The quiet country roads are ideal for leisurely walks or exploring with your dog. The nearest settlement is Moniaive (2.5 miles) where there is a shop, tea room, pubs and a restaurant. The village is home to the annual Moniaive Folk Festival and was even called ‘one of the coolest villages in Scotland’ by The Times.

Dumfries and Castle Douglas are both easily reachable for a visit. Dumfries (19 miles) has plenty of shops, supermarkets, pubs, restaurants and eateries, as well as a well-connected railway station. Castle Douglas (25 miles) has become known as Scotland’s food town as it has over 50 different businesses selling food and drink and a diverse range of high quality local produce.

Further to the west the Galloway Forest Park (20 miles) has over 300 square miles of woodland with lots of forest trails and a whole host of wildlife including red deer and wild goats. In 2009 the park was designated as the UK’s first ‘dark sky park’ with great star gazing all year round and the chance to see the famous Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights.

To the east of the cottage the village of Thornhill (5.5 miles) has a few shops and small supermarkets, as well as a pub and a couple of hotel restaurants. There is also a golf course and riding stables nearby.

Just outside Thornhill is Drumlanrig Castle (7 miles), the family home of the Duke of Buccleuch, that has extensive attractive gardens with walking trails and graded mountain biking trails. Behind the castle is the Scottish Cycle Museum charting the history of the bicycle and in particular Kirkpatrick Macmillan, the man who invented the pedal bicycle back in the 1800s. Cycling enthusiasts also will find a visit to the mountain biking centre at Ae forest, one of the famous 7stanes centres, a must and it is only half an hour’s drive away from the cottage.

The local area has a thriving art community and up in the hills at Cairnhead are some impressive sandstone sculptures by local artist Andy Goldsworthy that are definitely worth a look. There is also a very interesting land restoration project near Sanquhar - the Crawick Multiverse (18 miles). Set on the site of an old coal mine it has since been transformed into an impressive artland with a space and astronomy theme. The site features a grand amphitheatre that can hold up to 5,000 spectators, spiral grass mounds to climb and a lookout point that has a 360 degree view of the surrounding area. It is a very interesting spot to explore at any time of year and there are also various events and concerts held there.