celebrations in Dalry.” Andrew’s story: “The first time we met I thought that Pia was special – a year later I know that my first impression was spot on. It seems little short of a miracle that, at the age of 75 and ten years after the death of my wife Anne, fate should bring such a gift into my life. “There is no rule book to guide people of our age who fall in love. It wasn’t easy to summon up the courage to propose to Pia while sitting in an apple orchard on an island near Stockholm. What a relief when she said yes. I can’t imagine life without her by my side.” Top: Andrew and Pia at the engagement party in Sweden. Right: The happy couple out for a spin in Andrew's Morgan. Firewood logs & Wood Products for Sale From Carsphairn Community Woodland Gillespie Gifford & Brown LLP Solicitors and Estate Agents Dumfries & Galloway 01556 503744 www.ggblaw.co.uk All legal advice Offices in Castle Douglas and Dalbeattie A range of products are available from our community sawmill Contact us with your requirements ï Free local delivery ï Enquiries to: Tel: 07710 124 255 Carsphairn Community Woodland Limited is commi�ed to acquiring, developing and managing local woodlands in a sustainable and environmentally sound way for the long-term benefit of the local community. Website: www.carsphairn.org/CCWL Company Limited by Guarantee SC591976 Glenkens Gazette GAZETTEpeople page 8 In memory of Simon Holmes... runs he was made to do as punishment for various infractions. At school, Simon spent his entire time in the art rooms, painting, dancing on the tables to Fats Domino, trying to bend the rules. Just before his A-levels, after being spotted out with a girl from the local village, Simon was expelled — though he would later be smuggled back over a river in a canoe to see his many friends. From Bryanston Simon won a scholarship to Chelsea School of Art, where bequiffed and dressed like a beatnik he was quite the young blade. London in 1959 gave little impression of the swinging social revolution that was to arrive in a few years’ time —it was still the short-backand-sides London of the post-war years, and it wasn’t for Simon. S imon Holmes, who died in December, was one of the most extraordinary people to ever call this remote part of Scotland home. A bohemian Londoner who was a stalwart of the community council, a suburban lad who became quintessentially Gallovidian, an anarchist who loved the late Queen, his charisma and warmth will be remembered by all who ever met him — but his legacy will be felt for generations. Born in Buckinghamshire to an Airforce father who would leave while he was small, Simon might have been expected to have an ordinary suburban existence, but Simon was no ordinary man. Raised in the London suburb of Pinner, he was cheeky, talkative and had complete disregard for the rules. Simon was talk of the neighbourhood while still in short trousers, causing scandals playing cowboys and Indians with real bows and arrows (until another boy was shot in the arm). In Pinner he would meet friends who would last a lifetime, including my father John, who met him aged two and has never forgotten it. From his earliest years Simon had a great gift for art, painting lifelike portraits while at primary school. It was this, as well as his gift of the gab, that saw the famous public school Bryanston offer him an art scholarship in 1956. Bryanston was a pillar of progressive education, with no corporal punishment and a liberal ethos (for the 1950s)—but Simon rankled against all authority and would curse forever the early morning After about a year at art school a wanderlust set in that compelled him on a series of journeys that read like a mix of Kerouac’s On the Road and Rudyard Kipling’s Kim. Simon’s early journeys to the Middle East and North Africa, where he was soon joined by his younger brother Bill, were incredibly pioneering. This was still many years before the hippy trail and the Beatles in India, and two young penniless Brits setting out on a multi-year Odyssey to Algeria, Egypt, Arabia, Morocco, Turkey, India, Pakistan and Afghanistan was an extremely risky and exciting proposition. Simon and Bill travelled the East for years, learning Arabic, living hand to mouth and fully immersing themselves in the nomadic Bedouin communities that adopted them—sleeping in goat hair tents, wearing Bedouin clothes and partaking of the highly prized hashish of the region. It was at this time that Simon converted to Islam — more of a cultural conversion, for Simon, though a spiritual man, had no predilection for organized religion. These travels would continue until an ill-advised visit to Kuwait in 1966, when Bill and Simon, short of money as ever, attempted to sell a small piece of hashish to a man who turned out to be a police agent. The brothers would spend the next six months in a Kuwaiti jail. Simon related how, after having received a beating at the hands of the jailers, he and Bill were sent into a large communal cell full of people from all over the Arab world. “Now you are among friends,” the cellmates told them, and the kindness and benevolence they received from the fellow prisoners would remain with them forever. Eventually, the brothers were repatriated to Britain, where their arrival made the local papers in Pinner. This would not be the last of his great travels (he was in France a short while before his death), but his return to Britain did mark a huge turning point in Simon’s life, for it was then that he met Liz, who would go on to be his wife for almost 60 years. He first saw her, a strikingly beautiful Chinese girl, on Pinner High Street before talking to her at Baker Street station. They would marry in 1968, with Liz working as a teacher while Simon tried to earn a crust as an artist and journalist. Simon’s sense of adventure was unabated, and he and his brother Bill determined to recreate the Bedouin life in Britain, riding through the Scottish Highlands on horseback accompanied by two donkeys and living in tents as they had done in Arabia. It was then that they discovered Galloway, and Knockengorroch, the remote farmstead on the upper Deugh which was to become home for Simon and Bill for the rest of their lives. At the time, Simon and Bill recall Galloway’s bare and treeless landscape as being like something out of the central Asian steppes they had seen in Afghanistan. This was the beginning of the commercial forestry boom in Galloway, with huge swaths of sheep moor being given over to Sitka plantations. Continued over the page... Glenkens Gazette GAZETTEpeople ...a life well lived... Simon was a benevolent man, and, alongside tyranny and injustice one of the few things he truly hated was the Sitka monoculture. Ironically though, it was this that allowed him to settle at Knockengorroch, a former sheep farm that was being sold off as the glen was planted with invasive spruce. The two brothers decided to settle permanently in 1970 (they would later be joined by their mother who bought a house in Carsphairn), but life was hard and money was short — the horses that had accompanied them to Galloway would earn their keep in the summers on the beaches at Maidens, giving pony rides to children. Bill took up dyking work (the ones on Cairnsmore of Carsphairn are his) before becoming the region’s finest landscape artist. Simon ran Knockengorroch as a smallholding, with sheep, cows, goats, geese, horses, and pigs. At one point the chippy in Dalmellington bought Knockengorroch potatoes for their chips. Yet while Knockengorroch never did take off as a working farm, it did succeed as a community. Over the years, Knockengorroch would attract a diverse cast of characters, some of whom go on to shape the area to this day. Robin Ade, the renowned fisherman, knew Simon from London. He would live at Knockengorrroch before going on to raise a large family in the area. Through Robin’s wife Aletta a wandering American would arrive, Louis Sarno, who would go on to lead an extraordinary life as the ‘White Pygmy,’ spending over 40 years living with the Ba’aka in the rainforests of the Central African Republic. Colin Self, one of Britian’s greatest living artists, would find huge inspiration at Knockengorroch, the work he created there was recently the highlight of a major retrospective at the Norwich Museum. Simon developed an almost mystical connection with the land and those that had lived on it before. It began to be a great dream of his to repopulate the glen, as it had been before the clearances, and to revive its hidden history. Fascinated by the ancient people in whose footsteps he was treading, in the 90s Simon began work on a reconstructed Iron Age longhouse. Built of wattle, turf and wood, it took more than a decade to construct, and and involved many enthusiastic volunteers. It is now a unique music venue where songs ancient and modern echo through the hills. But Simon’s dream of a new community at Knockengorroch would have to wait, as family life took over. A daughter, Katriona, would arrive, followed by a son, Robert. Liz would support the family by teaching at Carsphairn primary school (now sadly mothballed), while Simon would again turn to his brushes and easel to earn a living. For much of the 80s and 90s, the family would spend the summer traversing the country attending airshows. Perhaps due to his RAF father Simon was fascinated by aircraft (though he hated flying). He and Liz had a great time at Farnborough and other events, hobnobbing with airline executives and selling Simon’s oil paintings and prints of aircraft—Spitfires, Lancasters, Vulcans—from a display trailer hauled all the way from Knockengorroch. page 9 Festivals now seem ubiquitous, but in 1998 no one could have foreseen that thousands of revellers would make the trek down unknown tracks to party in the great natural amphitheatre on the Deugh. Knockengorroch immediately became a fixture of the Scottish live music scene, attracting acts from Desmond Dekker to the Orb, offering a mix of Gaelic folk, reggae and dance that keeps the crowds coming every May. Entering its 28th year it is now one of the longest running greenfield festivals in the whole of Scotland, if not the longest, and has attracted rave reviews (pardon the pun) even from the likes of the Daily Telegraph and Country Life. Then, in 1997, Simon’s dream of repopulating the glen suddenly became a reality, albeit temporarily. The festival became Simon’s last, and most successful, great project but he never stopped coming up with new ideas and lines of inquiry: he devoted huge energy researching place names and local history, rolling out facsimiles of Pont’s 16ht century map of Scotland, where Knockengorroch was first attested. Knockengorroch had always attracted new age travellers (some of whom remained in Galloway to become pillars of the community), but that spring some acquaintances arrived asking if they could use the farm as a basecamp for a “gathering” that would take place at the Clennoch, a beautiful glen on the upper Bow burn. Many years were spent composing passages for a great book of his travels which sadly he never managed to complete. He remained vigorous and passionate until the end. He died surrounded by his family — Liz, Katch, Robert and his beloved granddaughter Keita on whom he doted. He left unafraid of what comes next. This would be the Rainbow Gathering, a weeks-long, global event that takes place at a spot supposedly chosen at random each year. On the last night of the festival for each of the last 27 years, Simon would take to the stage to deliver a speech. Often funny, usually railing against injustice in the world, the speeches would always have a message about community, about coming together, and about the transcendent relationship between people and the land. No one other than Simon could have drawn thousands of people year after year (perhaps hundreds of thousands in total) to this beautiful, remote spot. It was his life’s work, and now it is his great legacy. William Dunbar For that summer, the meadows of Knockengorroch were covered in teepees and yurts, as a small town’s worth of international hippies made their way on foot up to the Clennoch. One year later, Simon, Liz, Katch and Robert would host the first Knockengorroch festival, bringing “people to the land, music to the hills” as Simon’s motto went. It was a huge success. Glenkens Gazette GAZETTEenvironment page 10 sponsored by Lochhill Agroecological Farm: Growing food, community and a shared future in the Glenkens L ochhill Agroecological Farm sits just outside Crossmichael, overlooking the hills and water that shape life in the Glenkens. Over the past few years, the farm has been quietly growing into something more than a place that produces food. It has become a shared project – rooted in the land, shaped by community involvement, and focused on building a more resilient local food system. The land and steadings are leased from Richard and Jane Middleton, who initiated the project, looking ahead to the legacy they want to leave for the farm. They continue to be actively involved in the project. Set up as a Community Interest Company, Lochhill was created with a simple but ambitious aim: to farm in a way that works with nature, while feeding people locally and creating opportunities for learning, connection and meaningful work. Using agroecological principles, the farm focuses on building healthy soils, supporting biodiversity and producing food without reliance on chemical inputs. The story so far Work began in 2024, a year of rest for the farm while undertaking baseline surveys and audits. These helped the team understand the health of soil, ecosystems and biodiversity, and map out future potential. During 2025, Lochhill started to establish a productive, mixed ‘enterprise stacking’ system including a market garden, a small herd of Shetland cattle with plans for a cow with calf microdairy, and on-farm infrastructure to support learning. Despite the inevitable challenges of weather, funding and getting a new enterprise off the ground, the farm has achieved some significant milestones. A pilot programme of events and workshops in topics including