"Visit the memorial to two women drowned at the stake for their religion"
Walk directions
Leave the car park, turn right and head uphill on a narrow country lane called Harbour Road. The house on the left near the top of the road was the former station house for Wigtown. Just before it you will see a farm gate on the left. Go through it and on to a farm track.
Follow the track to the point where it goes through another gate then veer right and climb up the old railway embankment. This has a good grassy surface along its entire length. Proceed along the length of the embankment.
A wall across the track will stop you at the point where the former railway bridge carried the track across the River Bladnoch. Turn right and go down the side of the embankment and cross a gate into a field. Veer right and head across the field to the far corner then go through a gate on to the main road.
Turn left and walk through the hamlet of Bladnoch. At the junction by a roundabout, cross the road to enter the Bladnoch Distillery car park. After visiting the distillery head back out of the car park and turn left at the roundabout. Continue along this road (the B7005) for approximately 1 mile (1.6km) until you get to a crossroads.
Turn right on to the B733 and walk along it to reach Wigtown. When you reach the centre of the town bear left round the square and head towards the large and impressive former county buildings. Pass them on your right, then the church and war memorial on your left and continue downhill. Eventually turn right into the car park for the Martyrs' Memorial.
Walk through the car park and then turn right and head along the path leading to the Martyrs' Memorial. Turn left and walk out over the sands on a specially constructed wooden causeway to reach the poignant memorial erected on the spot where the two women were drowned.
Return to the path and turn left. Go through a kissing gate then another gate, slightly below the level you are walking on and to the left. At the end of the path go through another gate in front of the station house, turn left on to Harbour Road and return to the car park.
On 11 May, 1685, two Wigtown women were dragged out on to the salt marshes near the town and tied to stakes. Eighteen-year-old Margaret Wilson and her companion Margaret McLaughlan, aged 63, had been sentenced to death for their religious beliefs. The Killing Times This was during that period in... Scots history known as the 'Killing Times' when the Covenanters were persecuted for their beliefs. They were called Covenanters after a petition signed in Greyfriars churchyard in Edinburgh in 1638, and thereafter in churches throughout the country. The Covenant reaffirmed the belief of Scottish Presbyterians that there was a special relationship between God, as head of the Church, and the people. This ran contrary to the belief of the Stuart monarchy in the divine right of kings. Charles II sought to control the Church by appointing Episcopalian bishops and ministers. Presbyterian ministers were ousted from their churches, but simply took to the hills with their congregations and held open-air services called conventicles. Troops patrolled the hills and moors and if they came across these illegal meetings, broke them up by taking some worshippers prisoner and killing others on the spot. Sentenced to Death Margaret Wilson and Margaret McLaughlan were two Wigtownshire Covenanters who were tried in the tollbooth at Wigtown for rebellion and taking part in several battles against the Crown. Found guilty, they were sentenced to death by drowning and taken to the tidal Bladnoch River.
Dumfries and Galloway is a wonderfully undiscovered corner of Scotland – a romantic land of wooded glens, high hills and exposed moorland, haunted by its colourful past and the ghosts of those who fell in fierce and bloody battles. Heading west from Gretna Green you soon reach Dumfries, straddling the River Nith, where you may see red-breasted mergansers in summer.
"Visit the memorial to two women drowned at the stake for their religion"
Walk details
3hrs
Difficulty:
Easy
Gradient:
Gentle
Distance:
4 miles (6.4kms)
Ascent:
98ft (30m)
Walk directions
Leave the car park, turn right and head uphill on a narrow country lane called Harbour Road. The house on the left near the top of the road was the former station house for Wigtown. Just before it you will see a farm gate on the left. Go through it and on to a farm track.
1 of 7
Follow the track to the point where it goes through another gate then veer right and climb up the old railway embankment. This has a good grassy surface along its entire length. Proceed along the length of the embankment.
2 of 7
A wall across the track will stop you at the point where the former railway bridge carried the track across the River Bladnoch. Turn right and go down the side of the embankment and cross a gate into a field. Veer right and head across the field to the far corner then go through a gate on to the main road.
3 of 7
Turn left and walk through the hamlet of Bladnoch. At the junction by a roundabout, cross the road to enter the Bladnoch Distillery car park. After visiting the distillery head back out of the car park and turn left at the roundabout. Continue along this road (the B7005) for approximately 1 mile (1.6km) until you get to a crossroads.
4 of 7
Turn right on to the B733 and walk along it to reach Wigtown. When you reach the centre of the town bear left round the square and head towards the large and impressive former county buildings. Pass them on your right, then the church and war memorial on your left and continue downhill. Eventually turn right into the car park for the Martyrs' Memorial.
5 of 7
Walk through the car park and then turn right and head along the path leading to the Martyrs' Memorial. Turn left and walk out over the sands on a specially constructed wooden causeway to reach the poignant memorial erected on the spot where the two women were drowned.
6 of 7
Return to the path and turn left. Go through a kissing gate then another gate, slightly below the level you are walking on and to the left. At the end of the path go through another gate in front of the station house, turn left on to Harbour Road and return to the car park.
On 11 May, 1685, two Wigtown women were dragged out on to the salt marshes near the town and tied to stakes. Eighteen-year-old Margaret Wilson and her companion Margaret McLaughlan, aged 63, had been sentenced to death for their religious beliefs. The Killing Times This was during that period in... Scots history known as the 'Killing Times' when the Covenanters were persecuted for their beliefs. They were called Covenanters after a petition signed in Greyfriars churchyard in Edinburgh in 1638, and thereafter in churches throughout the country. The Covenant reaffirmed the belief of Scottish Presbyterians that there was a special relationship between God, as head of the Church, and the people. This ran contrary to the belief of the Stuart monarchy in the divine right of kings. Charles II sought to control the Church by appointing Episcopalian bishops and ministers. Presbyterian ministers were ousted from their churches, but simply took to the hills with their congregations and held open-air services called conventicles. Troops patrolled the hills and moors and if they came across these illegal meetings, broke them up by taking some worshippers prisoner and killing others on the spot. Sentenced to Death Margaret Wilson and Margaret McLaughlan were two Wigtownshire Covenanters who were tried in the tollbooth at Wigtown for rebellion and taking part in several battles against the Crown. Found guilty, they were sentenced to death by drowning and taken to the tidal Bladnoch River.
Dumfries and Galloway is a wonderfully undiscovered corner of Scotland – a romantic land of wooded glens, high hills and exposed moorland, haunted by its colourful past and the ghosts of those who fell in fierce and bloody battles. Heading west from Gretna Green you soon reach Dumfries, straddling the River Nith, where you may see red-breasted mergansers in summer.
