Wigtown: Book Town, Festival and History

Wigtown is Scotland’s National Book Town. Book culture gives the town a clear focus; a ten-day literary festival, historic castle remains and memorial sites also shape its character.

Wigtown as a Book Town

The title National Book Town sits alongside a concrete figure: Wigtown has seventeen bookshops and book-related businesses. This number may change over time. The title describes the town’s literary profile; the figure is a more time-sensitive indicator. If books are the focus of your trip, you’ll find a dedicated literary festival here as well as the book-town theme.

The Wigtown Book Festival

The Wigtown Book Festival is a ten-day literary event in Scotland’s National Book Town and was founded in 1999. It includes more than 200 events spanning music, theatre, food and drink, and visual arts. This means the programme goes beyond literature while remaining rooted in the town’s book-town profile. The number and mix of events may vary from year to year. If you want to plan your stay around the festival programme, check the dates and programme for the relevant year; the ten-day festival format alone does not indicate which specific events will take place.

Castle Remains and Local History

Wigtown Castle opens up a much earlier historical period. It is designated a Scheduled Monument. The remains are those of an early medieval royal castle, visible as earthworks. The description “earthworks” refers to the form in which the castle remains are visible.

The Wigtown Martyrs, Margaret Lachlan and Margaret Wilson, were Scottish Covenanters. In 1685, they were tied to stakes in the town’s tidal mudflats and drowned as the tide came in. Behind the ruins of the Old Kirk, the graves of the five Wigtown Martyrs lie in an enclosed area. The two women named here belong to the larger group of five people commemorated by these graves.

Another local memorial commemorates Louis McGuffie VC, a Victoria Cross recipient from Wigtown. In 2018, a commemorative paving stone for him was unveiled at the Wigtown County Buildings; the archway at the Louis McGuffie VC Memorial Gardens was also unveiled in 2018. Alongside the medieval castle and the memorials to the events of 1685, these 2018 memorials represent a later layer of local remembrance.

Circular Walk and Views

The Lovers’ Walk, Martyrs’ Stake and Wigtown Harbour route is a circular walk through the town, countryside and coastal area. Trail conditions and access may change; check both before setting out on a specific walk. Windy Hill, on Wigtown’s western edge, is a separate site. It is home to the largest monument to the Wigtown Martyrs, with far-reaching views across much of Galloway. The circular route offers a walk through different landscapes, while Windy Hill is a single site with historical significance and views across Galloway.

Discover more destinations: Balmaclellan, Twynholm, Sanquhar, Ruthwell, Glenluce, Kirkcolm, Kirkcudbright, Carsethorn

For the wider travel overview: Dumfries And Galloway.