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Insider tips Kirkcudbright history Janet Littlejohns, Family Learning Co-ordinator Education and Community Services Dumfries, Scotland Asides from the usual attractions in Kirkcudbright, there is a plaque in Castledykes Park at the back of the swimming pool which relates the story of a Castle once having stood there but had been raised to the ground when Edward I took it over on his way to fight William Wallace. It maintains that the English Fleet were anchored in Kirkcudbright Bay and the invasion actually began there. This is all fascinating especially to those who loved the film Braveheart, but it is the journey back that is the gem. Leaving Kirkcudbright on the Dundrennan Road, stop off at the Abbey and relate the story that this is where Mary Queen of Scots spent her last night on Scottish soil. From here, drive up over Stockmoss and park in the layby where on a sunny day you can see all the mountains of the Lake District. Continue to Auchencairn and head off down the Shore Road to The Balcary Bay Hotel where you can have a bar lunch in the conservatory looking out onto the sea and the Lake District. There is also the fascinating story of the smugglers which is recounted in pictures and cuttings around the rooms of the Hotel.