Holiday cottages in Moffat

Moffat is in the east of the region, in the hills near the head of Annandale, and it does not look like anywhere else nearby — a broad main street of substantial buildings from its days as a spa town, when people came to take the sulphurous waters.

The landscape around it is the draw. The Devil’s Beef Tub is a vast natural hollow in the hills north of the town where the Border reivers once hid stolen cattle. The Grey Mare’s Tail is one of the highest waterfalls in Britain, a two-hundred-foot drop on the road towards St Mary’s Loch. Both are within a short drive.

It is the closest of our towns to the M74, which makes it an easy first or last night if you are driving from the south.

Things to do in Moffat

Moffat is a walking town. The Devil’s Beef Tub, a vast natural hollow in the hills a few miles north, is where the Border reivers hid stolen cattle — there is a viewpoint from the road and a walk from there if you want it.

The Grey Mare’s Tail, twenty minutes east on the road to St Mary’s Loch, is one of the highest waterfalls in Britain, with a steep path climbing beside it to a hanging valley and a loch at the top.

In the town itself, the broad main street is lined with shops and cafés from its spa days, and the Moffat Museum covers the town’s history. Moffat Woollen Mill is the obvious stop for a gift on the way home. The town also has a dark sky observatory nearby and sits on the Southern Upland Way, which passes a few miles to the west.

Getting to Moffat

• Moffat is in the east of the region, 21 miles north of Dumfries and about two miles off the M74 — the easiest town on this list to reach from the motorway.
• From Gretna it is roughly half an hour straight up the M74. Carlisle is about forty-five minutes, Glasgow an hour, Edinburgh an hour.
• The nearest railway stations are Lockerbie, about fifteen minutes away on the West Coast Main Line, and Dumfries. Lockerbie has direct trains to London and Glasgow, which makes Moffat surprisingly reachable by rail.

Common questions about staying in Moffat

Why is Moffat different from the rest of the region?

It is inland and in the hills rather than on the coast, and it was a spa town — which is why the main street is so much grander than the size of the place suggests.

What is the Devil’s Beef Tub?

A vast natural hollow in the hills a few miles north of the town, where Border reivers once hid stolen cattle. There is a viewpoint from the road.

How far is the Grey Mare’s Tail?

About twenty minutes east, on the road towards St Mary’s Loch. It is one of the highest waterfalls in Britain, with a steep path up beside it.

Are there dog friendly cottages in Moffat?

Yes — look for the paw symbol on a listing. The hill walking straight from the town is the draw.

Is Moffat a good stop on the way north?

It is two miles off the M74, so yes — a lot of people use it as a first or last night rather than driving the whole way in one go.