The roads around Borgue are now looking a lot cleaner since the inaugural outing of the Borgue Litter Pickers on 14th April. 15 people turned out for the session and made good use of the hi-vis vests, pickers, gloves and bags provided by Dumfries & Galloway Council.
21 bags of rubbish were collected and hauled back to Borgue for collection by the council. There will be other opportunities for getting involved so keep an eye on the Borgue Commnnity Facebook page for more information.
Many thanks to Nic Coombey from the Solway Firth Partnership and the D&G Eco Warriors for removing a huge quantity of rubbish from the beach at Fauldbog Bay on the Mull of Ross in early January 2023.
The photos above are from the D&G Eco Warriors Facebook page.
There will be a chance to find out about electric bicycles from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday, November 20th at Cream o’ Galloway. The event is sponsored by Borgue Community Council and the Cycling UK Shift programme. Local bicycle businesses will be on hand to answer questions about e-bikes and, weather permitting, you will be able to try out different styles of e-bike. Click on the image below for more information.
The iconic building of Borgue Church has recently been purchased by Borgue Resident Tigger MacGregor. She has set up a web site with more information and a request for ideas about how the church could be used in the Borgue community. Click here to visit the web site.
Donald Tait has written a fascinating booklet about the history of the Borgue Hotel. You can buy a copy of the booklet from the Borgue Hotel or click on the image below to read the booklet online.
We had the opportunity to get a skip, sponsored by the Solway Firth Partnership, to collect rubbish that had accumulated over a period of several years along the stretch of coast between Kirkandrews and Carrick. A team of local volunteers set to work over a fine, sunny weekend in March to fill the skip.
Nick Morris at the Station House Cookery school has set up a pop-up space to collect donations for Ukraine from Friday 4th March to Friday, 17th March. He is working with MOOL & OPIR (aid convoy to Ukrainian refugees in Poland). Nick lived & worked in Ukraine for 20 years. Click on the image below for more information.
Suggested items for donation are:
For Babies
Baby clothes up to 1 year old, Dummies, Blankets, Wash cloths, Carriers, Warm clothing, Hats and mittens
For Women
Packets of new underwear, Breast pads, Hats and gloves, Thermal clothing, Muslins, Slings for carrying babies (not bulky carriers)
For Everyone
Shoes, trainers, Towels, Blankets, Sleeping bags
Toiletries
Solid soap, Toothbrushes, Hairbrushes, Combs
Super Save in Kirkcudbright has a list of items that you can buy – gloves, meds, socks etc. for all budgets.
Please put in a note of love and support – or even a picture – we want people to know that we really thinking about them!
You can also donate money to purchase medicine, food, water and clothing via the Station House Cookery School web site by clicking on the image above.
Volunteers will be needed to accept donations from this Friday 4th March till 17th March (M-F) from 10am – 4pm.
Please contact Mary Kate Brown (email: brownmarykate@yahoo.co.uk mobile: 07719720587) if you are able to volunteer. There will be two shifts per day, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
The final sorting & packing of donations will take place at the MOOL depot in Dfs. There will be some sorting at the pop up – ie if donations are soiled, broken or not needed they will be put aside.
A set of panorama panels, featuring paintings by Ann Butler, has been installed at the Knockbrex Hill viewpoint overlooking Ardwall Island. These panels were created as part of the Borgue PLACE project, sponsored by the Galloway and South Ayrshire Biosphere and the Heritage Lottery Fund. The project collected and analysed place names and field names from around the Borgue area.
The panels illustrate the views in four directions and during the four seasons. Places of interest and field names are labelled and examples of local wildlife are also included. Images of the panels are from Richard Ryall.
The panels were unveiled at a small gathering on Knockbrex Hill on 12th January 2022.
Many thanks to David and Dora Austin, who farm the surrounding land from Boreland of Girthon, for their help with the field names project and for installing the panels.
During the summer of 2021, there were two exhibitions featuring the Borgue area at Mill on the Fleet. The first exhibition was about a project that collected and analysed the names of farm fields around Borgue. The second exhibition was about the life and times of James Brown of Knockbrex. A booklet has been created for each of these exhibitions and can be obtained from the Kirkandrews Kirk online shop. Click on the image below to go to the online shop.
If you are in the Borgue area, you can contact a member of the Kirkandrews Kirk Trust to obtain copies of these booklets for £5 each and save the postage costs.
The Borgue Field Names project was featured on BBC Scotland’s Landward programme this week. Rachel Lucas, who was involved in collecting the field names, and local farmer Neil Picken were interviewed by Dougie Vipond on the programme.
Click the image above or here to view the episode on BBC iPlayer. The field name segment starts just after the 13 minute mark.