St John's Town of Dalry, usually referred to simply as Dalry ( / 'dal-RYE'), is a village in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, in the historic county of Kirkcudbrightshire.

Location

St Johns Town is located close to the Southern Upland Way, and the nearby Galloway Hills, including the peaks of Corserine and Cairnsmore of Carsphairn. It is also sited on a bend of the Water of Ken, about 3 mi from the northern edge of Loch Ken. The village is 16 mi from Castle Douglas along the A713 road, at the southern terminus of the A702 road (to Edinburgh). It's also located on an old pilgrimage route to Whithorn and St Ninian's Cave and named after the Knights of St John.

History

The village was the centre of the 1666 Pentland Rising The Church of Scotland, Parish Church built in 1831 by William McCandlish is approached via an avenue of lime trees said to have been planted in 1828. Detached, at side of the Kirk is the Gordon Aisle of 1546, the burial place of the Gordons of Lochinvar. St Johns Town of Dalry was named Bird Town, to celebrate the work of renowned bird artist and writer Donald Watson who lived in Dalry for many years.

Notable people

Climate

In common with the rest of the country, Dalry benefits from a climate classified as Oceanic (Köppen Cfb), encompassing cool summers and mild winters with year-round rainfall. Temperature extremes at Glenlee, under 1 mi southwest, have ranged from 31.0 C during July 2005 to -18.3 C in both January 1940 and December 1995.