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Glenluce

The attractive little village of Glenluce has been bypassed by the A75, one of the main routes from southern Scotland and Northern England to the Irish ferries at tranraer and Cairnryan. At one time it was the home of Alexander Agnew, nicknamed the “Devil of Luce”. He was a beggar who, in the mid 1600s, asked for alms from a weaver named Campbell in the village, but was refused. He thereupon cursed the family and its dwelling, and strange things began to happen. Stones were thrown at their doors and windows when there was no one about, and stones came down the chimney. The bedclothes were even ripped from the children’s beds as they slept. If this wasn’t bad enough, Andrews was heard to say that there was no God but salt, meal and water - a clear case of atheism.  Hewas eventually hanged for blasphemy at Dumfries.

 A mile to the northwest are the ruins of Glenluce Abbey (Historic Scotland), founded in1190 and occupying a site of great natural beauty. The abbey’s best preserved feature is its 15th century chapter house, which is surprisingly intact. Its ribbed vault ceiling creates such an astonishingly clear acoustic that opera singers often practise hee. Look out for the carvings of the “green men”, always depicted with foliage sprouting from their faces. These pagan symbols of fertility were often incorporated into the fabric of medieval Christian churches - but always on the outer walls as a sign that they had been cast out by Mother Church. The end of the abbey came in 1560, with the advent of the Reformation. Unusually, the monks were allowed to live on within the abbey, the last one dying in 1602. Mary Stuart once visited, as did James 1V and Robert the Bruce. Immediately after the Reformation, the then Earl of Cassillis, head of the great Kennedy family, claimed the property andlands of Glenluce. He persuaded one of the monks to forge the abbot’s signature on a document granting him the lands, then had the monk murdered. He then executed the men who had done the foul deed on his behalf in the name of justice.

Castle of Park is an imposing tower house built in about 1590 by Thomas Hay, son of the last abbot of Glenluce. A stone over the door commemorates the event. It is now owned by the Landmark Trust, and used as rented holiday accommodation.

Just outside the village, the Glenluce Motor Museum houses a splendid collection of vintage and classic cars, motor cycles, motoring memorabilia and even a vintage garage. There’s also a shop and a tea room.