Rockcliffe is a small, coastal village in Kirkcudbrightshire,

Dumfries and Galloway Dumfries and Galloway (; ) is one of the 32 unitary council areas of Scotland, located in the western part of the Southern Uplands. It is bordered by East Ayrshire, South Ayrshire, and South Lanarkshire to the north; Scottish Borders to the no ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, with a view of Rough Island, Hestan Island, the

Solway Firth The Solway Firth is an inlet on the west coast of Great Britain, forming part of the border between England and Scotland. The firth (a Scottish term for an inlet of the sea) divides Cumbria (including the Solway Plain) from Dumfries and Gallow ...

and sometimes the Cumbrian coast. Rockcliffe lies on the eastern side of the River Urr estuary, and gives access to Rough Island by way of both firm mud exposed at low tide and a natural, tidal causeway. Road access is from Dalbeattie () and

Dumfries Dumfries ( ; ; from ) is a market town and former royal burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, near the mouth of the River Nith on the Solway Firth, from the Anglo-Scottish border. Dumfries is the county town of the Counties of Scotland, ...

(); although Kippford is nearby there is no direct road route. Rockcliffe is also linked to Castle Point (site of a Roman fort), Glenstocken, Portling and Sandyhills by footpath. The village is a combination of both residential and holiday let properties. Local business in Rockcliffe is mainly holiday lets, though the village also has one tea room, a caravan site and the surrounding farming industry. Salmon fishing with nets at Rough Island and cockle fishing are both occasionally based from the beach. The village has a car park and a public toilet, now including a defibrillator, but no other facilities to speak of. An ice cream van can usually be relied upon to be open for business in the bay on even the cloudiest days. The site of the 5th century Dark Ages

hillfort A hillfort is a type of fortification, fortified refuge or defended settlement located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typical of the late Bronze Age Europe, European Bronze Age and Iron Age Europe, Iron Age. So ...

called the Mote of Mark adjoins Rockcliffe. Furthermore, this site is an example of a vitrified fort. Baron's Craig is a Victorian country house designed by

Alfred Waterhouse Alfred Waterhouse (19 July 1830 – 22 August 1905) was an English architect, particularly associated with Gothic Revival architecture, although he designed using other architectural styles as well. He is perhaps best known for his designs ...

in 1879. It was in use for much of the 20th century as an hotel and known as the ''Baron's Craig Hotel''. Hotel extensions were added by architects Sutherland, Dickie and Copland in the early 1970s. The Rockliffe Gallery occupies part of the building and organises a series of annual exhibitions

Small parts of Rockcliffe were bequeathed to the

National Trust for Scotland The National Trust for Scotland () is a Scottish Building preservation and conservation trusts in the UK, conservation organisation. It is the largest membership organisation in Scotland and describes itself as "the charity that cares for, sha ...

in the 1930s.

References

External links

Rockcliffe in the 'Gazetteer for Scotland'Rockcliffe at the National Trust for Scotland
*http://www.doorsopendays.org.uk/places/dumfries-galloway/barons-craig-hotel-and-rockcliffe-gallery/ Villages in Dumfries and Galloway {{DumfriesGalloway-geo-stub