Drive from Langholm

Liddesdale can be entered from several directions, but one of the most splendid approaches must surely be the one which goes “over the hill” from Langholm.

Just north of Langholm on the A7 turn right at the road signed MacDiarmid Memorial. After passing the memorials the traveller will find him or herself in another world of staggering moorland scenery, in the summer purple with heather and in the winter often white with snow. The views are staggering right across the Solway Firth and over the Cumbrian Hills.

Once on the other side of the hill, Kielder Forest can be seen across the Liddesdale valley. Newcastleton is the central village of Liddesdale, having celebrated its bi-centenary in 1993.

Newcastleton, or Copshaw Holm as it is known locally, is one of the “new towns” established with the help of the Duke of Buccleuch to bring all the residents in the outlying areas together.

The Liddesdale Heritage Centre is a superb museum, set up by the residents in 1994 to ensure that the history of the village is not forgotten. There are artefacts showing the various crafts and trades which were established in the village, which was once on the main Waverley Line between London and Edinburgh.
There are a few shops in the centre, together with some excellent eating establishments.

The Clan Armstrong Trust, in Langholm itself, combines ancient history with more modern history, for it also features in its small museum the man who put the name on the universal map – Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon.