What’s going for it? I have an occasional urge to be a hermit, especially at this time of year. Someone like Johnnie Logie, Britain’s last recorded hermit (do they have registers?), who, in 1927, tramped down the coast of Ayrshire and came to a stop round about here, settling himself into a cosy cave near Kirkmaiden, where he lived for the next 35 years with all mod cons (wood-burning stove, rainwater gathering system, potatoes grown in foraged seaweed; very 2015). He only left his cave twice, to visit the hospital 15 miles away, and didn’t care all that much for the rest of the world: “Oh, I wish I was back in mae ain wee cave,” he told the Sunday Post. A wise man, that Johnnie. The Machars peninsula is a little backwater, in the best sense of the word, where the eddying flows of life come to rest. I can see myself there. What’s not to like? Shallow sandy beaches warmed by the Gulf Stream (St Medans Beach for me); rock pools; the freshest of fishmongers; deer; curlews; Neolithic stone circles; barely a tourist in sight; a teeny town (Wigtown, Scotland’s “book town”) that has one bookshop for every 50 people; 36-bedroom Georgian stately homes going for the price of my London flat. Wee dram. Sorted. For the rest of my life. Now then, which cave?
The case against Precious little. A tad wet.
Well connected? Not really what you’re here for. The train is a mythical beast in far-off lands. Buses go to Newton Stewart. But a car is vital if you must travel further: from Wigtown, Newton Stewart is 15 minutes, Dumfries 75 and the A74 (M) 90.
Schools Primaries: all the locals including Wigtown and Kirkinner are mostly “good”, says HMIE, though some inspection reports are up to a decade old. The local secondary, Douglas-Ewart High in Newton Stewart, was mostly weak or adequate, but again, the inspection was 2006.
Hang out at… The idyllic Steam Packet Inn at the end of the road in the Isle of Whithorn.
Where to buy Think sturdy, low-slung terraces and town houses in raw stone or painted white, slate roofed, with thick architraves, as if a child had gone round the windows with a marker pen. Wigtown’s the delightful, spacious megalopolis; Whithorn is also lovely; Isle of Whithorn, an isle no longer, likewise. Otherwise it’s teeny hamlets. Huge detacheds, £400,000-£750,000. Detacheds, £150,000-£400,000. Cottages, £60,000-£200,000.
Bargain of the week A two-bed detached, stone-built cottage near Sorbie, with workshop and 1.5 acres, in need of renovation, £169,950, with Town & Village via rightmove.co.uk.
From the streets
Carl Davis “We would recommend anybody who enjoys rural living to move to Wigtown or the surrounding countryside. There is always a friendly welcome wherever you go.”
Adam Healey “Over the past couple of years we have found the food, service and advice at the Glaisnock Cafe priceless.”
• Do you live in Wigtown and the Machars Peninsula? Join the debate below.
Do you live in Bicester, Oxfordshire? Do you have a favourite haunt or a pet hate? If so, please email lets.move@theguardian.com by Tuesday 6 January.
