County towns, market towns, food towns and book towns; craft towns, art towns and farmer's markets - Southern Scotland specialises in that rare product!

There are individual towns and villages with character, where you will always find something unique to buy. There are no queues or traffic jams and most have free parking. There is a wealth of individual shops, butchers, delis, bakers, fishmongers and smoke houses as well as creameries and distilleries.

Dumfries and Galloway is the heart of art, food and books:
There are half a million second hand books to peruse in the magical bookshops of Wigtown - home to the annual Scottish Book Town Festival held each September. Kirkcudbright - the artists town is a scenic fishing port with Castle Maclellan at its centre, art galleries and Broughton House to inspire you. Port Patrick, a quaint fishing village, Gatehouse of Fleet, Creetown, Newton Stewart and Castle Douglas are all Galloway Towns with a difference.

Ayrshire is famous for its seaside towns which are all part of the Ayrshire Coastal path with long beach fronts from Girvan to Largs. Small, pretty villages such as Ballantrae, Dunure, Barr, Turnberry, Kirkmichael, Dundonald, Sorn, Alloway, Dunlop and Straiton are all part of the great history of Ayrhire from Robert the Bruce, to Robert Burns, from weavers cottages to castles and abbeys.

The Borders towns are famous for their abbeys, knitwear and history:
Coldstream is situated on the River Tweed which forms the natural boundary between Scotland and England. The town is best known as the birthplace of the Coldstream Guards. The history of this famous regiment is depicted in the local museum. Duns is the former county town with is spacious market square retains the air of an old Scottish burgh.

The historic town of Eyemouth lies five miles north of the border where the mouth of the River Eye provides a natural harbour and sandy beaches. Fishing at Eyemouth dates back to the 13th century and today the harbour is still active with its colourful fleet. A frequent winner of national floral awards, Hawick is the largest of the Border towns and internationally famous for the fashioning of fine quality knitwear. The pretty country town of Kelso lies in a fine setting at the junction of the Rivers Tweed and Teviot. The town is full of architectural and historical interest that can be explored by following the town trail.