Dumfries

Dumfries is a market town in Dumfries and Galloway near the mouth of the River Nith. It is also the county town of Dumfriesshire, despite the area of town to the west of the river lying in historic Kirkcudbrightshire, although this was adjusted. The town grew as a market town and still functions as such, being by far the largest town in a huge area of Southern Scotland. Not only, then, does it function as a service town for a vast rural hinterland, it is also a tourist destination, with many fine buildings, riverside parks and attractions, including Sweetheart Abbey and Caerlaverock Castle to the south.

The main road past Dumfries is the east-west A75, which passes around the north of the town on the bypass. This route previously passed through the town centre, but being the main route from England to the Irish Ferries at Stranraer, it was upgraded with the bypass built to take through traffic out of the town. The old route through the town is now largely the A780. Heading north from Dumfires, the A701 and A76 link it to Edinburgh and Kilmarnock respectively. The A701 crosses the A74(M), thus giving Dumfries a link to Glasgow, whilst the A75 reaches the motorway further south for Carlisle and England.

Between the A75 and A701, the A709 also heads east, reaching the motorway at Lockerbie. To the south of town, the A710 and A711 both head south west to Dalbeattie, although the A710 has taken the long way around, following the coast, whilst the A711 is more direct. East of the Nith, the B725 takes the coastal route towards Annan, with the B724 making a more direct route from the A75 east of the town.

In the town centre itself, in addition to the A780 taking the former A75 route, the A756 forms a relief road to the south of the town centre, albeit connecting the A780 to the A711, which has limited use directly. Further in, the A781 forms a loop in the centre, and along the river bank. The only B road in the centre is the B725, but just to the south the B726 forks off to Kingholm Quay, the former port for the town on the Nith.

Routes

Route	To	Notes
A75	Stranraer	Ferries to Northern Ireland from Cairnryan
A75	Carlisle, (M6) (A7)
A76	Kilmarnock
A701	Edinburgh, Glasgow (A74(M))	Non Primary beyond A74(M)
A709	Lockerbie, Lochmaben
A710	New Abbey	Solway Coast Heritage Trail
A711	Dalbeattie	Galloway Tourist Route
A756		Link to south of centre
A780	Town Centre	Previous route of A75
A781		Whitesands
B724	Annan	Galloway Tourist Route
B725	Caerlaverock Castle	Solway Coast Heritage Trail
B726	Kingholm Quay

Links

• Undiscovered Scotland