She tucks her frozen fingers into the pockets of her rough woolen jacket Getting close to the familiar clunking of the heavy machinery racket The mesmerising hum glides down walls made of stone And bumps over cobbled streets where mill children had grown Over the wall, as she passes, she hears the flow of the […]

Golden Eagles have always been a proud element in Scottish wildlife. People will tell you that a glimpse of an eagle soaring high over mountains and lochs is a memory to be treasured for a lifetime. However, despite the overall increase in eagle numbers throughout much of Scotland, this growth has not been seen in […]

The Ram has become a symbol of the town – although, officially, it is known as the Colvin Fountain. That’s because, in 1875, the bronze ram sculpture and sandstone drinking fountain were commissioned by a local businessman, William Colvin, of nearby Craigielands, in Beattock. It was a gift to the town to commemorate its long […]

Yes, there used to be a railway station in Moffat! By the 1870s, many people wanted to visit the spa town of Moffat. But the only way to get to Moffat was by horse and cart*. So, as you might have guessed, people decided that Moffat needed a railway. Unfortunately, the Caledonian Railway decided not […]

A little past the Beef Tub, near the head of the Cross Burn, on the A701 heading towards Tweedsmuir, is the Postie Stone. It commemorates the lives of John Goodfellow, a coach driver, and James McGeorge, a coach guard. These two good friends were taking the mail coach from Dumfries to Edinburgh in February 1831. […]

Lord Dowding is probably Moffat’s most famous son as, during the Second World War, he led RAF Fighter Command in its defeat of the Luftwaffe, saving the UK from a Nazi invasion. Wartime prime minister Winston Churchill dubbed him the ‘architect of deliverance’. Dowding was born in Moffat at St Ninian’s Preparatory School. He was […]