34-444: Criffel is a hill in the historical county of Kirkcudbrightshire, Dumfries and Galloway , south-west Scotland . It is 570 m (1,870 ft) high but appears higher because of its great isolation and high prominence . It is a prominent feature in many of the views from the northern Lake District on a clear day. It is surrounded by a host of satellites, including Long Fell, Maidenpap and Bainloch Hill. The slopes of Criffel feature
68-414: A leader of the council . The leader may also act as the convener, chairing council meetings, or the council may choose to appoint a different councillor to be convener. Prior to 2007 the council sometimes chose to appoint a leader, and sometimes did not. The leaders since 2007 have been: Following the 2022 election and subsequent by-elections and changes of allegiance up to July 2024, the composition of
102-669: A derivation from kraka fjall on the grounds that it would develop into a form like Crackel . Geoffery Barrow suggested that Criffel incorporates the name Cro , which also appears in Desnes Cro , the name of a deanery located between the rivers Nith and Urr . Here Cro represents the Gaelic word for sheepfold. This Dumfries and Galloway location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Dumfries and Galloway Dumfries and Galloway ( Scots : Dumfries an Gallowa ; Scottish Gaelic : Dùn Phrìs
136-475: A longer line via Kilmarnock and Ayr . The area is served by buses which connect the main population centres. Express bus services link the main towns with Glasgow , Ayr , Edinburgh and Carlisle . Local bus services also operate across the region. Dumfries and Galloway is home to two ports which have services to Northern Ireland, both are in the West of the region. Stena Line and P&O Irish Sea both have
170-475: A port in the village of Cairnryan . The region also has no commercial airports; the nearest are Glasgow Prestwick Airport and Carlisle Lake District Airport . The region does host a number of private airfields. The town of Lockerbie was the scene of the Pan Am Flight 103 terrorist attack on 21 December 1988. The main roads to and from the region are: As with the whole of Scotland, Police Scotland
204-623: A ridge parallel to Annandale but to the west of it which makes for a much easier ascent. From Moffat the A708 heads north east along the valley of Moffat Water (Moffatdale) on its way to Selkirk . Moffatdale separates the Moffat hills (to the north) from the Ettrick hills to the south. There are three National scenic areas within this region. Transport in the region is operated by bus companies Houston's , Stagecoach Western , McCall's coaches, and
238-629: A sheriff depute or sheriff substitute appointed to each "county, shire or stewartry". The sheriff deputes, who were paid a salary by the Crown, were qualified advocates and took charge of sheriff courts. By the nineteenth century, the office of sheriff principal was an additional title held by the lord lieutenant of the county , and the Circuit Courts (Scotland) Act 1828 ( 9 Geo. 4 . c. 29) redesignated sheriff deputes as simply "sheriffs". The Heritable Jurisdictions (Scotland) Act 1746 also began
272-801: A stronghold for several rare and protected species of amphibian, such as the Natterjack toad and the Great crested newt . There are also RSPB Nature Reserves at the Mull of Galloway , Wood of Cree ( Galloway Forest Park ), Ken Dee Marshes (near Loch Ken ) and Mereshead (near Dalbeattie on the Solway Firth ) There are five 7Stanes mountain biking centres in Dumfries and Galloway at Dalbeattie , Mabie , Ae, Glentrool and Kirroughtree . The Sustrans Route 7 long distance cycle route also runs through
306-458: A unitary local authority. For lieutenancy purposes , the area is divided into three lieutenancy areas called Dumfries, Wigtown, and the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright, broadly corresponding to the three historic counties. The term Dumfries and Galloway has been used since at least the 19th century – by 1911 the three counties had a united sheriffdom under that name. Dumfries and Galloway covers
340-556: A variety of other small operators. Train operators in the region are, ScotRail , TransPennine Express and Avanti West Coast . The region has seven working railway stations. All are on the Glasgow South Western Line , except Lockerbie which is on the West Coast Main Line . The mainline from Dumfries railway station via Newton Stewart to Stranraer Harbour railway station , was closed under
374-673: Is Gall-Ghaidhealaibh ) is one of the 32 unitary council areas of Scotland , located in the western part of the Southern Uplands . It is bordered by East Ayrshire , South Ayrshire , and South Lanarkshire to the north; Scottish Borders to the north-east; the English county of Cumbria, the Solway Firth , and the Irish Sea to the south, and the North Channel to the west. The administrative centre and largest settlement
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#1732773260485408-414: Is divided into a series of sheriff court districts, and each sheriff court is presided over by a resident or floating sheriff (a legally qualified judge). Sheriffs principal and resident or floating sheriffs are all members of the judiciary of Scotland . Sheriffdoms were originally identical to the shires of Scotland , originating in the twelfth century. Until the eighteenth century the office of sheriff
442-509: Is not possible to determine whether or not the name was coined by Scandinavian speakers. There have been a number of proposals for the etymology of the first element. The name is recorded as Crofel in 1319 and in 1330 as Crefel . (Drummond also gives the form Crafel in 1330; it is not clear if this refers to the same source.) In 1892 Johnston proposed Gaelic crich 'boundary' + Icelandic fell in Place-Names of Scotland . However, by
476-465: Is the police force for the region and Scotland as a whole since it was formed from the merger of Scotland's previous regional police forces. Its predecessor, Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary (dissolved 2014) was the smallest police force in the United Kingdom. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (formerly Dumfries and Galloway Fire and Rescue Service ) provides firefighting services across
510-574: Is the town of Dumfries . The second largest town is Stranraer , located 76 miles (122 km) to the west of Dumfries on the North Channel coast. Dumfries and Galloway corresponds to the historic shires of Dumfriesshire , Kirkcudbrightshire , and Wigtownshire , the last two of which are collectively known as Galloway . The three counties were combined in 1975 to form a single region , with four districts within it. The districts were abolished in 1996, since when Dumfries and Galloway has been
