Castle Douglas Through Time

The small Kircudbrightshire town of Castle Douglas, near Carlingwark Loch in the southern Scottish region of Dumfries and Galloway, has a long history. The area has been inhabited from prehistoric times and was the site of two successive Roman forts. Nearby Theave Castle was a seat of the powerful ‘Black’ Earls of Douglas and it was a wealthy descendant, William Douglas, who laid out the present town, in 1792, modelled on the grid plan of Edinburgh’s New Town. The completion of the rail line to Dumfries, in 1859, improved the town’s connections and it developed into a market town for the surrounding area. And though the railway closed in 1965, the new A75 trunk road ensured its survival as a major stopping point for travellers. Today, those hotels, pubs and services are put to good use for the many tourist who use the town as a base for exploring this beautiful part of Scotland. All these changes are recorded in this unique and fascinating series of new and old photographs, making this book essential reading for anyone interested in the history of Castle Douglas.