Glenlochar is a small hamlet on the western bank of the River Dee

River Dee, Galloway

The River Dee, in south-west Scotland, flows from its source in Loch Dee amongst the Galloway Hills, firstly to Clatteringshaws Loch, then in to Loch Ken, where it joins the Water of Ken. From there, the Dee flows southwards to Kirkcudbright, and into Kirkcudbright Bay to reach the Solway. The...

 in the parish of Balmaghie

Balmaghie

Balmaghie , from the Scottish Gaelic Baile Mac Aoidh, is a civil parish in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland and was the seat of the McGhee family. It is bordered by the River Dee to the north and east...

, 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...

. Glenlochar is located one and a half miles south of Balmaghie Kirk and three miles (5 km) north of Castle Douglas

Castle Douglas

Castle Douglas , a town in the south of Scotland in Dumfries and Galloway, lies in the eastern part of Galloway known as the Stewartry, between the towns of Dalbeattie and Gatehouse of Fleet.-History:...

.

The Glenlochar Barrage on the River Dee is part of the Galloway Hydro Electric Scheme.

The buried remains of a large Roman

Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....

 fort exist on the eastern bank of the River Dee, opposite Glenlochar. The fort was built in 81 AD by the Governor Gnaeus Julius Agricola

Gnaeus Julius Agricola

Gnaeus Julius Agricola was a Roman general responsible for much of the Roman conquest of Britain. His biography, the De vita et moribus Iulii Agricolae, was the first published work of his son-in-law, the historian Tacitus, and is the source for most of what is known about him.Born to a noted...

 and enclosed an area roughly 7 acres (28,328 m²).

There was an abbey constructed in Glenlochar in the early 10th century, but didn't exist for a very long time as far as can be ascertained. The Abbey was burnt down not all that many years after it was built. Possibly at the time of a battle which took place nearby between the Danes and the Gallovidians. It is believed that many of the stones from the ruin of this abbey were used in construction of Threave Castle in the 14th Century.

During World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 Glenlochar was used as a training camp for the construction of Bailey bridge

Bailey bridge

The Bailey bridge is a type of portable, pre-fabricated, truss bridge. It was developed by the British during World War II for military use and saw extensive use by both British and the American military engineering units....

s. The concrete slab foundations of the camp are still visible. An unexploded bomb shell was found at the site and a controlled explosion was conducted in 2002 .

Glenlochar has a small community centre and a car park that used to be a local school.