Breeds of Castle Douglas and Galloway
A market town in south-west Scotland, at the heart of the country of the shaggy black Galloway and the Belted Galloway.
Breeds of this place
Best time: May to September.
Galloway, the south-west corner of Scotland, is a land of rolling hills, moors and rain. Its cattle, the Galloway, are black, hornless and covered with a thick, curly double coat that keeps them warm on exposed hill pasture. Castle Douglas, a planned market town of the eighteenth century, has long been a centre of the region's livestock trade.
The Galloway breeds
Galloway cattle are among the oldest beef breeds of Britain, hardy enough to winter outdoors on rough grazing. Their society was founded in 1877. The Belted Galloway, with a broad white band around its middle, has its own society, founded in 1921, and is now seen on farms and in conservation grazing across Europe and North America. Dun and white varieties are also kept.
Drovers and markets
In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, drovers walked thousands of Galloway cattle south to the fairs and markets of England. Castle Douglas grew as a market for this trade, and its livestock mart still sells cattle and sheep. The Galloway Forest Park, to the west, has hill farms on its edges where the breeds still graze.
A trail idea for Castle Douglas and Galloway
- Castle Douglas The market town and its livestock mart.
- Threave Castle A medieval tower on an island in the River Dee.
- Galloway hills Hill farms where Galloway and Belted Galloway cattle graze.
Written by the EveryCow desk with AI assistance. Background: "Castle Douglas" on Wikipedia. Fair dates, markets and visiting rules change; check locally before travelling, and keep a respectful distance from working animals. If something is wrong, tell us.
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