Cairngaan, Dumfries and Galloway

Dumfries and Galloway

Dumfries and Galloway is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland. It was one of the nine administrative 'regions' of mainland Scotland created in 1975 by the Local Government etc. Act 1973...

, is the southmost settlement in Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

. The hamlet of Cairngaan lies just north of the Mull of Galloway

Mull of Galloway

The Mull of Galloway is the southernmost point of Scotland. It is situated in Wigtownshire, Dumfries and Galloway.A lighthouse is positioned at the point . Built in 1830 by engineer Robert Stevenson, the white-painted round tower is high...

 (which contains Scotland's most southerly point, and a lighthouse

Lighthouse

A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....

, but no villages) on the B7041, after a turn-off from the B7065 road. The village is at the extreme end of the B7401; as the road comes from an area that is already remote and goes only to this village, it can be said that the only reason to travel it is to experience what it is like to be at Scotland's most southerly settlement. As a result of Cairngaan's southernly location, the town lies south of the English settlements of Newcastle

Newcastle upon Tyne

Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...

, Sunderland

City of Sunderland

The City of Sunderland is a local government district of Tyne and Wear, in North East England, with the status of a city and metropolitan borough...

 and Carlisle

City of Carlisle

The City of Carlisle is a local government district of Cumbria, England, with the status of a city and non-metropolitan district. It is named after its largest settlement, Carlisle, but covers a far larger area which includes the towns of Brampton and Longtown, as well as outlying villages...

Nearby settlements of marginally more consequence include Drummore

Drummore

Not to be confused with Drummuir, north east ScotlandDrummore is a village at the southern end of the Rhins of Galloway in Scotland: it has two satellite clachans, called Kirkmaiden and Damnaglaur. The village lies where the Kildonan Burn runs out to the sea, a few miles north of the Mull of...

 and Kirkmaiden

Kirkmaiden

Kirkmaiden is a civil parish in the Rinns of Galloway, the most southerly in Scotland; the present Church of Scotland parish has the same name as and is approximately coterminous with the original pre-Reformation parish....

 to the near north. Around 18 miles (30 km) away is Stranraer

Stranraer

Stranraer is a town in the southwest of Scotland. It lies in the west of Dumfries and Galloway and in the county of Wigtownshire.Stranraer lies on the shores of Loch Ryan on the northern side of the isthmus joining the Rhins of Galloway to the mainland...

 and the ferry to Northern Ireland.

See also Extreme points of the United Kingdom

Extreme points of the United Kingdom

This is a list of the extreme points of the United Kingdom: the points that are farther north, south, east or west than any other location. Traditionally the extent of the island of Great Britain has stretched "from Land's End to John o' Groats" .This article does not include references to the...

.