lichens, dragonflies and permaculture helped to widen participation and put the project on the map. on fossil fuels and external inputs. A major recent milestone for Lochhill has been winning a place on the Royal Agricultural University’s Farm491 programme, a nationally recognised accelerator supporting innovative farming and food businesses. The award recognises Lochhill’s commitment to agroecological farming and its potential to deliver environmental, social and economic benefits in a rural context. Being selected for Farm491 brings not only funding, but access to specialist mentoring, peer learning and a UK-wide network – support that will help Lochhill strengthen its foundations and plan confidently for the future. Looking ahead Why agroecology? Agroecology is about more than how food is grown. It recognises that farming is connected to climate, wildlife, livelihoods and community wellbeing. At Lochhill, this means practices that improve soil health, protect water, encourage pollinators and birds, and reduce dependence It also means valuing people. The farm aims to be a welcoming, inclusive place where knowledge is shared, skills are built, and relationships matter as much as yields. During 2026, Lochhill will supply fresh, seasonal produce locally, contribute to local food initiatives, and provide volunteering and training opportunities for people of different ages and backgrounds. Fresh fruit and veg, cut flowers, milk and yoghurt will be available via the Galloway Food Hub and other local outlets. Perhaps most importantly, Lochhill is demonstrating that agroecological farming can work in the Glenkens – environmentally, socially and economically – when it is supported by community interest and collaboration. The next few years will be about deepening impact rather than simply expanding. Plans include increasing the amount of food grown for local supply, improving infrastructure to support year-round production, and developing more structured opportunities for training, volunteering and community events. Lochhill also plans to strengthen links with schools, community groups and other local organisations, making the farm a hub for learning about food, climate and land use. As pressure grows on rural communities – from climate change to rising costs – the farm sees its role as part of a wider movement towards local resilience. How you can get involved Lochhill Agroecological Farm is very much a community project, and there are lots of ways for local people to be part of it. Whether you’re interested in volunteering on the land, learning new skills, supporting local food, or simply staying connected with what’s happening, all involvement is welcome. There are regular opportunities to help out on the farm, take part in events, or support the project through word-of-mouth and local networks. We will be launching a membership scheme early in the Spring for you to pledge your support. If you are looking for space for your own land based enterprise then please get in touch – we are open to discussions and thinking about new ideas that will increase community benefit and local resilience. To find out more, keep an eye out for local notices, social media updates, or come along when the farm opens its gates to the public. As the farm continues to grow, one thing remains constant: Lochhill is about working together, cultivating hope, and proving that local food systems can be part of a thriving rural community. To find out more visit www. lochhillagroecological.farm or email lochhillfarm@proton.me Abi Mordin, Co-Founder Practical Permaculture workshop at Lochhill orchard GAZETTEenvironment Glenkens Gazette page 11 sponsored by If you would like to list something on this page, please get in touch on 07727 127 997 or glenkensgazette@hotmail.co.uk FREE 4 antique mahogany/leather dining chairs; 3 OK but need some tlc, one needing repair. Contact: 07769 959 511. 2 x Safetots mesh bed guards. Bed rail size: 140cm(W) x 60cm(H) Colour: Natural. We bought two bed guards to fit our superking bed. We only used one so one is still new. Contact: 07525 745 826 Horse manure, rotted and fresh, no weed killers used. Dig your own - bring sacks or trailer. Contact: 07889 229 340 WANTED/OTHER Old lawn mowers/strimmers/other small machinery. Nonrunners/broken welcome. Contact: text/WhatsApp 07845 562 217 Shed clearances - any shed cleared, large or small. For further info or to arrange a visit contact: 07765 034 841 Local home-repair & maintenance - from small fixes to larger jobs, woodwork to electronics. Quality workmanship, flexible scheduling and fair pricing. Contact: Bruce on 07989 509 798 "If place mirrors who we are, what does it reflect?" An exhibition by Ted Leeming T hroughout March and April, Ted Leeming will present new work from his ongoing project If Place Mirrors Who We Are, What Does It Reflect? at the the CatStrand, New Galloway. Readers of the Gazette may already be familiar with elements of the project through a series of articles written over the past two years, but this exhibition brings its ideas together for the first time in physical form. “The project has, in many ways, taken over my life,” Ted reflects. “Place - and all those who hold a stake in it - continues to leave me both awestruck and deeply unsettled. Alongside inspiring examples of positive futures sit tensions, competitions, and assumptions about land that we rarely pause to examine.” The exhibition draws together several strands of this enquiry, structured around three interlinked elements. The first presents a selection of observations from across the country, both rural and urban. Expansive aerial photographs are paired with more intimate, abstract studies, inviting viewers to shift scale and perspective between overview and detail, distance and immersion. The second element is a Charter of Rights for All Things, developed from an experimental and energising workshop held in Dumfries with Morag Paterson and Steve Connelly, and illustrated by Maia Thomas. Shaped by collective voices, the Charter asks what it might mean to extend ideas of care, agency, and responsibility to all users of any place, including the stewards, communities and non-human. The final piece takes a more forensic turn. Identical cotton y-fronts (about 50 in total) were buried for equal periods across a range of agricultural and forestry systems in the Glenkens, from native and organic to intensive and commercial. Their differing levels of biodegradation, alongside earthworm counts and other measures, are often used as indicators of soil health. But the results were not what one might expect, and complicate easy assumptions, and our relationship with the fascinating, unseen, communities beneath our feet. While these three elements differ radically in form, they are closely bound by a shared question: how do we better understand place, measure its health, and work together towards a positive future for all those who use it? working together might allow more hopeful futures to take root. Visitors will also be invited to contribute their own reflections, adding to the ongoing conversation the work seeks to provoke. Some questions being considered are: On 23 April, the exhibition will be accompanied by an open, interactive discussion exploring the challenges and opportunities we face in relation to place - why it matters, who it serves, and how • Can a pair of y-fronts indicate soil health? • How do we work together towards a positive future for all users of place? • If Place Mirrors Who We Are, What Does It Reflect? Glenkens Gazette GAZETTEenvironment H ello, I’m Rachael, and I’m really excited to have recently joined Loch Ken Trust (LKT) as Ranger Volunteer Coordinator. I’m someone who truly believes in the power of community - in people feeling welcomed, heard, and valued - and this role brings together so many things I care deeply about: nature, connection, inclusion, and meaningful volunteering. Being part of a place like Loch Ken, which holds so much natural beauty and community significance, feels incredibly special. Supporting and growing Volunteers Volunteers are at the heart of the Loch Ken Trust and supporting them is the most rewarding part of my role. I’m passionate about creating volunteering opportunities where people feel confident to get involved, supported to learn, and proud of the contribution they’re making - whether that’s their first time volunteering or they’ve been involved for years. In my role, I work closely with rangers, staff and partners to make sure volunteering is accessible, inclusive and genuinely enjoyable. My focus is on building strong relationships, nurturing confidence and helping people find a sense of belonging as part of the Loch Ken community. Key areas of focus include: • Coordinating ranger-led volunteer activities • Supporting conservation and site-based projects • Encouraging inclusive and accessible volunteering opportunities • Helping volunteers build skills, confidence, and a strong connection to Loch Ken I strongly believe that when people feel supported and valued, conservation outcomes thrive - and so do communities. Welcome to new Ranger Volunteer Coordinator About Loch Ken Trust Loch Ken Trust is a communityfocused charity created to ensure that local people are at the heart of decisions affecting the Loch Ken area. The Trust’s purpose is: “To promote the natural, cultural and recreational assets of the Loch Ken area, for the benefit of the public and to support sustainable local communities.” Loch Ken Trust is a registered Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO), charity number SC050211, approved by the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) on 9 June 2020. Building on the work of the not always feel represented or included. Looking ahead I’m really looking forward to getting to know volunteers, rangers, trustees, and the wider community - listening, learning, and working together to support existing projects and shape future opportunities. For me, this role is about more than tasks or projects; it’s about people, connection, and creating spaces where everyone feels they belong. I’m excited to help strengthen volunteer pathways, champion inclusion, and play a part in ensuring Loch Ken is cared Loch Ken Advisory Management Committee, the Trust continues to develop a more inclusive, community-led approach to caring for this special place. Outside of work Outside of work, I’m a busy human juggling life, family and a love of community-led projects. I care deeply about people, fairness, and creating opportunities that support wellbeing and confidence, especially for those who may for with both environmental responsibility and community voice at its heart. Local volunteers wanted Local volunteers are needed to support the Loch Ken Trust rangers, protect nature and strengthen community safety. The Loch Ken Trust is inviting members of the local community to get involved by volunteering alongside its ranger team, helping to page 12 LOCH KEN TRUST RANGER 07539 029 175 / 07918 300 889 protect local environments, support community safety, and strengthen resilience across the area. The organisation is currently recruiting volunteers to assist with a wide range of outdoor and community-focused activities, including supporting ranger patrols, wildlife surveys, community events, water safety initiatives, and wider community resilience work. Volunteer opportunities are designed to be inclusive, flexible, and accessible, with no previous experience required. Full guidance and support are provided, and volunteers can choose how often they are involved. “Our volunteers play a vital role in everything we do,” said Loch Ken Trust manager Lindsay. She continued: "From helping our rangers on the ground to supporting community safety and engagement, volunteering is a chance to be part of something positive, local, and meaningful.” Volunteering offers the opportunity to: • Spend time outdoors and connect with nature • Meet new people and build confidence • Learn new skills and gain practical experience • Contribute to the safety, wellbeing, and resilience of the local community. “You don’t need specialist knowledge - just a willingness to get involved and work as part of a team. “Every contribution helps us do more for the places and people we care about," said Lindsay. The organisation is particularly keen to hear from people who enjoy being outdoors, want to give back locally, or are simply curious about trying something new. To find out more please contact LKT Ranger Volunteer Coordinator Rachael at rachael@lochken.org.uk or 07742 719 354. GAZETTEenvironment Glenkens Gazette page 13 The Optimistic Environmentalist Electric Cars - Part Six (final part) Planning your journey (continued from previous edition) There are various apps including Zapmap on your phone or computer which shows where chargers in the UK and some in Europe are, which companies run them and how many there are at each location. It also tells you how much they cost and in near realtime, if they are working or out of order. Although Zapmap has a paid-for service, their free-touse service is excellent! If you do a lot of long distance driving, Ionity have a subscription service that reduces their tariff from 79p/ kWh to 43p/kWh; both their network and subscription service discounts also extends across Europe. As the charger numbers are increasing every week (over 44,000 sites in the UK in November '25), planning just ahead of a long journey helps you see where your favourite and new chargers are. Be aware, as reliable and well maintained chargers and their companies become wellknown, they may occasionally have queues. Charge at less busy times if possible and overnight. Our favourites are Gridserve, Osprey, Chargeplace Scotland and Fastned nationally. You may find some local favourites at your regular haunts. Aim for locations where there are multiple chargers. Plan alternative sites or routes in case you want to stop earlier or there is an unexpected traffic jam. Don't automatically use the motorway chargers as in-line with other motorway costs, they are expensive. Instead, drive just off the motorway to a