| Southerness | |
Southerness Lighthouse and Solway Firth. |
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Southerness
Southerness shown within Dumfries and Galloway |
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| Population | 170 (2001 Census) |
|---|---|
| Council area | Dumfries and Galloway |
| Lieutenancy area | Dumfries |
| Country | Scotland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Dumfries |
| Postcode district | DG2 |
| Dialling code | 01387 |
| Police | Dumfries and Galloway |
| Fire | Dumfries and Galloway |
| Ambulance | Scottish |
| EU Parliament | Scotland |
| UK Parliament | Dumfries and Galloway |
| Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale | |
| Scottish Parliament | Galloway and Upper Nithsdale |
| List of places: UK • Scotland • | |
Southerness is a small coastal village in the South West of Scotland. Southerness is located approximately 3 km (1.9 mi) south of the A710 between Caulkerbush and Kirkbean. The town today is mainly a tourist village and has for many years had a large number of static caravans, some private and many rented to holiday makers. Whilst beautiful in summer and spring, once autumn and then winter comes it becomes rather bleak and deserted. The local bus services to and from Dalbeatie and Dumfries also reflect in their timetables the differences between summer and the off seasons with a vastly reduced service. The quote 'Its not quite the end of the world, but you can see it from here' is very often muttered by visitors coming to Southerness in Wintertime.
One of the main landmarks is its lighthouse which was built in 1749 and is one of the oldest lighthouses in Scotland. The lighthouse stands approximately 17 metres tall and was decommissioned in the 1930s. The village also has an excellent 'local' The Paul Jones, named after the locally born Mariner John Paul Jones famous for being a turncoat and playing a huge part in the American revolution as well as a more seasional pub called the Nineteenth Hole. One of the two golf courses was redesigned in 1947 by the well respected course managerMackenzie Ross and is arguably one of the toughest tests around to both pro and amatuar.
The village has to the north the magnificent backdrop of the marilyn Criffel and to the south the sandy bay of Gillfoot and stunning views on a clear day across the Solway Firth to the Lakeland Hills and Fells.