Arbigland is a coastal agricultural estate with holiday cottages in the historical county of Kirkcudbrightshire,

Dumfries and Galloway Dumfries and Galloway (; ) is one of the 32 unitary council areas of Scotland, located in the western part of the Southern Uplands. It is bordered by East Ayrshire, South Ayrshire, and South Lanarkshire to the north; Scottish Borders to the no ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. It lies on the coast of the

Solway Firth The Solway Firth is an inlet on the west coast of Great Britain, forming part of the border between England and Scotland. The firth (a Scottish term for an inlet of the sea) divides Cumbria (including the Solway Plain) from Dumfries and Gallow ...

, to the south-east of Kirkbean. It is the birthplace of

John Paul Jones John Paul Jones (born John Paul; July 6, 1747 – July 18, 1792) was a Scottish-born naval officer who served in the Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War. Often referred to as the "Father of the American Navy", Jones is regard ...

, the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

' first well-known naval commander in the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

. There is a birthplace museum in the cottage where he was born, donated by the Blackett family to the John Paul Jones Museum Trust in 1997. There is now
'John Paul Jones' rum
that uses local Scottish seaweed from the coastline as one of the botanicals along with peppercorns and ginger for the Lowland Rum and apple and lime for the white rum - 'Ranger'. Th
Arbigland Estate
also has a number of seaside holiday cottages. The estate is best known for agricultural innovation stemming back to the agricultural revolution when farms were laid out by the agricultural improver William Craik. It is currently run as a regenerative dairy operation plus arable and part of the estate has been re-wilded.

Classical mansion

The classical-styled Arbigland House was built in 1755 by the improving

laird Laird () is a Scottish word for minor lord (or landlord) and is a designation that applies to an owner of a large, long-established Scotland, Scottish estate. In the traditional Scottish order of precedence, a laird ranked below a Baronage of ...

and gentleman architect William Craik (1703–98). His daughter, the poet and novelist Helen Craik (1751–1825), lived there until 1792. She was a friend and supporter of

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 1759 – 21 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the List of national poets, national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the be ...

, who dined at the House. William's illegitimate son,

James Craik James Craik (; 17276 February 1814) was Physician General (precursor of the Surgeon General of the United States Army, Surgeon General) of the United States Army, as well as George Washington's personal physician and close friend. Biography ...

, was the first Physician General of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

and personal physician of

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

. It is a Category A

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

Gardens

The gardens have been included in the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland. They were laid out in the 19th and 20th century by the Blackett family who bought the estate from the Craiks in 1852. Arbigland House and Gardens were sold in 2000 but the rest of the estate is still owned by the Blackett family and currently run by the writer Jamie Blackett. The estate features in his books, ''Red Rag to a Bull'' and ''Land of Milk and Honey'' Arbigland House and the 24 acre gardens has been owned since 2018 by Wayne Whittaker and Alistair Alcock who have developed the
Nearly Lost Gardens of Arbigland
and run this as a business entirely separate from Arbigland Estate. Holiday lets are available in the adjoining stables and can be booked via th
website
or Discover Scotland

References

External links

Arbigland Estate
official site
John Paul Jones Cottage Museum
official site
John Paul Jones Rum official site Country houses in Dumfries and Galloway
Country estates in Scotland">Country houses in Dumfries and Galloway">John Paul Jones Rum official site Country houses in Dumfries and Galloway
Country estates in Scotland Category A listed buildings in Dumfries and Galloway {{DumfriesGalloway-geo-stub