supermarket or pub. Historically, to use each charger operator, you had to sign on with your personal details to get their app. Now, more and more chargers, especially DC rapid and ultra-rapid devices, have a contactless tap to pay facility like any other shopping. To reduce multiple apps for pay-by-app systems, join either Zapmap or Electroverse systems that link to multiple providers for you. New and secondhand EVs In the UK, more than 1 in 4 sales of new cars are EVs. Many new EVs are now priced comparatively to the ICE equivalent and there are a number now which are cheaper. eg BYD Dolphin Surf and Dacia Spring. Like any new technology including ICE models, the more that are sold, the cheaper it will be. Manufacturers are coming through with cheaper models; the multi-award-winning Renault 5; the Citroën ë-C3 at around £18,500 (£500 cheaper than the petrol equivalent with the government EV car grant); a variety of well-built sizes and types from Volkswagen Audi Group; and if money is no object, the spaceship-like Mercedes EQS. Around 95% of us buy secondhand rather than brand new cars. As new EV sales rise, the secondhand market also rises. The secondhand market is being boosted by good quality three year old ex-fleet cars. According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) there has been a 46% increase in second-hand EV sales between the 2024 and 2025. Think about how much driving you will do in a day; what physical access you need; boot space, etc. For instance, many older generation EVs are used on the islands because they don't need to cover many miles; you might want newer facilities. N ew Galloway Golf Club Founded Foun ded 1902 www.ng www.n g gc.co.uk - 01644 420737 Buggies now available for hire VISITORS AND NEW MEMBERS WELCOME The future EVs are more energy intensive to make at the moment but long term studies show that within a few months, they are cheaper than ICE cars due to lower energy and maintenance costs. As designs of all parts of the EV improve, the amount of energy and materials for its production will reduce. Thus as shown in recent trends, EVs become more than competitive with ICE cars. Recycling methods are being developed all the time to recover more materials and minerals from the vehicles. The need for more recycling and easier to get at or less harmful materials to people or the environment then feeds back into improved designs of components and vehicles. Note, whilst this series has been about cars, electric minibuses, buses and even trucks are now available. Denise MacDonald-Kiernan GAZETTEenvironment Glenkens Gazette page 14 High density hydro: a potential for Glenkens renewable energy? T he Ken Valley has hosted renewable energy production since the Galloway Water Power Company was incorporated in 1929. Peak generating capacity is 110MW and electricity is exported through the National Grid. Nowadays wind, not water, drives most renewable energy production in SW Scotland. 200m wind turbines that individually generate up to 7MW are planned all over the SW, but as we can see daily, the existing turbines are often not turning, so why do we need more? uphill when demand (and price) is low and letting it flow back down through the turbines to regenerate power when demand is high. New lithium battery storage farms are reported in the news every week, but oldfashioned pumped hydro still provides most energy storage globally. For example the Cruachan dam is 400 meters above Loch Awe; the upper reservoir holds 4Mt of water that generates up to 440 MW of power. Such pumped hydro is limited by (i) lack of suitable sites, (ii) environmental impacts and (iii) construction costs, but perhaps all three limitations can be alleviated by using a fluid much denser than water. Turbines stop turning if the wind is too weak or too strong, or if there is insufficient grid capacity to distribute the power or other generators are meeting the immediate demand. A startup company called RheEnergise has succesfully built and run a 500kW high density hydro (HDH) demonstrator near Plymouth using century old engineering plus their innovative fluid that is 2.5 times denser than water. They expect storage costs to be 50% less than batteries at eight-hour duration. Because the engineering is very well known and is proven to last a long time, it can be constructed almost anywhere in the world to meet the huge demand for energy storage arising from intermittent renewable energy generation. When I first read about RheEnergise in 2021, I looked at the Glenkens map and realised that potential HDH sites were plentiful (vertical drop >120m, room for upper and lower reservoirs). Also that this type of energy storage might help local communities to gain more from the development of renewable energy than they do under the current 'extractive' model of electricity production and distribution. If HDH can help provide a stable reliable local energy supply at a competitive price then it could help to attract small to medium enterprises in sectors such as IT, high quality intensive crop production - you name it. Maybe the local history of renewable energy production can be steered in a way that attracts new workplaces and people to this beautiful area. Keith Brander Maintaining the balance between intermittent supply and variable demand would be easier if electricity could be stored cheaply. Water has been harnessed for energy storage since 1929 (starting with Ludington power station on Lake Michigan), using cheap electricity to pump water l ca Lo asonal Sustaina h Se ble s e Fr gallowayfoodhub.org.uk hello@gallowayfoodhub.org.uk Plumbing & Heating 22 Kirkland Street St John’s Town of Dalry Visit our online shop to place your order @GallowayFoodHub Gordon McAdam d Foo odfrom the Go Collection points: Across the Glenkens and beyond plus delivery options for the Glenkens 07834 321 789 David Tallontire CHIMNEY SWEEP Covering the Glenkens & further afield 07709 144 299 - wood burners - multi-fuel stoves - open fires - Agas - Rayburns - birds nest removal with CCTV inspection - certificates issued - feel free to call for advice - Find me on Facebook Glenkens Gazette GAZETTEenvironment page 15 Land and living in the Glenkens A series of articles by Nikky Wilson D oes farming matter? This was a question posed by Minette Batters (former Chief executive of the National Farming Union) in her introduction to the recently published Farming Profitability Review. “Whether farming matters and how it is valued is fundamental to the future of farming across the UK,” she stated. In this series of articles, the Gazette will aim to show how working the land matters to all of us living here. We want to explore, through interviews with local farmers and landowners, some of the issues facing the people who work in agriculture and forestry in the Glenkens. These are the people who shape the landscape so many of us love. They have a big influence on our lives as the producers of the food and materials we need to survive and thrive. We want to give them a voice and learn from them directly what matters to them, what they love about their work and how they deal with some of the problems they face. You can visit the Glenkens Hub at www. glenkens.scot for the extended version of the articles in this series... An interview with Balmaclellan farmer, Robin Jardine Describing himself as a traditional farmer living in modern times, Robin Jardine is a 'well kent' figure in the Glenkens farming community. Born at Upper Hardland Farm, on the road between Balmaclellan and Bogue, Robin has lived and worked here all his life. This is a family business. My great granny came here 100 years ago and bought the land. My grandfather took it on and was particularly fond of the working horses. I inherited it from my father and it’s now my son who runs the farm; I just do a bit of tinkering now. Today we farm over 1000 acres, some of which is rented, the rest we own. As a child, I went first to Balmaclellan school and then to Dalry. But I didn’t much like it and learnt more outside school than in. I used to work on the farm after school with my father and sometimes even do contract work with him. It was hard physical work – sometimes hoeing turnips and tatties – but I liked it and I loved having my own dog. The way we farm has changed a great deal over time. At one time all the Glenkens farms used to have dairy cattle and sold their milk to the Milk Marketing Board. In the 1930s the family here had 13 cows and 125 ewes; that’s what sustained them. The cows were dual purpose, reared for both dairy and beef. Nowadays there is no dairy and no Milk Marketing Board; we have a herd of 100 beef cattle and 1,500 ewes. In my lifetime the biggest change has been from traditional haymaking to making silage to feed the livestock during the winter months. That has been a huge labour saving practice as you don’t have to wait for the grass to be dry to cut and store it. So we’re no longer dependent on dry weather to make it. There is no such thing as a typical day at work on the farm; it depends on the season. Right now I’m mucking out and feeding cows in the sheds as they’re taken indoors for the winter months. From February onwards the spring calves and lambs start arriving and it can be full on, with not much sleep. I love this time of year – all the new life appearing but sometimes you’re dealing with both life and death in the same moment; a difficult labour can kill the mother. I’ve learnt a lot of techniques over the years to keep cows (and calves) alive when they are calving - pouring cold water in their ear or putting straw up their nostrils anything to shock them and make them take a breath! In spite of running a business producing livestock, I sometimes have had soft spots for particular animals but I try not to get attached – they’re not pets. The dogs are different, however – I love working with them. Then on to summer, which is mostly about managing the stock and moving it around. There’s also the job of shearing the sheep; that’s done for welfare reasons only these days; in my lifetime the wool has never had much value. In the autumn the lambs and suckler calves are sold at market, mostly in Castle Douglas. I hate taking the calves off their mothers at this time; some of the older cows know what’s coming and they don’t like it either. We also sell some sheep for breeding. The sales are a great social event! After they finish it’s a time to relax and enjoy yourself, to catch up with people you might not have seen earlier in the year, compare prices for livestock and have great conversations. But sadly the sales these days are quicker and there aren’t so many people around afterwards; it used to take me fifteen minutes to get a drink in the Market Inn after a sale – I’d be too busy talking to people on the way to the bar! There were some great characters and we used to have a bit of fun together! The Glenkens Show is another event I enjoy; it brings the community together, it’s a very sociable occasion. And it’s a chance to show off the stock you’ve bred during the year. I’m always looking to improve my stock – that’s the way of a farmer. Farming is a challenge; every year is different and it will always be difficult...and not only because of the weather. We have to go along with the government’s subsidy regime – we can’t change that – and the bureaucracy that is part of the job now is annoying. Also, I feel that now there is interference in the countryside from people who don’t understand farming and don’t ask us what we want; it feels like so many decisions are imposed on us. But I still think there’s a future for farmers; people need to eat and, if we keep on planting up farmland with trees, then there’ll be less land for growing food. Top: Robin (left) as a teenager, with his dog and friends. Far left: Robin with his winning Limousin heifer - they came first at the 1997 Glenkens Show. Left: Robin with Ben ("one of the best dogs ever") on Corserine some time in the 1990s , helping gather the ewes on the Garroch Estate. Glenkens Gazette GAZETTEcommunity page 16 Galloway Riding for the Disabled A t the Galloway Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA), we love to ramp up the festive cheer in the run-up to Christmas. This year was no exception, with our riders enjoying wrapping up the year with a fun-filled, playful session. Afterwards, each of our riders received a Christmas present, and riders were also awarded certificates for their improvement in riding. We cant wait to get back to the fun after our winter beak! Galloway RDA runs every Wednesday during school term time from 10am to 2pm at Gelston Castle. For more information or if you would like to get involved with volunteering for the group, please contact Judy on 07786 196 532 or email gallowayrda@ gmail.com Hollie, Spreading the Christmas cheer - twins Reuben and Logan with Simba and Rocket, our adorable miniature Shetland ponies who are brothers too, with volunteers Elsie (left) and Katy. Secretary, Galloway RDA Glenkens Cub Scouts chit chat T he Cubs enjoyed a very spooky Halloween party, with all the usual games that go with it. Fancy dress results were: 1st place to Lily, who came as an alien; 2nd to Elliot, a monkey; 3rd to Fred, a ghost. Mr and Mrs Briggs gave our group a substantial sum of money raised from the sale of a plant stall they organise throughout the summer. We would like to thank you again for thinking about us and we will certainly put the donation to good use. We have three milestone birthdays in Scouting during 2026. The Squirrels are five, Beavers are 40 and the Cubs are 110 years old! New Galloway’s annual Remembrance Day service once again brought the community together in a moving tribute to those who have served and sacrificed for our freedom. The Glenkens Cub Scout pack were represented by Thomas, Elliot, Siena and Pippin, who were the flag bearers. Their participation was both symbolic but also demonstrated how Remembrance continues to resonate with the younger generation by taking part and learning about the symbolism of the poppy and the sacrifices made. Our aim is to encourage the youngsters to think about the past