Dumfries

Sister cities

• Annapolis
• Gifhorn
• Passau

History

There is no definite record about the time and manner of Dumfries's founding. Some writers hold that Dumfries flourished as a place of distinction during the Roman occupation of North Great Britain. The Selgovae inhabited Nithsdale at the time and may have raised some military works of a defensive nature on or near the site of Dumfries; and it is more than probable that a castle of some kind formed the nucleus of the town. This is inferred from the etymology of the name, which, according to one theory, is resolvable into two Gaelic terms signifying a castle or fort in the copse or brushwood. Dumfries was once within the borders of the Kingdom of Northumbria. The district around Dumfries was for several centuries ruled over and deemed of much importance by the invading Romans. Many traces of Roman presence in Dumfriesshire are still to be found; coins, weapons, sepulchral remains, military earthworks, and roads being among the relics left by their lengthened sojourn in this part of Scotland. The Caledonian tribes in the south of Scotland were invested with the same rights by an edict of Antoninus Pius. The Romanized natives received freedom (the burrows, cairns, and remains of stone temples still to be seen in the district tell of a time when Druidism was the prevailing religion) as well as civilisation from their conquerors. Late in the fourth century, the Romans bade farewell to the country. Alexander III visited Dumfries in 1264 to plan an expedition against the Isle of Man, previously Scots but for 180 years subjected by the crown of Norway. Identified with the conquest of Man, Dumfries shared in the well-being of Scotland for the next 22 years until Alexander's accidental death brought an Augustan era in the town's history to an abrupt finish. During the invasion…

Geography

Like the rest of Dumfries and Galloway, of Scotland's three major geographical areas Dumfries lies in the Southern Uplands. The river Nith runs through Dumfries toward the Solway Firth in a southwards direction splitting the town into East and West. At low tide, the sea recedes to such an extent on the shallow sloping sands of the Solway that the length of the Nith is extended by 13 km to . This makes the Nith Scotland's seventh longest river. There are several bridges across the river within the town. In between the Devorgilla Bridge (also known as 'The Old Bridge') and the suspension bridge is a weir colloquially known as 'The Caul'. In wetter months of the year the Nith can flood the surrounding streets. The Whitesands has flooded on average once a year since 1827. Dumfries has numerous suburbs including Summerhill, Summerville, Troqueer, Georgetown, Cresswell, Larchfield, Calside, Lochside, Lincluden, Newbridge Drive, Sandside, Heathhall, Locharbriggs, Noblehill and Marchmount. Maxwelltown to the west of the river Nith, was formerly a burgh in its own right within Kirkcudbrightshire until its incorporation into Dumfries in 1929; Summerhill, Troqueer, Lochside, Lincluden, Sandside are among other suburbs located on the Maxwelltown side of the river. Palmerston Park, home to the town's senior football team Queen of the South, is on Terregles Street, also on the Maxwelltown side of the river. Queensberry Square and High Street are the central focal points of the town and this area hosts many of the historical, social and commercial enterprises and events of Dumfries. During the 1990s, these areas enjoyed various aesthetic recognitions from organisations including Britain in Bloom. As with the rest of the British Isles, Dumfries experiences a maritime climate…

Most-observed species

• eastern gray squirrel

  Sciurus carolinensis Gmelin, 1788 · Mammalia
  6,137
• Eurasian red squirrel

  Sciurus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Mammalia
  1,250
• Carrion Crow

  Corvus corone Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  742
• Common Wood-Pigeon

  Columba palumbus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  696
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  678
• Common Chaffinch

  Fringilla coelebs Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  673
• Western Jackdaw

  Coloeus monedula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  612
• European Robin

  Erithacus rubecula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  574

Most recent

• M 3.5 — 2010-12-21
  12 km WSW of Ambleside, United Kingdom
• M 2.5 — 2008-05-28
  12 km WNW of Penrith, United Kingdom
• M 3.6 — 2006-12-26
  2 km NW of Dumfries, United Kingdom