Dumfries and Galloway occupies the south-west corner of Scotland, bounded by the Solway Firth to the south and the Irish Sea to the west. The council area contains towns such as Dumfries, Castle Douglas, Kirkcudbright, Newton Stewart and Stranraer, and encompasses the former counties of Dumfriesshire, Kirkcudbrightshire and Wigtownshire. Rivers including the Nith, Annan and Cree cross the region, and the Rhins peninsula and the Machars form distinct coastal landscapes. The Mull of Galloway marks the southernmost point of Scotland and sits on the Rhins of Galloway.
The interior is shaped by the Southern Uplands; the highest summit, the Merrick, rises in the Galloway Hills. Large tracts are managed for forestry and hill farming, and Galloway Forest Park contains a designated Dark Sky Park used by visitors and researchers for night-sky observation. Heritage sites range from Neolithic and medieval remains to industrial-era places such as the Devil’s Porridge Museum at Eastriggs, which interprets First World War munitions production. Transport links are mainly road and rail, and local economies mix agriculture, tourism and energy.