and their role in shaping a peaceful future. We then joined the Reverend Dawn and the congregation of St Margaret’s Church for a short service, where Ewan and Innes Pippin and Fred go potty to raise funds D uring 2025 Pippin (9) and Fred (7) have made and decorated hundreds of ceramic brooches. They have sold the brooches at pottery events across the UK and from our workshop outside Corsock, raising an incredible £1,271.14 over the course of the year. It has been amazing. The support that they have had has been phenomenal so thank you to everyone who has encouraged them and bought their small offerings. Thank you also to the wonderful staff at Tesco Castle Douglas who made the task of spending that money very much easier with their packing of boxes and helping us load the van before we delivered it along the road to Steppingstones. We are at once proud of them and at the same time in despair of some of the dreadful situations in our world. What the children have done and shown here is a small thing, but if everyone can do a small thing, big changes can happen. We can make a difference. Hannah and Doug Fitch Pictured are Pippin and Fred with Tesco's Laura Hall helped with the collection. A visit to the CatStrand panto was enjoyed by all. Could we please give a big shout out to the wonderful cast, stage crew, costume makers, those in charge of the music and the scenery, front of house and directors who produced ‘Babes in the Wood’. Well done! We finished off the year with a Christmas party, and now look forward to 2026 and what this year brings us. Yours in Scouting. Heather and Hannah Glenkens Gazette GAZETTEcommunity page 17 Galloway Food Hub seasonal recipe T his is a hearty seasonal side dish, serving six, and incredibly simple to make! Ingredients can be purchase from the Galloway Food Hub - see further info and QR code on p14. BRAISED CABBAGE WITH BACON Braised cabbage is elevated to new heights of deliciousness - cooked in wine and cream with salty bacon. Use bright Savoy cabbage, or even substitute with cavolo nero kale! Ingredients • 1 Savoy cabbage, cored and shredded • 110g/4oz smoked streaky bacon, de-rinded and chopped • 55g/2oz butter • 85ml/3fl oz dry white wine • 2 tbsp fresh chopped parsley • 2 tsp fennel seeds • 2 tbsp crème fraîche • salt and freshly ground pepper Method 1. Melt the butter in a large pan. Add the bacon and cook for 3-4 minutes. 2. Add the cabbage and mix all together. Add the wine and season well. Cover and cook gently for 10 minutes until the cabbage is tender. 3. Stir in the fennel seeds, parsley and crème fraîche and serve. Taken from: Braised cabbage with bacon recipe - BBC Food Consultation report for Carsphairn Primary David 07513 180 960 F ollowing a consultation in 2025, Dumfries and Galloway Council have published the results on the proposal to discontinue education at Carsphairn Primary School and Nursery. The school has been mothballed since 2019 and a new community group Carsphairn Learning and Development Committee (CLaDC) have been working with the Council to enable the community to take ownership of the school and bring it back into use. The 26-page report outlines the reasons for the Council’s recommendation that the school be permanently closed from 27 April 2026 and includes the Council’s undertaking to transfer the ownership of the building to the community in a timely manner. The final decision will be made by Dumfries and Galloway Council’s Education, Skills and Community Wellbeing Committee at their meeting on Tuesday 17 February 2026. A copy of the full report is available to read at Dalry Library (open Tue 2-5pm and Fri 12noon5pm), or you can view it online via the News section of the Glenkens Hub at www.glenkens. scot JOINERY & CONSTRUCTION SERVICES Renovation & Conversions New Builds Extensions Groundworks Roofing Kitchen Fitting Windows/Doors Interior Finishings Covering Dumfries & Galloway Reliable Tradesmen Check out our projects on our socials! D.Mason Joinery @d.mason_joinery d.mason.joinery@gmail.com Glenkens Gazette GAZETTEcommunity page 18 Naturally Smart: Bringing global learning home to the Glenkens I came with my wife Eithne to the Glenkens in 2019 and we renovated the old keeper’s house at Hensol, drawn by the landscape and by a sense that this was a place where long-term, careful thinking could genuinely take root. After many years working internationally, the move marked a return to something slower and more grounded. Living here has gradually shaped not only how I live, but the kind of work I now feel is most useful and timely. My background is in sustainable education and systems thinking. I was formerly Professor of Sustainable Education in London and remain International Consultant to the Beijing Sustainable Development Committee, China. Alongside this formal work, much of my learning has come from working directly with indigenous communities around the world, particularly in the Australian outback and across remote regions of China and Asia. These experiences were not academic exercises; they were about learning how people observe land, make collective decisions, and design ways of living that endure under difficult conditions. Training in permaculture with Bill Mollison in the 1980s reinforced a simple but powerful principle, that good design begins by paying attention to what is already present. Throughout my life, these insights have guided and informed my work. What is happening now feels like those ideas coming home and being slowly, carefully implemented here in the Glenkens. That is the basis of Naturally Smart, a programme inspired by permaculture and systems thinking. It is a place-based learning project focused on ecological intelligence, understanding how natural systems function and what they can teach us about resilience, balance, and wellbeing. Rather than formal teaching, the work is experiential and participatory. It follows a pattern of enquiry used by cultures worldwide and shaped by my own learning with desert communities in Australia: observing first, listening deeply, reflecting together, and acting carefully. Last summer, we ran a weeklong immersive event called Listening to the Land. The programme brought people together to spend extended time observing, walking, reflecting, and working with the local landscape. It was fully booked and has already sold out again for this year, confirming a strong appetite for deeper, slower forms of engagement with land and place. Building on this, I have structured a series of one-day Members of Beijing Sustainable Development Committee working with Paul on a redesign using Naturally Smart at the farm at Hua Dao Chendhu gatherings to run throughout the year at the equinoxes and solstices. with seasonal rhythms, and engage thoughtfully with the land and with one another. The Turning Year recognises moments of seasonal transition that have long been recognised across cultures as times to pause, take stock, and recalibrate. The oneday gatherings offer a more accessible way for people to take part, while still following the same underlying pattern of enquiry and attention. Alongside these events, I will be using the Naturally Smart permaculture programme at Mossdale Village Hall over the coming months, working with the local community to design and develop a village-level resilience plan. This work will focus on practical questions around environment, resources, and wellbeing, grounded in local knowledge and collective thinking. Sessions will be simple and inclusive. They may include structured walks, shared observation, conversation, practical exercises, and moments of quiet reflection, with a simple lunch shared together in the middle of the day. No prior experience or specialist knowledge is required. The intention is to create space for people to slow down, reconnect People can get involved by registering for and attending events, taking part in community sessions, or following the emerging project online at www. naturallysmart.world. At its heart, Naturally Smart is about paying attention; to land, to seasons, and to each other and seeing what becomes possible when we do. Paul Clarke Glenkens Gazette GAZETTEcommunity page 19 My journey through technology continued: from electric cars to heart monitors A t the end of August I bought my new 2023 Vauxhall Combo electric car. I absolutely loved it and I couldn’t find one single fault with it. Being the saloon version of a van it gave me height when driving, also making it easier for me to get in and out of. The Combo was also very spacious, comfortable, and lovely to drive, as well as handling excellently. Ironically, on 24 September I crashed my new car into a tree at St Johns of Dalry; an eyewitness stated that I hit the tree head-on, causing the back end to leave the ground. In turn the cab roof made contact with the tree before turning over three times in the road. I remember nothing of this except ending up on my side, still with my seatbelt on, in my seat, just hanging there with some guy kicking my windscreen in. It says something for the car that I only suffered minor injuries; two broken ribs and a bloody nose. All there was under the bonnet was a radiator, and a couple of boxes maybe for fan and some sort of cooling/heating system. Because of that, Vauxhall, and I assume other e-car makers, have completely re-designed and reinforced the front end of the car; a life saver. Apparently I had collapsed over the wheel; the cardiologist is still investigating what went wrong. One theory is that my heart skipped a couple of beats - I suffer from atrial fibrillation (irregular heartbeat) - which deprived me of oxygen for a second or two, causing me to blackout. So, here I am with more new-to-me technology; I now have a monitor implant in my chest, which sounds dramatic but it isn’t really. The fitting of this device is a simple 10-minute minor operation. Under local anaesthetic an incision is made of about 5mm, and then the monitor is injected. It is about 3.5cm long by 2 or 3mm in diameter, and sits just below the top layer of skin. There is a battery inside the monitor which lasts for three years. This means that I am now in a loop to the D&G Royal Infirmary Heart Monitoring Department (Clinical Physiology Department) 24/7. I also have an app on my Celebrating Our Glenkens L ast summer, we profiled some young people from across the Glenkens, showcasing what an inspiring place it is to live and work - for people of all ages. Over the winter months, we've been gathering more stories from young people, this time showcasing how their lifestyles contribute towards sustainable living in the Glenkens. Whether it is repurposing old buildings, buying local, reducing our energy use, living off-grid, working in renewables or the environmental sector, you'll be impressed how the young people of the Glenkens are doing their bit for NetZero. We have been working on this project with Uist Beò, who are also profiling and celebrating life on Uist - challenging perceptions of depopulation, unemployment and an ageing demographic in rural and isolated communities. Keep an eye out for further collaborative working. Follow 'Our Glenkens' on social media to catch the latest reels and find out more - with thanks to funding from The Scottish Government’s Climate Engagement Fund. Andrew McConnell, GCAT Chief Executive mobile so we can contact eachother immediately if anything is wrong, saving on hospital visits. I would like to thank all the people who came to my assistance that day when I crashed the car. I do know that one of you was a doctor, and I think there was a member of the Mountain Rescue Team, although I am not sure, but thank you again all of you. Barry Bryan-Dixon Glenkens Gazette GAZETTEcommunity page 20 Vital support for community projects A n £18,000 award has been secured to continue the support for vital Glenkens community projects. This significant investment is made possible through an agreement between Glenkens & District Trust (GDT) and Carsphairn Renewable Energy Fund Limited (CREFL). Since 2023, CREFL has given 25% of its Windy Rig Wind Farm community benefit funds to the Trust, specifically to facilitate cross-area projects, support cross-community working, and assist groups planning collaborative initiatives. The intention is for funding to be made available annually. The £18,000 award will be used to maintain two important roles in the area: the Glenkens Community Spaces Network Facilitator and the Hub Digital Editor, ensuring continuity of services that have been pivotal to building more connected communities across the wider Glenkens area. The Glenkens Community Spaces Network (GCSN) brings voluntary committees together for peer support and partnership working. The GCSN has been well received by the voluntary committees, as well as aligning with the Glenkens & District Community Action Plan priorities for a ‘Connected and Asset Rich Community.’ The Glenkens Hub serves as a free digital 'shop-front' for living and working in the Glenkens. The platform has achieved significant outcomes including: • Bringing communities together through shared calendar events and regular activities • Enhancing community resilience through access to key information • Strengthening sustainability of local groups and businesses with dedicated webpages and promotional support • Providing permanent storage for community resources and the Galloway Glens archive • Promoting community development initiatives such as Local Place Plans Fiona Smith, Chair of Glenkens & District Trust said: "“This innovative agreement with CREFL gave us more funds to support community-wide projects and we are very grateful to them for facilitating this. "These two projects have rapidly become critical across the wider Glenkens, and we are delighted to give them some certainty in regard to ongoing funding.” CREFL said: “We are thrilled to be able to support such valuable cross-community projects, enabling a joinedup vision for the Glenkens to continue to build, supporting each of our communities in working together going forward. "This Glenkens-wide partnership working approach is an excellent demonstration of how our communities can work together to really maximise outcomes from community benefit monies.” WRIGHTS STORE & POST OFFICE DALRY DALRY DALRY SWEET TREAT SATURDAY DALRY INFORMATION FRESH CREAM CAKES AVAILABLE TO ORDER OPENING TIMES OPENING HOURS Mon-Fri 7.30am-5.30pm MONDAY – FRIDAY Sat 8.30am-5pm Sun 8.30am-3pm 7.30am – 5.30pm POST8.30am OFFICE– 5pm SATURDAY Mon-Fri 10am to 3pm SUNDAY 8.30am – 3pm Sat 9am to 12noon Sun closed LOCAL SUPPLIERS LOCAL SUPPLIERS DALMELLINGTON BUTCHERS DALMELLINGTON COUNTRY HENDERSON BUTCHERS RAMSAY OF CARLUKE BUTCHERS BUTCHERS UPPER TREATS DULLARG EGGS SWEET BAKERY GLENKENS HONEY MITCHELLS FRUIT & VEG CREAM O' GALLOWAY SWEETCAKES BAKERY GALLOWAY LODGE IRVINGS BAKERY GLENKENS HONEY COMPANY COWS & CO CHEESE THE CRESS COMPANY CREAM O GALLOWAY BORDER BISCUITS GALLOWAY LODGE PRESERVES HAWKSTONE BREWERY MITCHELLS FRUIT & VEG IRVINGS BAKERY SULWATH BREWERY SCOTTISH GALLOWAY PASTA ...local delivery available... GLENKENS HONEY COMPANY POP IN FOR A CHAT AND A BROWSE Glenkens Gazette GAZETTEcommunity page 21 Cultural Glenkens oral history and digital archive project launch O ver the last few months, we have been working with individuals and communities within the Glenkens to source and record some of the local voices. The aim is to gather the remembered stories and histories embedded in our beautiful and unique part of the region. We have also been delighted with the generosity of the folk of the Glenkens in contributing historic and memorable photographs and records, capturing a historic way of life for the archive. The aim of the project is to archive these important articles, recorded voices, photographs and documents for safe keeping and make them available to all who have an interest and curiosity about the Glenkens; I hope that people may find out more about the region than they already know and perhaps even make personal connections with the heritage, culture and history of the area. This is an ongoing mission, where we hope to build and add to the quality and quantity of the archive over the time of the Cultural Glenkens Project. If you have a story to tell or photographs and/or documents you would like to contribute to the archive, please get in touch with me, Jo Jackson, Project Lead Cultural Glenkens, I would be very happy to hear from you. The archive can be accessed through the Glenkens Archive (www.tinyurl.com/cgcollection). I wish to thank Gail Challis, for her invaluable work and help with setting up the archive on the Glenkens Hub, and to all the contributors to the archive to date, whether through their memories, photographs and records of the unique Glenkens. This project was made possible with support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund thanks to The National Lottery Players. Jo Jackson, Project Lead Cultural Glenkens jo@catstrand.com 01644 420374 Galloway Glens legacy continues T he Galloway Glens Landscape Partnership scheme came to an end in September 2023 after a fantastic five years. The legacy of the project can be seen in many wonderful ways, including a suite of new footpaths across the area and renewed community buildings and assets. However, its legacy can also be found in the constructive and collaborative spirit of communities working together across the Glenkens. It was a Dumfries and Galloway Council Environment Team project and administered more than £6 million of funding from National Lottery Heritage Fund and other funds, supported by the Galloway and Southern Ayrshire UNESCO Biosphere over its five-year duration. To further its legacy, the Galloway Glens Scheme is operating a scheme of small maintenance grants to ensure that legacy Galloway Glensfunded projects can continue to deliver great outcomes for the communities they serve. £45,000 was available and is being spent in annual rounds over three years. The first round in 2024 saw awards totalling £15,000 made to nine excellent projects. In November 2025, a further competitive round was oversubscribed and nine projects were supported. These are: • Loch Ken Trust – towards the 2026 Seasonal Ranger and Junior Ranger Scheme • Crossmichael Heritage Group - contribution to operational costs • Castle Douglas Men’s Shed – contribution to operational costs • Propagate - towards Nature Celebration Workshops and Events • Crossmichael Community Council - woodland maintenance and equipment • Galloway Fisheries Trust - towards Loch Ken fish monitoring • Glenkens Community Spaces Network (via GCAT) contribution towards Year of Sustainability Events • Robin Ade (via GCAT) completing the second 'Brown Trout: From the Glenkens to Afghanistan' video • Glenkens Community & Arts Trust – contribution towards Glenkens Gazette and the Glenkens Hub Awards varied from £2,400 to £950. The Galloway Glens Legacy Fund will re-open for the third and final round in September 2026. Andrew McConnell, GCAT Chief Executive Glenkens Gazette GAZETTEcommunity page 22 New Galloway Local Place Plan consultation F ollowing a year of consultation and writing led by New Galloway & Kells Community Council, the draft Local Place Plan is now ready for its final consultation, which will run until Tuesday 24 February 2026. Residents' responses to two rounds of questionnaires, three drop-in sessions at two town halls, a stand at the Alternative Games and feedback on various drafts, have all been taken into account in the final consultation draft. The plan aims to articulate the aspirations of New Galloway and Kells residents for the future of the community council area, to highlight which facilities, amenities and places are most important to residents, and make suggestions for improvements. You can view and comment on the consultation draft on the Glenkens Hub at www. glenkens.scot/local-placeplans/new-galloway-andkells-local-place-plan If you would like to comment on the draft plan, please email comments to kellslpp@yahoo.com or complete the form linked from the Glenkens Hub page. The closing date for comments is Tuesday 24 February 2026. BUSINESS in the SPOTLIGHT I run classes at the Catstrand on Tuesday and Thursday mornings at 9.30am, and we have around 25 regulars coming to the classes. Not only is everyone getting stronger, fitter and more mobile by coming along, it’s also lovely and sociable, and often ends with a coffee in the cafe. A my Fowler runs yoga classes in the Glenkens and has recently expanded to have her own space in Castle Douglas too. Below is a bit about Amy and her business, Root & Rise. I moved to the Glenkens nine years ago to live with my husband, Liam, who was born and raised here. When I moved here from Edinburgh, it was quite an adjustment at the time. Now I absolutely love living here, and I wouldn’t be anywhere else. A lot of that is down to the people - it’s one of the friendliest communities I lived in, everyone is genuine and down to earth, and you get to know people of all generations. We have two small kids and I feel like we’re giving them the best start in life living here. I’m lucky because I’ve been teaching yoga in the area as long as I’ve lived here, and it’s been a great way to meet like-minded people. What I find is that when people first come to the class, they worry they’re not strong, fit or flexible enough and won’t be able to keep up. However, absolutely anyone can try it and improve their mobility very quickly, if they mentally commit, and decide they’re going to show up regularly and give it a shot. People come along who’ve had knee or hip replacements, are in injury recovery, or who start off feeling very stiff indeed, and they find relief from pain and improved mobility within just a few sessions. And people always impress me with how strong they are! In 2025 I took a big leap to open my own yoga studio in Castle Douglas, called Root & Rise. I secured a lease on an old jewellery shop on King Street, directly next door to Designs shop and cafe, and my husband and I got to work refurbishing it. We've installed infrared heaters, repainted and added lots of beautiful, air-purifying plants, creating a lovely, cosy space for yoga, mindfulness and movement sessions. The studio has been open a month at the time of going to print, and has already welcomed 90 new clients. I’ve teamed up with three other teachers, including mindfulness teacher Kirstie Templeton who also lives in the Glenkens. We are aiming for the team tol continue to expand further over the next couple of months. Root & Rise is a non-profit organisation, and we’ll be applying for funding over the course of the coming year to offer subsidised yoga for those who genuinely can’t afford classes. In chatting to people, it’s becoming clear that many people are finally seeing yoga as a way to address all sorts of health issues, and that people are prioritising their health more and more. When people look after their mental and physical health, everyone in their life benefits, and so does the wider community, as people gain the confidence to bring their own light and gifts into the world. That’s the magic of yoga and why I love sharing it. CatStrand Yoga sessions can be booked by contacting Amy on 07733 111 466, and for bookings at Root & Rise visit www.root-andrise.org.uk/classes to book. Glenkens Gazette GAZETTEcommunity page 23 Carsphairn Burns supper 2026 O n a chilly January evening in Carsphairn, visitors from near and far congregated together in the warm embrace of the beautifully decorated Lagwyne Hall to celebrate the life of our Scottish bard, Robert Burns. Carsphairn Burns Club Chairman, Robert McTurk, welcomed everyone to their annual 55th Burns Supper and invited James Wallace (senior) to begin the meal with the Selkirk Grace. A delicious three-course meal was once again, prepared and served by the staff from the local catering company, Caterbirds. Progressing on, Robert introduced Bruce McKenzie from the top table, who provided a compassionate and informative account of Robert Burn’s Immortal Memory. He also provided us with a musical ‘treat’ from a song played on his guitar. As the night’s entertainment commenced, the room all stood to their feet to welcome the prepared haggis, with the sound of the young piper, Robbie Logan from Penpont who captivated the room with his rich sounds from the bagpipes. He was closely accompanied by Melissa Ade, who proudly carried the dressed haggis around the room and towards the top table of speakers. Upon arrival to the top table, James Wallace (Junior) held the audience’s attention with a theatrical and gripping ‘Address to the Haggis’. The evening’s exemplary entertainment continued with Jim White, providing the audience with an uproarious, yet wholehearted toast to the lassies. In response, Christine Whipp, gave an equally humourous and witty reply to the laddies. The Lagwyne Hall was rich with musical treats on that evening, as another local musician Ryan Fergusson, filled the building with harmonic tunes from his accordion. With homemade shortbread served alongside teas/coffee, guests sat comfortably full whilst listening to Robert McTurk’s recitation of A Cotter's Saturday Night. As the evening drew to a close for another year, Hugh Clark Kennedy issued a heartfelt vote of thanks. He thanked the speakers, guests, Caterbirds, and a special thanks went to the dedicated committee of hall volunteers who organised an evening of memorable entertainment, excellent food and a welcoming atmosphere for guests to come together in celebration of our Scottish icon. Everyone joined hands for the final song of Auld Lang Syne before departing ways until next year. Melissa Ade, Lagwyne Hall, Correspondence Secretary CatStrand panto: Babes in the Wood he CatStrand Players’ panto for 2025 was the tale of Babes in the Wood, with the play written by Paul Reakes. T for Josh and he certainly rose to it in terrific style! charmingly portrayed by Sophie Roberts. His hapless guards, Mole (Rosie Spernagel) and Wart (Daniel Blaylock) didn’t really like working for the Sheriff and were constantly plotting to get away from him. The much-anticipated annual event certainly didn’t disappoint, with lots of laughter and audience participation across the four full house performances. The hero of the piece is the bold Robin Hood aided by his Merry Men. Robin was played with real 'Principal Boy' panache by Ella Campbell and of course won the hand of the Maid Marian, The Merry Men were central to much of the comedy, Little John (Izak Entwistle), Friar Tuck (Finlay McGhie) and Will Scarlett (Dante Newbery) were an excellent ensemble and their antics raised many laughs and helped to drive the story along. In the title roles of ‘The Babes’ were debutants Rowan Lockerbie as Billie and Marla Campbell as Millie. Nurse Nitwit was the traditional panto dame role and was played with great aplomb by Liam McQueen grasping every comedy opportunity in the script and adding many more of his own! The chief baddie in the story is of course the Sheriff of Nottingham and he was played by Josh Wells, having played mainly comedy roles in previous years this was a new challenge The nasty Sheriff recruited the local witch Nausea Nightshade (Caitlin Jones) to help with his evil plans. Caitlin brought the enthusiastic, money-grabbing witch to life but her bold plans to poison the Babes and then to conjure up a fierce Demon, a role embraced with great enthusiasm by Cat Campbell, were thwarted with the help of the Ghost (Laura Edington) and of course, Robin and his Merry Men aided by the timely return from the Crusades of King Richard (also played by Dante Newbery). Thanks to Cat Cambell, Jo Jackson, Claudia Wood and Fraser Kemp for all the other bits and pieces that made the production possible. Huge thanks also to everyone who came along to support the panto. Next, CatStrand Players are looking forward to the One Act Festival with our entry Dead Dad Dog, a comedy by John McKay, on stage at The Fullarton Theatre, Castle Douglas, on Saturday 28 February. Brian Edgar Dame Nitwit at the tonic again; photo by Ian Biggar Glenkens Gazette GAZETTEhistory page 24 Galloway Retold with Angela Miller Stravaiging in the Glenkens F or the last few months I’ve been working with Jo from the CatStrand and Andy