DumfriesDumfries (dʌmˈfriːs ; Dumfries; from Dùn Phris ˌt̪un ˈfɾjiʃ) is a market town and former royal burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, near the mouth of the River Nith on the Solway Firth, from the Anglo-Scottish border. Dumfries is the county town of the historic county of Dumfriesshire. Before becoming King of Scots, Robert the Bruce killed his rival the Red Comyn at Greyfriars Kirk in the town in 1306. The Young Pretender had his headquarters here towards the end of 1745.
GallowayGalloway (Gall-Ghàidhealaibh ˈkal̪ɣaɣəl̪ɣu; Gallowa; Gallovidia) is a region in southwestern Scotland comprising the historic counties of Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire. It is administered as part of the council area of Dumfries and Galloway. A native or inhabitant of Galloway is called a Gallovidian. The place name Galloway is derived from the Gaelic i nGall Gaidhealaib ("amongst the Gall Gaidheil").
StranraerStranraer (UKstrænˈrɑ:r , in Scotland also strən'- ; An t-Sròn Reamhar ən̪ɣ t̪hɾɔːn ˈɾãũ.əɾ), also known as The Toon, is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It is located in the historical parish of Inch in the historic county of Wigtownshire. It lies on the shores of Loch Ryan, on the northern side of the isthmus joining the Rhins of Galloway to the mainland. Stranraer is Dumfries and Galloway's second-largest town, with a population including the immediate surrounding area of nearly 13,000 inhabitants.
Celtic BritonsThe Britons (*Pritanī, Britanni), also known as Celtic Britons or Ancient Britons, were the indigenous Celtic people who inhabited Great Britain from at least the British Iron Age until the High Middle Ages, at which point they diverged into the Welsh, Cornish and Bretons (among others). They spoke Common Brittonic, the ancestor of the modern Brittonic languages. The earliest written evidence for the Britons is from Greco-Roman writers and dates to the Iron Age.
MacharsThe Machars (Machair Ghallghaidhealaibh) is a peninsula in the historical county of Wigtownshire in Galloway in the south-west of Scotland. Its name (in Scots and English) is derived from the Gaelic word Machair meaning low-lying or level land, known as "links" on the east coast of Scotland. Although there are no high peaks in The Machars, it is not flat and would best be described as undulating or rolling. The North Atlantic Drift or Gulf Stream creates a mild climate, and dolphins and basking sharks are frequently seen in the seas.
Mulberry harbourMulberry harbours were two temporary portable harbours developed by the British Admiralty and War Office during the Second World War to facilitate the rapid offloading of cargo onto beaches during the Allied invasion of Normandy in June 1944. Designed in 1942 and then built in under a year in great secrecy, within hours of the Allies successfully creating beachheads following D-Day, sections of the two prefabricated harbours and old ships, to be sunk to create breakwaters, were being towed across the English Channel from southern England and placed in position off Omaha Beach (Mulberry "A") and Gold Beach (Mulberry "B").
CarlisleCarlisle (kɑrˈlaɪl , ˈkɑrlaɪl ; from Caer Luel) is a cathedral city and unparished area in the ceremonial county of Cumbria in England. It is the administrative centre of Cumberland Council which covers an area similar to the historic county of Cumberland. Carlisle's early history is marked by the establishment of a Roman settlement to serve forts along Hadrian's Wall in Roman Britain. Due to its proximity to Scotland (being located south of the current Anglo-Scottish border), Carlisle Castle and the city became an important military stronghold in the Middle Ages.
Economy of ScotlandThe economy of Scotland is an open mixed economy which, in 2020, had an estimated nominal gross domestic product (GDP) of $205 billion including oil and gas extraction in Scottish waters. Since the Acts of Union 1707, Scotland's economy has been closely aligned with the economy of the rest of the United Kingdom (UK), and England has historically been its main trading partner. Scotland still conducts the majority of its trade within the UK: in 2017, Scotland's exports totalled £81.4 billion, of which £48.
KilmarnockKilmarnock (kɪlˈmɑːrnək ; Kilmaurnock; Cill Mheàrnaig, kjhiːʎ ˈvaːɾnəkj, meaning "Marnock's church") is a large town and former burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland and is the administrative centre of East Ayrshire Council. With a population of 46,770, Kilmarnock is the 14th most populated settlement in Scotland and the second largest town in Ayrshire. The town is continuous to nearby neighbouring villages Crookedholm and Hurlford to the east, and Kilmaurs to the west of the town.
AyrshireAyrshire (Siorrachd Inbhir Àir, ˈʃirɣəxk iɲiˈɾjaːɾj) is a historic county and registration county, in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. The lieutenancy area of Ayrshire and Arran covers the entirety of the historic county as well as the island of Arran, formerly part of the historic county of Buteshire. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of Renfrewshire and Lanarkshire to the north-east, Dumfriesshire to the south-east, and Kirkcudbrightshire and Wigtownshire to the south.
