NO SCARES ON ISLE OF WHITHORN

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Getting into uncharted territory now, as I finally make Page 237 of the Navigator.

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Note the complete absence of pink

In Windermere I met two blokes in their 30s who had never been to Wales (Wales !), let alone Bewdley and Ironbridge whose floods we were discussing, so I don’t feel too bad about never having made it to Isle of Whithorn.

Or Wigtown, my base for the next 2 days.

Isn’t this bit of the map a delight.

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What a great shape

I suspect the only place you’ve heard of there is Stranraer, though once Boris buildshis bridge from here to Ireland you’ll know more about Portpatrick.

It’s not the first bridge from Galloway, of course; there’s already a route from Whithorn to the Scares, marked below by the red Bass triangles. There’s a micropub on Big Scare which I’ll tell you more about on 1 April.

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Does it serve Bass ?

My target is the moderately famous Steam Packet on Isle of Whithorn. You can still be stoned to death with haggis for calling it “THE” Isle of Whithorn.

Steam

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The rocky bit
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The marina bit

Only 300 folk here, and if there’s a tourist trade it’s come from Stranraer rather than Stoke.

Come here for solitude.

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The colourful bit
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The shop

The Steam Packet seems awfully familiar, presumably from two decades of staring at it in successive Beer Guides and thinking “I must go there“.

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Love an isolated pub
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Classic views

It reminds me of one of those proper harbourside pubs on the southern Isle of Man, except the beer costs a quid a pint more.

Schoolboy error; I headed right to the lounge when the public bar would have been better with two Old Boys downing pints by the fire. But you can’t really change your mind, can you ?

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Awards !

Five beers, two from the in-house brewery. You know my views on homebrew.

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Phew – Speckled Hen

But I succumbed to one called something weird like “Bitter”, which is a pretty good description of what it was (NBSS 3.5).

The only noises were from the couple opposite.

“Mmm”

“Can I nick a chip”

“No pudding thanks, we’re stuffed”.

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Contrary to perception, the Scottish weather was holding up, only raining when I was inside. Time to check-in at Wigtown, and try something more challenging.

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Published by retiredmartin

Retired NHS, doing long walks around UK and the world to record the great bits. Focused on Good Beer Guide pubs and live music.

15 thoughts on “NO SCARES ON ISLE OF WHITHORN”

    2. Well they don’t.I am mixed up. My great, great grandfather lived in Dromore ( which is now spelt Drumore.) near Creetown, Wigtonshire.

      I did go to Drummore as claimed, but like most people it seems, I went to see the most southerly village in Scotland.

      My sister cleared this up for me bless her.

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      1. I once tracked my family back as far as my mother and father. They live five minutes wall away so it was possible to confirm it personally.

        My father-in-law has spent many hours researching MY family tree (my, not his) and gets upset with me when I show no interest in ‘istree.

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      1. Nope. I’m guessing there are quite a few ‘islands’ that have been absorbed by the mainland as seascapes change. For us it was the silting up of the River Wantsum. Its fascinating to see old maps when Thanet was still a proper island.

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  5. That reminds me a bit of Broughty Ferry.
    Maybe that’s because I’ve not been to many North British seaside settlements.

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