Kaye, of the YouTube channel Stravaiging, on some exciting Cultural Glenkens projects. Andy and I did a talk together at the CatStrand, which you can now see on both of our YouTube channels. The talk covers three walks in the Glenkens that between them will take you from Carsphairn to Mossdale, with an excursion around Waterside Hill in-between. While Andy mostly covers the routes and the practicality of walking them, I cover the history you will walk through on your way. centuries before we invented the car. There’s so much history to cover in those walks - too much to fit into one wee article - but I’ll give you a brief rundown, to tempt you into watching the video of the talk! We then pass the site of the Pilgrim Stones that were carved by people travelling to Whithorn and Saint Ninian’s Cave, heading down into Polmaddy village, which used to cater to all of those weary travellers and was also the site of an escapade of Robert the Bruce during the Wars of Independence. We start in Carsphairn with it’s unusual founding story, then head out of the village to Bardennoch Hill, past the War Memorial and then Cairn Avel, the prehistoric burial mound on the side of the hill there. The views over to Woodhead are so good from there, and I give a brief history of the Woodhead lead mines, before we head up onto the Pack Road properly, which was used by pedlars, pilgrims and smugglers over the The next walk takes us around Waterside Hill, encompassing the Galloway Hydro Scheme and it’s history in the talk, but also following in the footsteps of Adam Forester from Midtown, Dalry, to the Witches' Score (see Issue 145 of the Gazette for the story of Adam Forester on BBC Landward). We also encounter the terrible Witch of Hanniston and the Grey Lady of Glenlee on this walk, so it does take a bit of a supernatural bent! The last walk begins at the CatStrand in New Galloway, a building with some history to it. We go out past the golf course then onto the track that winds its way along the side of the Bennan Hill, past Kenmure Castle. There’s the history of the forestry itself to be encountered here, but also, of course, a brief history of Kenmure Castle. As we rise up high above Loch Ken, you get an amazing view of the Loch and on all the way past Screel to the coast, and one of the things you can see clearly from up there is the islands in the loch. They might be beautiful, but at least one of them has a very dark history that I touch on in the talk. Finally, we continue along the forestry track until we get down to the Raider’s Road, which gave me an opportunity to talk about local author SR Crockett, and then to the railway viaduct at Loch Stroan, where I finished off the talk with the subject of the old Portpatrick Line. As you can see, even a brief description covers a lot of history! If you want to know more, I definitely suggest you get yourself onto YouTube and have a watch. And that brings me to a bit of an announcement! Andy and I are about to start a podcast called Talking Galloway, where we will be exploring everything we can about Galloway, and talking to guests who live in, work in or simply have a deep love of our beautiful part of the world. We’re aiming to have the first episode out soon, but I recommend you follow either me or Andy on Facebook (we both have Facebook pages – Stravaiging With Andy and Galloway Retold respectively) to know exactly when it’s coming out. Our first guest will be Jo from the CatStrand. Angela Miller is the librarian at Dalry Library and a keen local historian. You can view her YouTube channel by searching YouTube or Google for 'Galloway Retold'. Glenkens Gazette GAZETTEarts page 25 From the Bookroom In 'From the Bookroom' Glenkens-based author of the novel The Road From Damascus and co-author of Burning Country: Syrians in Revolution and War, Robin Yassin-Kassab, takes readers on a journey into his world of writing, reading and general thoughts on life. F or months I’ve been writing a book to deadline, and that means I’ve been so busy that I’ve only had time to read off-topic books while on planes and in airports. But now the deadline has been met, and suddenly it feels that I have endless reading time, though in fact I’m still very busy. What to do with the sudden sense of temporal space? For a start, immerse myself in The Morning Star, by Karl Ove Knausgard. Which is to immerse myself in characters, in other lives. Arne, whose wife is manic, and who seems by contrast reasonable, by his own narration, until we notice he’s swigging whisky as he drives. Katharine, a church minister suffering a marital discord which is at first inexplicable. She performs a funeral service for a man with no mourners who she’s sure she bumped into just a few hours before she sees his corpse. Iseline, overweight, selfconscious, wanting to be touched. “I am the Lord,” says a stranger in Burger King, pushing his fingers through her hair. She feels like she’s been filled with warm oil. Emil drops an infant in his care on the floor head-first, and fails to tell anyone what has happened. Solveig witnesses a dead man revive on the operating table. Jostein, a drunken, unrestrained journalist condemned to the arts page, and a vast ego, is energised by news of a gruesome murder. (This character is large, Trump-like, comically vulgar, like a Martin Amis anti-hero.) Turid is Jostein’s unfortunate wife, a nurse at a psychiatric institution overflapped one night by a bird wearing a human face. Egil Stray, the drop-out son of a shipping magnate seen first through Arne’s eyes, but now through his own. It is always a revelation to move beyond someone’s judgment of a person into that person’s own perspective, to inhabit their life from within. Knausgard’s writing produces that powerful interiority. It is Egil, a man fascinated by spiritual discourse, who informs us (we the reader) that the morning star is a strangely ambivalent symbol in the Bible, representing at one point Jesus, at another point Lucifer. And this is significant because the only immediately apparent connection between all the diverse characters named above is that all are living in and around Bergen, Norway when a new, implausibly bright star rises in the sky. Some of the most successful literary formulations mix realism – the focus on the psychological and social texture of real life – with something else. Hence magical realism, mixing realism with fable or fairytale. And hence, in a very different, perhaps more Scandinavian way, Knausgard’s novel, with its vision of reality as kind of magical, kind of not, not definable as either one or the other. Somewhere unpinned-down, not on any map, somewhere between the mystical and the mundane. Which is what reality feels like. It’s good reading: a reflection of the real in all its strange wonder… It’s a long novel but I’ve read it quickly. It’s the first in a series of six. I’ll be busy through the spring. Advanced Massage Practitioner £7.00per night per dog Glenkens Gazette EST. 2007 GAZETTEarts page 26 CatStrand HIGHLIGHTS NIALL MCCABE SAT 21 FEB 7:30PM SOULFUL IRISH ISLAND SONGWRITER CAPTIVATING AUDIENCES WORLDWIDE WITH HIS ACCLAIMED ALBUM RITUALS. JAMES YORKSTON THU 5 MAR 7:30PM ACCLAIMED SINGER-SONGWRITER AND AUTHOR FROM THE EAST NEUK OF FIFE. SCOTTISH COMEDY COLLECTIVE HEADLINE: JAY LAFFERTY SAT 14 MAR 8:00PM FOUR COMEDY PROS. ONE STAGE. BIG LAUGHS. NO HOLDING BACK. AFTER ALL: SOLÈNE WEINACHTER FRI 20 MAR 7:30PM | DALRY TOWN HALL A CELEBRATION OF OUR VULNERABLE AND COURAGEOUS EXISTENCE USING DANCE, THEATRE, STORYTELLING AND COMEDY. THE LIGHTNING RIDGE: CATHERINE WHEELS SAT 21 MAR 2:00PM | DALRY TOWN HALL A BEAUTIFUL, BITTERSWEET STORY ABOUT HOLDING ONTO HOPE AND DARING TO BELIEVE THE IMPOSSIBLE. . HIGH ST, NEW GALLOWAY 01644 420 374 GCAT.SCOT Glenkens Gazette GAZETTEinformation page 27 USEFUL GLENKENS CONTACTS DOCTORS’ SURGERY Glenkens Medical Practice - 01644 420 234 COMMUNITY CONTACTS • Balmaclellan: Martin Warnock - 07939 261 391 • Carsphairn: Liz Holmes - 07718 358 160 • Corsock: Julie Garton - 07769 647 702 • Kirkpatrick Durham: Heather - 07551 639 629 • Crossmichael: Richard Middleton - 01556 670 691 • Dalry: Michele Owen 07940 313 445 • New Galloway: 07741 656 601 • Parton: Tom - 07835 821 976 FOOD DELIVERIES • Galloway Foodbank 07730 788 335 • Galloway Food Hub - glenkens.scot/localdirectory-listing/glenkensfood-hub • Ballards Butchers 01556 502502 (they also deliver groceries) • Grierson’s Butchers: 01556 502 637 • Henderson’s Butchers: 01556 502 654 • Mitchell’s Greengrocers: 01556 502 077 • Fleet Fish: call 07966 103 912 to find out about Glenkens delivery days • Roan’s Dairy - 01556 620 374 • Harris & Co: www. harrisandco.uk LOCAL ORGANISATIONS/GROUPS Glenkens Community Shop: Helen Crowther on 0790 467 8599 or drop by the shop on Main Street, Dalry Glenkens Scout Group: Contact Heather McIntosh on 01644 420 375 Local Initiatives in New Galloway (LING): Contact info@ling.org.uk Dalry Communities Properties Trust (DCPT): Contact Michelle Owen at sjtdalrycc@ gmail.com Dalry Town Hall: Contact Lesley Blissett at lesleyblissett52@gmail.com Glenkens Community Centre: Contact Sarah McAdam on minimac01644@gmail.com Lagwyne Hall: Contact lagwynehallsecretary@outlook.com for info, or to book email lagwynehallbooking@gmail.com New Galloway Community Enterprises (NGCE): Contact ngce5000@gmail.com or pop into New Galloway Community Shop Balmaclellan Community Trust: Contact Julia Higgins at julia.higgins55@outlook.com CatStrand: Contact info@catstrand.com or 01644 420 374 or pop in to the CatStrand Schools: Visit the school office or call Dalry Primary on 01644 430 105 (for Nursery/ELC too), Dalry Secondary on 01644 430 259 or Kells on 01644 420 340 Carsphairn Heritage Initiative: Contact Ben Ade at carsphairnhi@gmail.com Galloway Food Hub: Contact hello@ gallowayfoodhub.org.uk or visit www. gallowayfoodhub.org.uk Bairn Banter: Contact Melissa on bairnbanter@outlook.com or 07979 492 791 If you would like to add your community organisation to this list please get in touch with the Gazette contact details are on the back page. GLENKENS CHURCH TIMES CHURCH OF SCOTLAND Sunday Services Galloway Dee Parish: All Sundays from 1st Feb through to 29th March 9.30am Crossmichael Church Hall Balmaclellan, 11am1 Feb & 1 Mar Carsphairn, 11.15am: 8 Feb & 8 Mar Kells, 11am: 15 Feb & 15 Mar Dalry, 11am: 22 Feb, 22 Mar & 29 Mar SPECIAL EVENTS: First week in April is Easter. Thu 2 Apr, joint communion, Kells, 7pm. Friday 3 Apr, joint Good Friday service, 7pm, Crossmichael Church Hall. Sunday 5 Apr, early service, 9am, Dalry Church followed by breakfast & Easter Day service, 11am. World Day of Prayer, Friday 6 Mar, Kells Church, time TBC. For info contact Ian Knox on 07840 506 516 or i.knox29@btopenworld.com, or Irene McCreath on 07974 861927 or at irenemccreath.im@gmail.com SCOTTISH EPISCOPAL CHURCH St Margaret’s Church, New Galloway, DG7 3RP The Rev Dawn Matthew Sundays:10.30am, Holy Communion with refreshments after the service. Tuesdays: open for private prayer in a quiet space when the 'church is open' sign is outside. Wednesdays: 7.30-8pm, evening prayers via Zoom shared with All Saints’ Challoch. Please contact Dawn for the link. SPECIAL SERVICES: 18 February, 6pm, Ash Wednesday; 29 March, 10.30am, Palm Sunday. Please see noticeboard outside the church for Easter services nearer the time. For further information please contact Christine Rankin, Vestry Secretary, on 01644 420 235 or visit www.stmargaretsnewgalloway.org Glenkens Gazette GAZETTEinformation Glass Recycling Points • Balmaclellan Stores, Balmaclellan • Memorial Hall, St Michael's Road, Crossmichael • Kirkland Street, St John's Town of Dalry • New Galloway, Carson's Knowe Car Park • St David Street, Kirkpatrick Durham USEFUL NUMBERS ● Pothole Hotline: 0845 276 0000 page 28 MINUTES/REPORTS OF COMMUNITY BENEFIT SPENDING ● Police, non-emergency: 101 or email stewartryCPT@ scotland.police.uk GLENKENS DISTRICT TRUST (GDT) www.glenkenstrust.org.uk/gdtcorporate-information ● Doctor: 01644 420 234 CARSPHAIRN RENEWABLE ENERGY FUND LTD (CREFL) www.carsphairn.org/CREFLArchive ● NHS 24: 08454 24 24 24 ● D&G Council: 030 33 33 3000 Local Job Vacancies Up-to-date job and volunteering opportunities can be found online at the Glenkens Hub on www.glenkens.scot GARDEN WASTE COLLECTION SERVICE You can now apply for a Garden Waste Collection Service permit at £40 per bin. for regular collections from March to November 2025. Apply online at www.dumgal.gov.uk/ wasterecycling or in person at a customer service centre such as Dalry Library. The Glenkens Gazette is a member of independent UK press regulator, Impress. To find out more about our complaints process you can visit www.glenkens.scot/ complaints-and-corrections or scan the QR code here. ADVERTISE IN THE GAZETTE Family and friends coming to stay? (price per issue incl VAT) Country cottage set in beautiful gardens available for holiday lets all year round (sleeps 5) SMALL: www.covenanters-holidaycottagescotland.co.uk Call Fiona on 07789 903127 6cm x 6cm, £50 Licence no DG00824P 1/4 PAGE: 9cm w x 13cm h, £108 1/2 PAGE: 18cm w x 13cm h, £200 FULL PAGE: 18cm w x 27cm h, £332 Please get in touch further details including small business/ charity rates and series discounts. Email glenkensgazette@ hotmail.co.uk or call/ WhatsApp 07727 127 997 VAT Reg. No. 334 0905 24 THE STEWARTRY VETERINARY CENTRE CASTLE DOUGLAS SURGERY HOURS GLENKENS MEDICAL PRACTICE DALBEATTIE SURGERY HOURS General Medical & Dispensing Services FOR APPOINTMENTS AT BOTH SURGERIES OR IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY The Surgery High Street New Galloway Mon-Fri 2.00-2.30 pm & 5-6 pm Mon-Fri 8.30am-6pm Sat 2-2.30 pm Mon, Wed, Fri 3-3.30 pm Tues & Thurs 6-6.30 pm  01556 502263 VETERINARY SURGERY OAKWELL ROAD CASTLE DOUGLAS  FOR APPOINTMENTS CALL 01644 420234 Glenkens Gazette GAZETTEtransport page 29 GALLOWAY COMMUNITY TRANSPORT www.gallowaycommunitytransport.org email: gct@catstrand.com / gctadmin@catstrand.com phone: Jon 07841 512449 / Jason 07704 662925 FEBRUARY - MARCH 2026 INTRODUCING THE GCT GIG BUS! FIRST TRIP - THURSDAY 5TH MARCH Galloway Community Transport are proud to be working in