The Stables, Arbigland

The Stables forms one quarter of the 17th century Stable Yard (Grade B) next to the Adam-style Arbigland House (Grade A). It can accommodate 14 persons and 4 dogs, having 6 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, 2 kitchens and 2 sitting areas. One of the bedrooms (a twin) and one of the bathrooms are on the ground floor if there are guests that wish to avoid stairs. The property can be split into two and booked separately as the Grooms Cottage (4 persons and 2 dogs) with 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom and the Coachmans Cottage (10 persons and 2 dogs) with 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. Guests have free access to Arbigland Gardens, 24 acres of woodland walks, a lake, and a number of formal gardens that lead down to a beach on the Solway Firth offering dramatic views across to he Cumbrian Hills.

The area is famous for its walks (some directly from the Gardens), golf (the Southerness Course is a couple of miles away), food ("The Steamboat" has won the best pub in Dumfries and Galloway for the last few years) and historic sites (including Arbigland House itself). Arbigland House was built in the 1750s by William Craik, the father of the agricultural revolution in Scotland. His illegitimate son, James, was George Washington's physician; his daughter, Helen, was a proto-feminist novelist, poet and friend of Robert Burns who dined at the House; his gardener's son, John Paul Jones, was the founder of the US Navy; and his Minister's son, John Campbell, was the first Captain of HMS Victory, the inventor of the brass sextant, Governor of Newfoundland and rose to be Vice-Admiral of the White (the position Nelson later held at the Battle of Trafalgar). A talk in the House on its history and those associated with it is offered by the current owners.