Garlieston (, IPA: �paləʝeaːᵲʎis̪ is a small planned coastal village in the historical county of Wigtownshire in

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 ...

, south west

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 was founded in the mid 18th century by

Lord Garlies Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

, later 6th Earl of Galloway.

Location and history

The village lies northeast of

Whithorn Whithorn (; ), is a royal burgh in the historic county of Wigtownshire in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, about south of Wigtown. The town was the location of the first recorded Christian church in Scotland, "White/Shining House", built by ...

and a few miles north of

Cruggleton Castle Cruggleton Castle is a multi-period archaeological site on the coast of the Machars, in the historical county of Wigtownshire in south-west Scotland. It is located at Cruggleton Point, around east of Whithorn and south-east of Sorbie. Excavati ...

which was abandoned in the 17th century. The former seat of the

Earls of Galloway Earl of Galloway is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1623 for Alexander Stewart, 1st Lord Garlies, with remainder to his heirs male bearing the name and arms of Stewart. He had already been created Lord Garlies in the Peera ...

Galloway House Galloway House is a Category A listed country house in Sorbie, in the historic county of Wigtownshire in the administrative area of Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. History Adjoining the estate village of Garlieston, on Wigtown Bay, the house ...

, is situated on the edge of the village, with the settlement being planned along Georgian lines. The port became an important import point for goods being brought into the

Machars The Machars () is a peninsula in the historical county of Wigtownshire in Galloway in the south-west of Scotland. Its name (in Scots and English) is derived from the Gaelic word ''Machair'' meaning low-lying or level land, known as "links" on ...

throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries. In 1876 the Wigtownshire Railway was extended to the settlement and goods flowed regularly through the port, with the maritime industries of shipbuilding and associated activities taking place in the village.

Second World War

During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the village became part of the secret

Mulberry Harbour The Mulberry harbours were two temporary portable harbours developed by the Admiralty (United Kingdom), British Admiralty and War Office during the Second World War to facilitate the rapid offloading of cargo onto beaches during the Allies of ...

project in preparation for

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

. The profile of the beach and sea bed at Garlieston was similar to that of the proposed harbour sites in

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

and that, coupled with the remote nature of the locality, led to Garlieston and the surrounding area being selected as the development region for the artificial harbours. Prototypes of three designs were trialled in Garlieston Harbour and at nearby Rigg Bay and Portyerrock. A concrete caisson (code-named

Hippo The hippopotamus (''Hippopotamus amphibius;'' ; : hippopotamuses), often shortened to hippo (: hippos), further qualified as the common hippopotamus, Nile hippopotamus and river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic Mammal, mammal native to su ...

) from the harbours could be seen in Cruggleton (or Rigg) Bay until it was destroyed by a storm on Sunday 12 March 2006. Remnants of the prototypes, in particular concrete

Beetles Beetles are insects that form the Taxonomic rank, order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Holometabola. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 40 ...

that supported the floating roadways, can be seen at Eggerness, Portyerrock and Rigg Bay. The remains are now scheduled as national monuments by Historic Scotland.

Currently

Today the village is in general a quiet sleepy place, with much of the local industry and port activity having ceased over the past 50 years. A bowling green sits on the waterfront and the village caravan site attracts tourists, with the harbour providing berthing facilities for those who are touring by boat. Although Galloway House is privately owned, the gardens, managed separately by th
Galloway House Gardens Trust
are open to the public and pay and display parking provides easy access to the gardens and Rigg Bay.

Notable natives

* Charles Gordon McClure (1885–1933), also known as Dyke White, cartoonist *

at Galloway House.

Gallery

File:Garlieston Bay.jpg, Garlieston Bay and Harbour File:South Crescent - geograph.org.uk - 739304.jpg File:Garlieston Bay - geograph.org.uk - 736496.jpg File:North Crescent, Garlieston - geograph.org.uk - 1281046.jpg File:Harbour wall, Garlieston - geograph.org.uk - 1558556.jpg

External links

Garlieston community website
Garlieston
Garlieston's Secret War
The story of the Mulberry Harbours and the men who made it happen

Information on the Mulberry Harbours & the role Garlieston played in their development {{authority control Ports and harbours of Scotland Villages in Dumfries and Galloway