Dumfries, SCT - Postcode - DG1 1BD

Dumfries

Located in the Scottish region known as Dumfries and Galloway, Dumfries is both a market town and a historic royal burgh. Near the Solway Firth and the mouth of the River Nith, it is about 40 kilometers from the English border and only 15 kilometers from Cumbria by air. The town of Dumfries serves as the administrative center for the county of Dumfriesshire. 

Before becoming king, Robert the Bruce slew the Red Comyn in Greyfriars Kirk on February 10, 1306. While in Dumfries at the tail end of 1745, the Young Pretender used this building as his base of operations for three days. The Norwegian Army spent much of World War II in exile in Britain, with the majority of its forces stationed in Dumfries.

Queen of the South is a nickname for Dumfries.

Similarly, this is the name of the city's professional football team. Colloquially, Scots refer to natives of Dumfries as Doonhamers.

Geography of Dumfries

Dumfries, along with the rest of Dumfries and Galloway, is located in the Southern Uplands, one of Scotland's three main regions.

Dumfries is divided into an eastern and western half by the river Nith, which flows southeast toward the Solway Firth. The Nith's length is increased by 13 kilometers, from 88.5 kilometers at high tide to 113.8 kilometers at low tide, due to the sea's receding on the shallow, sloping sands of the Solway (70.7 mi). The Nith is now the seventh-longest river in Scotland. The town is connected to both sides of the river by multiple bridges. The Caul is a weir located between the Devorgilla (also known as "The Old Bridge") and the suspension bridge. There can be flooding in the surrounding areas during the wetter months of the year due to the Nith.

Summerhill, Summerville, Troqueer, Georgetown, Cresswell, Larchfield, Calside, Lochside, Lincluden, Newbridge Drive, Sandside, Heathhall, Locharbriggs, Noblehill, and Marchmount are just few of the many suburbs around Dumfries. There are several neighborhoods on the Maxwelltown side of the Nith, including Summerhill, Troqueer, Lochside, Lincluden, and Sandside. Prior to its merger into Dumfries in 1928, Maxwelltown was an independent Burgh within The Stewartry of Kirkcudbright (commonly known as Kirkcudbrightshire). On the Maxwelltown side of the river, on Terregles Street, lies Palmerston Park, where the local senior football team, Queen of the South, plays.

The town's main attractions, including many of Dumfries' historic, social, and economic establishments and events, can be found in and around Queensberry Square and High Street. These regions received a number of awards for their beauty from groups like Britain in Bloom in the 1990s.

Economy of Dumfries

For many years, Dumfries served as a county seat and as the commercial hub for the rural area to its south. In 1946, production began at Heathhall for the North British Rubber Company, which had previously been the location of the Arrol-Johnston Motor Company, widely regarded as Scotland's most cutting-edge light engineering business. In the 1960s, the company changed its name to Uniroyal Ltd. and began producing Hunter boots and Powergrip engine timing belts. From 1987 until its closure in 2013, the facility operated as Interfloor, the British subsidiary of the Gates Rubber Company.

Although Dumfries is a thriving city, its commercial, industrial, institutional, and residential hub has been pushed out to the city's periphery by centrifugal forces.

The construction of the Dumfries bypass initiated this in the 1980s. The immediate result was the redirection of through-traffic away from the downtown area, as planned. Because of this, fewer people and fewer dollars were coming into the city center. The second repercussion has been more noticeable. Locations near the bypass have seen increased development as a result of its potential as a high-velocity urban highway outside of the town center, where traffic congestion and a lack of parking are less of a problem.

Several plans have been presented by the ruling authorities in an effort to re-invigorate growth in Dumfries's town center, both economically and socially.