partnership with the CatStrand, by providing a sustainable transport option for people who can't drive / don't want to drive to selected live performances. The service will operate where there is most demand, so please select your pick up location when booking. Spaces are limited, so please book early! Pick up timings to be determined once passenger numbers and locations are finalised. James Yorkston is a singer-songwriter and author from the East Neuk of Fife, Scotland and former Fence Collective member. Since signing to Domino Records in 2001, James has released a steady flow of highly acclaimed albums, leading to him touring his music worldwide. Scan this QR code for tickets (for bus only, gig tickets available separately from CatStrand) MINIBUS DRIVING We are looking for drivers to help us deliver our services on the following route: 517 Kirkcudbright/Borgue/Brighouse Bay. This will be 1 - 2 days a week, 7 hours per day. CPC training can be provided Our driving roles are offered on a self-employed basis and are paid at £13 per hour. For an informal discussion, please call Jon on 07841 512449 or email gct@catstrand.com VEHICLE HIRE FOR MEMBERS We have vehicles for hire by community organisations. ranging from 4 seat capacity to 16 seats, including wheelchair accessibility For information about membership and terms and conditions of hire see the GCT website or phone: 07841 512449 07704 662925 www.gallowaycommunitytransport.org REGULAR SERVICES We are modifying our regular shopping service at time of publication, please call for further updates: 07841 512449 GAZETTEevents Glenkens Gazette WHAT'S ON page 30 February/March FEBRUARY Sun 1, Community Wassail at Dalry Library Micro-orchard, 2-4pm, see p18 Thurs 5, Dalry Secondary School consultation drop-in sessions, 12noon to 2pm, Lagwyne Hall, Carsphairn and 3-6pm, Dalry Secondary School, see front page Thu 5, Auntie Empire: Disaster Plan, 7.30pm, CatStrand Fri 6, Song Share, 7.30-10.30pm, Glenkens Community Centre, Dalry Fri 6, Absolute Classics Reimagined: Hugo Eedle & Simon Callaghan, 6.30pm, CatStrand Sat 7, Galloway Conversations: Margaret Morris-Celebrating a life in Creativity, 2.30pm, The Smiddy, Balmaclellan Sat 7, Race Night, 7.30pm, Corsock Village Hall Sat 7, CatStrand Burns Supper, 7.30pm, CatStrand Sun 8, Dance for Creative Wellbeing, 1.30pm, CatStrand Wed 11, Floral Art, 2-6pm, Balmaghie Public Hall, Laurieston Wed 11, Dalry Film Club: A River Runs Through It, 7pm, Dalry Town Hall Fri 13, Horse Race Night Gala Fundraiser, 6.30-9.30pm, The Thistle Inn, Crossmichael Fri 13, Quiz Night, 7.15pm, Balmaghie Public Hall, Laurieston Sat 14, Glenkens Producers Market Dates, 10am-1pm, Dalry Town Hall Sat 14, Mixtape Dance Night, 8-11pm, Dalry Town Hall Tue 17, The Winter Sky - a talk by Alistair Scobie7pm, Mossdale Village Hall Sat 21, Niall McCabe, 7.30pm, CatStrand Sat 21, Gathering for Painting in Mossdale with Patti Leino10am-4pm, Mossdale Village Hall, see p18 Sun 22, Glenkens Song Day Workshop, 10am, CatStrand Sun 22, Glenkens Song and Word Concert, 7.pm, CatStrand Wed 25, Dalry Film Club: Mission Impossible. The Final Reckoning, 7pm, Dalry Town Hall Thu 26, Galloway Songwriters: Bruce McKenzie & Alan McClure, 7.30pm, CatStrand Thu 26, Celebrate 7 Years of the Glenkens & District Trust, 4-7.30pm, Dalry Town Hall, see p3 Thu 12, The Scottish Ornithologists' Club Talk, 2.30-4.30pm, Balmaclellan Village Hall MARCH March & April, Ted Leeming exhibition: If Place Mirrors Who We Are, What Does It Reflect?, CatStrand, New Galloway, see p11 Sun 1, NT Live: Hamlet, 4.30pm, CatStrand Thu 5, James Yorkston, 7.30pm, CatStrand (Gig Bus available - see p29) Sat 7, The Flames - Performance, 7.30pm, CatStrand Sat 14, Scottish Comedy Collective: Jay Lafferty, Cubby, Graham Mackie & Kenny Sinclair, 8pm, CatStrand Sat 14, Glenkens Producers Market Dates, 10am-1pm, Dalry Town Hall Fri 20, AFTER ALL: Solène Weinachter, 7.30pm, Dalry Town Hall Sat 21, Turning of The Year: Spring Equinox, 10am-3.30pm, THE BARN, Hensol Estate, see p18 Sat 21, Permaculture Workshop - design a herb bed10am-1pm, Lothlorien, Corsock Sat 21, Lightning Ridge - Catherine Wheels, 2pm, Dalry Town Hall Fri 27, Wave Blues Band Return, 7.30pm, CatStrand Sat 28, Gathering for Painting in Mossdale with Patti Leino10am-4pm, Mossdale Village Hall, see p18 Glenkens & District Community Councils Balmaclellan Community Council: Bi-monthly, 7.30pm, Balmaclellan Village Hall - contact Martin on 07939 261 391 Corsock & Kirkpatrick Durham Communty Council: contact mcnabblaurie@hotmail.com or 01644 440 200 Carsphairn Community Council: Last Monday each month, 7pm, Lagwyne Hall, Carsphairn - contact carsphairncc@gmail. com or 07531 035 824 Balmaghie Community Council: contact secbalmaghiecc@ btinternet.com or 01644 450 621 Dalry Community Council: First Monday each month, 7pm, Dalry Town Hall - contact sjtdalrycc@gmail.com or 07940 313 445 New Galloway & Kells Community Council: Second Monday each month, 7.30pm, New Galloway Town Hall Parton Community Council: contact ericaporteous@hotmail. co.uk or 01644 470 277 Crossmichael Community Council: Second Wednesday every month - contact crossmichaelcc@gmail.com or 07803 204 433 Full minutes of local Community Council meetings can be viewed at Dalry Library or online at www.glenkens.scot For up-to-date information visit the Glenkens Hub at www.glenkens.scot Glenkens Gazette GAZETTEevents page 31 REGULAR EVENTS & OPENING TIMES Balmaclellan Village Hall Tuesday Afternoon Teas, 1st Tues each month, 2.30-4pm, warburton.julie@ googlemail.com Exercise Class, Tue, 6-7pm Glenkens Crafters, Wed, 10am-12noon, julia.higgins55@outlook.com Community Library, Saturdays only 10am-12pm Make Do & Mend, fortnightly from 14 Feb, 7-9pm Stewartry Birdwatchers, 2nd Thu each month Sep to Apr (Sep & Apr, 7.30pm; Oct-Mar, 2.30pm) Men's Shed, Balmaclellan General Opening Times: Mon, Wedn & Fri, 9.30am–12noon Stick Making - Mon, 7-9pm Art Group, Thu, 2-4pm Lagwyne Hall, Carsphairn Monday Morning Social, 11am-2pm, 07710 124 255 Carsphairn SWI, 3rd Thu of the month, 7.30pm Craft Group, Fri, 10am-12noon, includes tea & coffee, carsphairncraftgroup@ gmail.com Bairn Banter; family stay & play session, Sat, 10am CatStrand, New Galloway Art Ambassadors, Tue, 4.30pm, 1st Tue of the month Behind the Scenes, bi-weekly, Mon, 5.30pm Energising Yoga Flow, Tue, 9.30am Social Dance Lessons, Tue, 7pm (beginners) & 8pm (improvers) Dramarama, Wed, 4.15pm Up Skills: Musical Theatre, (age 15+), Wed, 5pm Piano Lessons, weekly, term time 4–6.30pm Morning Flow Yoga, Thu, 9.30am CatStrand Singers, Thu, 11am Dance Steps 1-3pm, last Sat of the month Art Explorers, (age under 10yrs), Sat biweekly 10am Art Club, (age 11-16yrs), Sat, bi-weekly 11.30am Musical Misfits, Sat, bi-weekly, 10am Youth Players Panto rehearsals, (10yrs plus), weekly, Sun, 3pm The Smiddy, Balmaclellan Dalry Library Taste of Music, monthly, 10am (under 10yrs) Mini Music Makers, family session, monthly 11.45am (under 7yrs) Weekly Ukuele, guitar & keyboard lessons, 12.30–4pm (6-16yrs) Tai Chi, Wed, 2-3pm Art Explorers, Sat, 10.15, fortnightly Saturday Sketchers, Sat, 11.15am, fortnightly Guitar lessons, Sat Piano lessons, Sat Keyboard lessons, Sat For info contact Cat on 01644420 374 Main St, Dalry - 01644 430 234 Library Opening Times: Tue 2-5pm, Fri 12noon-5pm with the first hour for NEC Bus Pass & Blue Badge appointments, etc. Book at the library or call 01387 260 196. Bookbug and Parent & Toddler Session, Tue, 10.30-11.30am Glenkens Book Group, last Fri each month, 2pm, 01644 420 361 Lego Stay N' Play, every 3rd Sat of the month, 1-3pm, contact Michele Owen on Facebook New Galloway Town Hall Men’s Monday Morning Coffee, Mon 9.30-11am Dance for Wellbeing (adults), Mon 2.30pm Community Cafe, Mon, 12.30–2pm Wet Felting Group, Tue 10m-12:30pm Tai Chi, Tue, 3.30pm Sports Evening, Tue, 7–9pm, carpet bowls or table tennis Zumba, Wed, 6.30pm Ukulele Group, Wed, 6.30pm Hubbub, Thu, 12noon–3pm, drop-in Martial Arts, Thu, 5.30-9pm, all ages For further info email info@ling.org.uk, phone 07749 249 781 Glenkens Community Centre Citizens Advice Drop-ins, every other Mon, 10am-4pm Glenkens Youth Group, Mon, 7-8.30pm Dalry Good Neighbours Club, Tue, 2pm, 07795 613 148 Wee Wonders, Thu, 9-10am Kickback Martial Arts, Thu, 5.30-7pm, kmabrian@gmail.com or drop-in Song Share, 1st Friday each month, 8-11pm, anne.chaurand@btinternet. com Yoga For All, Fri 9.30am, drop-in, 07733 111 466 Friendship Group, Sat (excluding Glenkens Producers Market days), 1011.30am, 01644 430 052 Table Tennis/Badminton, available to hire by arrangement, 07500 861 041 Glenkens Charity Shop Opening Times: Mon 10am-1pm, Tue 6-8pm, Wed, Fri & Sat 10am-4pm Dalry Town Hall Tai Chi, Mon, 2pm Dog Training, Tue, 7pm, 07831 590 822 Gentle Movement, Tue, 2pm Mossdale Village Hall Mossdale Painters, Wed, 9.30-11.30am Yoga, Fri, 2.15pm Various Bumps, Babies & Beyond, every 2nd Mon, 10.30am, Kirkpatriack Durham Village Hall Learn to Play Bridge, Mon, 7-9pm, Lochinvar Hotel Keep Fit with Alex, 7.15-8.15pm, KPD Village Hall Strictly Get Dancing, Mon, 7pm, Loch Ken Activity Centre, Parton Spalding Bowling Club Sweep Nights, Mon, 7pm, shazfish1@gmail.com Cosy Corner, Tue, 1-5pm, Crossmichael Church Hall, 07889 016 963 Glenkens Oil Painters, Wed, 10am, Corfield House Art Studio Crossmichael Heritage Centre, Wed 2-4.30pm Cub Scouts, Wed 6.15-7.30pm, Scout Hall, New Galloway Patchwork Workshop, Thu, 1-3pm, Crossmichael Church Hall Dragon Boats on Loch Ken, Sun 9.30am, Galloway Activity Centre Knockvennie Hall Heat Bank & Snooker Club, contact Andrew on 01556 690 677 Outdoor Bowls, Dalry, contact Fiona on 07500 554 751 Snooker/Indoor Bowls, contact Gordon 07834 321 789 Mum & Baby Movement, Thu, 9.3011.30am, Laurieston Village Hall Crossmichael Youth Club, Fri, Crossmichael Memorial Hall For up-to-date information visit the Glenkens Hub at www.glenkens.scot Glenkens Gazette page 32 Photo of the Issue T his issue's winner is Kenmure Castle Grounds, taken by James McSorley aged 10 from New Galloway. James wins two portions of mac 'n' cheese from our competition sponsors, the Balmaclellan-based Stockbridge Mac & Cheese Co. Company owner and competition judge, Hannah Gould, said: "Well done James, you're clearly a talented ­budding photographer - we'd love to see more of your photos - keep snapping!" To enter you can send in any photograph taken in the Glenkens to glenkensgazette@hotmail.co.uk WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! Submit events, activities, news stories, cartoons, reviews, tips & techniques, fiction, photos, ads or ideas... Contact Sarah Ade on 07727 127 997 or glenkensgazette@hotmail.co.uk Editing & Design: sarah.ade@gmail.com APR/MAY COPY DEADLINE: 5 MAR The Glenkens Gazette is an initiative of the Glenkens Community & Arts Trust, a Registered Scottish Charity No SC032050 The role of the Gazette is to represent the voice of the community and does not necessarily represent the views of GCAT.  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Glenkens Gazette 152 Description An account of the resource Editor: Sarah Ade Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GG-152 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource GCAT Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Glenkens Gazette Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2026 https://glenkensarchive.scot/glenkens_archive/files/original/33/685/NG_17_New_Galloway_High_Street_early_1900_s.jpg 21ec39d02d8a2419322e89697d80bca7 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource New Galloway Images Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context CG_NG_I Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource New Galloway High Street, early 1900s Description An account of the resource Black and white photograph of New Galloway High Street Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context CG_NG_I_17 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Cultural Glenkens Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource National Lottery Heritage Fund Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available New Galloway History Group Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1900 Subject The topic of the resource New Galloway High Street heritage https://glenkensarchive.scot/glenkens_archive/files/original/34/684/CG_NG_D_16_cover.jpg 9b8159ddeb8cdda85ce4a489f721e072 https://glenkensarchive.scot/glenkens_archive/files/original/34/684/CG_NG_D_16.pdf 190b4863bbfe5ed102e824aa0c26c839 PDF Text Text pdftext_placeholder Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource New Galloway Documents Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context CG_NG_D Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document KIRKCUDBRIGHTSHIRE. Kenmure Castle Estate For Sale by Private Treaty Messrs. JOHN D. WOOD & CO., 6, Mount Street, Grosvenor Square, W.1 -——7T! In the County of - SCOTLAND KIRKCUDBRIGHTSHIRE. locking Loch Ken. { the Ken and Dee and over! Dumiries 24 miles In and around the beautiful valleys o! Castle Douglas 1! miles. Newton Stewart 12 miles. Galloway Station (London, Midland and Scottish Rly) 4 miles AS A WHOLE, FREEHOLD, Particulars and Plans of the FINE SPORTING DOMAIN THE Fenmure Castle (state GALLOWAY extending to about 14,700 Acres comprising “KENMURE CASTE: 7 d Mixed Farms Grouse Moors. Superior Golf Course and 21 Sheep Grazing an ing Lochs. smmodation Lands. [Fishing for some 9 mi For Sale by Private Treaty. ieaims wicket Further particulars of— citors, 19, Ainslie Place, Edinburgh. Messrs. BLAIR & CADELL, Soli WILLIAM CORRIE, Esq. Clydesdale DAVID MITCHELL, Esq. Waterside, Auctioneers : JOHN D. WOOD & Co., 1T STREET, LONDON, W.1. Beek Galloway cre Dalry, Galloway } fotat Castors Messrs. 6, MOUN ~ Ward & Foxlow, Hareourt Sireat; Marylebone, W.1 Memoranda regarding Kenmure Castle 1358, when HE. first appearance of the Gordons in Galloway was in Robert Il. granted them the New Forest of Glenken. In 1403. Alexander da of Kenmure. and in 1439, the family Gordon was infeft ia the Inn shire, and Lochinvar in Galloway were in possession of Stitchell in Roxburg! ave been built by the Baliols, and The Castle of Kenmure is reputed to by 1 birth-place been stated that Kenmure was the was one of their seats. It h of John Baliol. Kenmure Castle hos had many vicissitudes ‘Aher the Battle of Lang: ide it npparerlly: burmed and, besten (00! We Ground by Regent Moray, in fo awa davetion’ to Queen” Mery (1568). Again, in 1650, taken by Cromwell's troops and “in pant” destroyed and dismantled. In 1662, the then Lord Kenmure was ordered by the Government: * void ere put in, In 1716, the house,” and a arrison of Government troops ‘William, sisth Viscount Kenmure, was beheaded on Tower Hill for his part in the rebellion in 1715, and the title and estates were forfeited to the Crown. The Castle was again used as a garrison, and sullered severely. SOUTH-WEST SCOTLAND in the beautiful COUNTY OF KIRKCUDBRIGHTSHIRE IN THE FAVOURITE LOWLAND DISTRICT ordering upon the Picturesque between Castle Douglas and Newton Stewart, in and b Galloway Station Valleys of the Ken and Dee, 24 miles from Dumfries with 4 miles distant. “KENMURE CASTLE” The Fine Residential and Sporting Domain of some 14,700 Acres Situated in the Parishes of Kelle and Balmaclellan, in the Stewartry of Kirkcudbrightshire, affording Salmon and Trout Fishing for some 9 miles in the Rivers Ken and Dee, and Pike Fishing in Three Lochs There are 21 Sheep Grazing and Mixed Farms Golf Course, Small Holdings, Good Houses and Numerous Cottages 4 ‘The property itself wan so heavily burdened thet the Government Auth didi not appear to hick ¥ worth, while lo) have. carmen: the forfeiture, and a daughter-in-law of the Lord Kenmure who had suffered on the Tower Hill made strenuous endeavours to redeem the property from its burden of debt, and was euccsssful to a very considerable extent Family traditions record, how, in 1653, Queen Mary spent two days # Kenmure on her way to St. Mary's Isle, and how, during the flight from Langside, Lochinvar provided the Queen with wearing apparel—‘dee hebite et wn damoisenn” (a hood). It je a atrong local tradition that on thie occasion the Queen halted at the Castle, and if, as one authority states, alte came {rom Sanquhnr down to the west ide of the Glenkens, she would be likely to do vo. Lochinvar wae the son-in-law of Lord Herries, Mary's escort Business Room 13-f. 2-in. by II-ft. 3-in., with modern grate with marble slips and moulded mantel, cupboard, moulded comice, door leading to drive. Library 16-ft, 10-in, by 20-ft. 6-in., angle open fireplace with wood mantel and marble slips, panelled walls and beautiful floral cornice. \ Billiard Room 28-ft. 2in. by 19-ft. 7-in.. with boarded floor and open fireplace with moulded wood mantel and Georgian overmantel with crest and motto, geometric ceiling. + (These Rooms are from 10-ft. to I4-ft. in height). The Offices comprise Large Kitchen with double oven range, copper, sink (h. & ¢.), Butler's Pantry with sink, Scullery with range and copper and two sinks (h. & c.), Lamp Room, W.C., Housekeepers Room, Radiator Furnace and Furnace for baths and taps, Larder with slate shelves, Servants’ Sitting Loom, Bath Room and W.C., Small Wine Cellar, Plate Safe, Store Room, Meat Larder, Cellarage, Butler's Bed Room, Heated Linen Room, and On_the First Floor approached by the Principal and Three Secondary Staircases are 6 Principal and 3 Servants’ Bed Rooms with Two Bath Rooms. 6 On the Second and Third Floors M 18 Bed Rooms and 5 Bath Rooms ae making in all a total of 27 Bed and Dressing Rooms and 7 Bath Rooms (Three of the Bath Rooms have had the baths and fittings removed, but the plumbing is intact) THE WATER SUPPLY. The Water is from a reservoir situated on the Estate, and runs by gravitation through pipes to the house, etc., and there is another supply from springs on the Golf Course THE SANITATION. The Drainage is piped to a septic tank well removed from the house CENTRAL HEATING. There are Radiators and Hot Water Pipes in many of the rooms, heated by a separate furnace \ ELECTRIC BELLS and Bell Phones are fitted. are situated at a convenient remove from, and on a lower level than the house, built of stone around a Court Yard, approached through a gateway and comprise : Two Coach Houses to hold 3 cars, Washing Stand, Garoge with pit, Gun Room with Two Bed Rooms over, Boiler House, Oil Shed, Two Stalls, Hamess Room with range, Two W.C.'s, Stable for 7 with iron fittings, Cow Byre for 6 and Calf Pen with Lolt over, Two Boxes, Two Bed Rooms for grooms with outside staircase, Three Rooms for chaulfeur, Ice House, ete Water laid on. 7 THE STABLING & GARAGES | The Policies and Gardens The Gardens lie mainly on the southern side of the house, the sloping approach to which is largely covered with spruce and Scots fir and other trees, including some very line beech trees, On the western side there is a sheltered Lawn with Grass Terrace overlooking. Lolty beech hedges surround the outer Garden, which hos a paved walk and herbaceous borders, with Orcharding on either side. Beyond there are more -herbaceous ‘borders and Walled Kitchen Garden with central rose pergola, grass plot and old sundial, and about 60-[t. Range of Heated Glasshouses { in three divisions. Dense Woodlands and Plantations run up on the other side of i the main road, and very Charming Walks encircle the Castle on the eastern and north sides. Span Glasshouses. There is a good supply of Wall and other Fruit Trees. There are rhododendron clumps and ample shade from beech and other trees. Beyond is a secondary Garden, enclosed by beech and privet hedges on two sides. The Gardener’s and Keeper's Houses stone built and slated, contain Kitchen, Sitting Room, Three Bed Rooms and i two up and two down respectively. 4 Together with a Second Keeper’s House situated in the Park, stone built with slated gabled rool, containing Three Bed Rooms. Kitchen, Sitting Room and Gun Room, Boiler Housa, also THREE KENNELS WITH RUNS. | On the Estate are 13 Capital Cottages built of stone with slated rools in good repair. The Galloway Golf Course ia situated just S.W. of the Burgh, and extends with Town Park to some 56 Acres, having nine holes, and is considered one of the best in the South of Scotland. | The Estate as a Sporting Domain ranks as one of the best in the Lowlands of Scotland with its Grouse Moor and Rough Shooting yy allording capital sport, average bags of over 600 Grouse and 170 Partridges from \ ® the arable and low lands being obtained dunng the past 10 seasons. Ou the. Mose te the Shooting Lodge of Loch Howrexend:« Gamekeeper's Cottage. There are 170 Acres of Woodlands, well placed, affording good. cover for wild 4 Pheasants and Rablits, and the following are the game bags for the past 10 seasons. 4 ad) : The Estate has only been lightly shot since 1914. q Game Bag ‘si 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 y 5 Grouse fags ilar 715). 100) 356 177 (2 96a ieee 1 Black Game AAs) ETD CRSOOR 52-110 uthih 29 em 20 ape Oey : Pheasants 840 181 670 307 272-286 7 182 54 168 305 ‘i Partndges 78 105 150 164 228 «370 107 253 139 186 108 \ 1 Woodcock 8 19 3 26 58 uu 9 9 16 7 16 a Snipe 68 25 10 8 50 80 " 16 104 68 73 uM Wild Duck 617 746 (06 7 ao 78 10 65 56 Al 141 Plover ty ig oo 8 4 Pigeon |S 2 2 7 8 6 = } Hares . 19 27 15 4 23 34 22 35 x” 58 “4 4 Rabbits 181 7277, «(192s 181 147 854 1450-1320 923 6 6 Various st Aa Oe tes RCE CP AG ne 5 4 18 i Trapped Rabbits Sees ee ee 10 The Historical Castle of moderate size, facing mainly South, occupies a truly magnificent position on @ 3 high knoll, some 200-[t. above acu level with glorious views to the South over Loch Ken with its wooded islands, at the head of which it ‘stands in Well-timbered Policies and Parklands approached from the main road by a long Avenue Drive {ringed by towering limes, terminating in a wide sweep belore built in the Scotch baronial style, being three stories high on one side and two on another, part of which ix said to date from the XIIL Century. It is built of | stone and rough casted, with turrets, ropecourse and buttressed in places, having { slated roof and containing SMALL STONE HALL with stone stairs branching to the Entrance Hall : about 26-ft. 8-in, by 13-f. 3-in, with oak panelled wainscoting, oak beamed ceiling, lattice lights, window seat and open fireplace, with oak panelled door leading to the | Dining Room about 21-ft, 5-in. by 22-ft. Il-in, 0 bright and cheerful room with open fireplace, stone hearth, plaster panelled walls, moulded over-doors of Georgian character, | leaded lights, hot water pipes. Four steps lead to Corridor, off which is a modem pedestal W.C, Drawing Room 28-{t. 5-in, by 21-ft. 9-in., with balcony, oak floor, door leads to Verandah, open fireplace with marble curb and slips, wood mantel and overmantel, geometrical plaster ceiling, radiator 5 There Salmon and Trout Fishing for some 9 miles in the Waters of the Ken and Dee, and PIKE FISHING a Lock Howk sod The Suoen Loch wih the tight alo to Gok the sppet Pom } of Loch Ken. Boe The Agricultural Portion of the Estate is divided into { 21 Sheep Grazing and Mixed Farms | equipped with Soundly-built Houses and Premises and Numerous Smaller Holdings and Accommodation Lands. Approximate Summary Schedule of the Whole Estate. Description. a Description, heeaes Z Achie Farm 227.836 Burnfoot Farm 1613.511 1 Thorniehill Farm 184.429 Upper and Nether 2303.000 Halfmark and Lochogie Farm 1440.160 | Kenmure Castle, Pelicieg and _ | | Blackeraig Farm 647.500 Gardens 30353 Jronmacannie Farm 105.510 | Parks, Meadows, ete. Kenmure 388.498 Shawknowes Land 88.835 Halfpark of Cubbox or Mendow- > Barnhillies Farm 261.961 hend 4.023 £ Viewfeld snd Trochiehouse Farm 243.260 | Barnend—Houre and Land 8.224 Galrinnies Farm 138.258 | Land—Weet Risk Park > 14,264 Waulkmill Farm 31.519 House and Office, ditto w191 : Mains of Kenmure Farm 94.931 | House Midpark 179 a Malloch Farm 56.472 Land—Shawknoes and Midpark 17.228 ‘ Blowplain Farm 23,013 | Golf Course and Town Park 56.089 Barnwalls Farm 98.959 Tronmacannie Mill and Land 16:348 ' Brough Farm 48.352 | Overton House and Garden 3.554 Highpark Farm 144.890 | Ditto Land 9.181 Lochside Farm 109.247 | Woodlands . 171.970 Craigend Farm 98.721 | Oakenbog and Ground 603 Knocknarling and —Darsallock Cairn Edward and Garden 2.503 Farm 2369.290 Lochowie—House and Land 9,350 Fauld O° Wheat Farm 285.302 House Nether Achie 143 Ewanstone Farm 375.700 Ditto, Ironmacannie 075 Parkrobin Farm 171.058 Blackmark Farm 641.900 14712.690 Laggan of Dee Farm 1976.100 Se —=. Public Burdens for 1922-23. Minister's Stipend > Parish of Kells Ditto . . “ot . Parish of Balmaclellan County Rates Parish Council Rates fc Kells Ditto . Balmaclellan New Galloway Burgh Rates Ken Fishing Assessment Burgh Maills and Convention Dues Heritors Assessment Fe Parish of Balmaclellan Ditto Parish of Kells 85 315 216 20 18 16 2 £755 15 The Estate will be sold subject to Articles and Conditions of Roup which are being published separately, copies of which may be had upon application to the Auctioneers. nleco-co-eusael® do. Blackornig do, _ Troamacaunie Land, Shawknowes, and Meadow Meadow, 1 sere, No. 62 Farm, Barobiltios Farm, Viewfleld and Trochichoure 100-110, Now. 62.05, 10-74, Meadows, Nos, 18, 28 and 2¢ Koumure Matos and Pi Meadows, Nos. 20, 20, aud 68 Farm, Mullooh Mesdows, Nos. 7, 10, 25, Mondows, Nos. 102 aud 108 Farm, Vlowplaln Mandows Meadows, 8 acr Farm, Drough acd O Meadows, Nos 0, 1 Form, Hlghpeck Knocksarling Fauld O'Wheat The Rent Roll. ‘Tenants William Galtart de Susny ilohielot Uitloapta mud J MoTuggart do, Mia 1 Samuel Shaw George Liogg William Wateon do. Poter Kirkpatrick We anil Ls Milligan do Jobe Mob W. and ® Milligan do, do Jolin Campbell do William Shaw i do ¥ Mrs, MoBlath: do. We Shaw Mits J. Saw Jainor Told and Mew Jago Rald Y, Hunter nd. Wright Ewansteae Parkeabin o¢ Low Park ‘Mlackmark zi Laggan of Deo. Audrew Lobb arsteot, ned Upper and Nether “Gairloch, #1 "ard Ornsing on Oolt Course z Jane mud War Wolr Kenmure Castle and Ofte Arthur Young ome i da, ‘ s do. Sn a ae. 3 do do. Droptietor ao, 2 Lars Fields, Burgh + | William Corrie Meadows, Nos. 87 to (4 do. Bhod aud Wash-house, Groonlicad de. Part of Oubbox Isle en AF. M. Hpalding’s holre Field, Nether Acie Taines Glawart Mosdows, Now. ul and 48 : do. Roods, Burgh, Not 14, Band 4... do Bite for Stable, Carson's Knows. i do Meadow John Little Jauaes 0. Shaw Rood, New Gallows , Field. Black Loch (Burgh) Burgh Roods, Nos. 2, Band 4 Two do, at 16/- each ‘Two Gardena, Burgh z Flold, Newton Stewart Nosd Moniow, No. 32 & Onatly Visld and Meadow Obaries Hopkio’s Field S Dr. John Gowan William MeQuoon do, do. do, W. and Bi. Mill a 0. John Robb do. Dunatio ov Tenanoy, 1 years to Whit, 1000 Yoarly (i tell relveation Lt yours to Whit, 108 do. do, 14 years to Whit, 1986 14 yours to Whit 1097 Ht years to Whit, 1998 Yoarly Ht yenre to Whit, 1096 14 years to Whit, 1091 On taolt relocation do, Yonrly On tacit relocation do. 14 yenee to Whit, 1992 14 youre to Whit, 1088 de, 14 yonra’to Wilt, 1034 fe ty Whit) 10d fare to Wilt, 1048 fe te Whe 1903 14 yoare te WHE, 1097 Yo dnd Vourenry, 1096 do do. do. de do, Yearly fT do. lo, ay, do. de. do do, do. Carried forward 13 18 10 6 10 20 84 a8 98 1» 225 116. 118, 430 a 199 ss e@eccceccce ecoccoocaccoococosecess. 10 creeceeroraccos=+SS5) ob eSes Sa5oc geoccce oo-scose onase eo eoseccc eocosce esococccocs eocs 29,847 10 0 Anre were, Inwunance, 10 0 oud eeatne 26 © © 00 CS .e— ——_—— | eooucer eoarese &F eo 6 a To oR we ecceccccce or acces oracac se HS) BroSoasdbe. oRSoSros 9000000000+000000000008cG0c04 eons a 6 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Kenmure Castle Estate Sale Record Description An account of the resource Sale document for Kenmure Castle Estate detailing the estate of 14,700 acres and comprising of Kenmure Castle and 21 farms. Circa 1922. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context CG_NG_D_16 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Cultural Glenkens Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource National Lottery Heritage Fund Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available New Galloway History Group Subject The topic of the resource Records regarding the sale of Kenmure Estate heritage