544-669: Is well known for its arts and cultural activities as well as its natural environment. The major festivals include the region-wide Dumfries & Galloway Arts Festival, and Spring Fling Open Studios . Other festivals include Big Burns Supper in Dumfries and the Wigtown Book Festival in Wigtown – Scotland's national book town. In terms of television, the area is cover by BBC Scotland broadcasting from Glasgow and ITV Border which broadcast from Gateshead . Radio stations are provided by BBC Radio Scotland which broadcast
578-766: The Beeching cuts . The line previously connected London Euston and the West Coast Main Line with the ferries to Larne Harbour railway station and the Port of Belfast . The Port Road line to Stranraer was the last to go in June 1965, leaving only the original G&SWR main line open to serve the Stranraer. The Beeching cuts ended the Castle Douglas and Dumfries Railway and Portpatrick and Wigtownshire Railway has resulted in adverse mileage to connect Stranraer with
612-515: The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 , which established a two-tier structure of local government across Scotland comprising upper-tier regions and lower-tier districts. A region called Dumfries and Galloway was created covering the area of the three counties, which were abolished as administrative areas. The region contained four districts: Further local government reform in 1996 under the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 saw
646-469: The Stewartry of Kirkcudbright lieutenancy, and the Wigtown district corresponding to the Wigtown lieutenancy. The council headquarters is at the Council Offices at 113 English Street in Dumfries, which had been built in 1914 as the headquarters for the old Dumfriesshire County Council, previously being called "County Buildings". The first election to the Dumfries and Galloway Regional Council
680-494: The area that is now Dumfries and Galloway was administered as three separate counties: Dumfriesshire , Kirkcudbrightshire , and Wigtownshire . The counties of Scotland originated as sheriffdoms, which were established from the twelfth century, consisting of a group of parishes over which a sheriff had jurisdiction. An elected county council was established for each county in 1890 under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889 . The three county councils were abolished in 1975 under
714-438: The area's four districts abolished, with the Dumfries and Galloway Council taking over the functions they had previously performed. The council continues to use the areas of the four abolished districts as committee areas . The four former districts are also used to define the area's three lieutenancy areas , with Nithsdale and Annandale and Eskdale together forming the Dumfries lieutenancy, the Stewartry district corresponding to
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#1732773260485748-478: The council was: Three of the independent councillors and the Liberal Democrat sit together as the 'Independent Group'. Another three independent councillors form the 'Democratic Alliance' group, and the other independent does not belong to a group. The next election is due in 2027. Since 2007 elections have been held every five years under the single transferable vote system of election. This system
782-554: The grouping of two or more counties under a single sheriffdom. This process continued so that by 1975 there were 12 sheriffdoms with only the county of Lanarkshire not combined. New boundaries defined sheriffdoms in reference to regions, districts and islands areas which were then to be created on 16 May 1975. This reduced the number of sheriffdoms to six. The sheriffdoms were redefined again with effect from 1 April 1996, when new local government areas were created. The boundaries of four sheriffdoms were unchanged. The boundaries of
816-454: The local opt-out from its studios in Dumfries and the commercial radio station, Greatest Hits Radio Dumfries & Galloway also broadcast local news bulletins to the area. The area is served by these local newspapers: Largest settlements by population: 33,470 10,110 8,760 5,610 4,190 4,160 4,030 4,000 3,350 3,110 Main settlements in bold text. Prior to 1975,
850-498: The majority of the western area of the Southern Uplands , it also hosts Scotland's most Southerly point, at the Mull of Galloway in the west of the region. The Dumfries and Galloway Council region is composed of counties and their sub-areas. From east to west: The region has a number of south running water systems which break through the Southern Uplands creating the main road, and rail, arteries north–south through
884-759: The region and breaking the hills up into a number of ranges. The A701 branches off the M74 at Beattock , goes through the town of Moffat , climbs to Annanhead above the Devil's Beef Tub (at the source of the River Annan) before passing the source of the River Tweed and carrying on to Edinburgh . Until fairly recent times the ancient route to Edinburgh travelled right up Annandale to the Beef Tub before climbing steeply to Annanhead. The present road ascends northward on
918-624: The region. The Coastguard , Lifeboats , Moffat mountain rescue and Galloway Mountain Rescue also offer emergency services across Dumfries and Galloway. Nith Inshore Rescue is based at Glencaple . This independent lifeboat provides water rescue cover for the River Nith, surrounding rivers and inland water. Nith Inshore Rescue is a declared facility for HM Coastguard, the control centre and overseeing authority responsible for call outs. NHS Dumfries and Galloway provides healthcare services across
952-486: The region. The two main hospitals are the Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary in Dumfries and Galloway Community Hospital in Stranraer. Dumfries & Galloway Council provides nursery, primary and secondary education across the region. For a list of nursery schools and primary schools, see List of state schools in Scotland/Council Areas A-D (excluding cities) . The region is known as
986-726: The region. There is excellent hill walking in the Moffat Hills , Lowther Hills the Carsphairn and Scaur Hills and Galloway Hills . The Southern Upland Way coast to coast walk passes through Dumfries and Galloway and the 53-mile long Annandale Way travels from the Solway Firth into the Moffat hills near the Devil's Beef Tub . There is also fresh water sailing on Castle Loch at Lochmaben and at various places on Loch Ken Loch Ken also offers waterskiing and wakeboarding. The Solway Firth coastline offers fishing, caravaning and camping, walking and sailing. Dumfries and Galloway
1020-423: The second edition of 1903 he thought a derivation from Icelandic kryfja 'to split' was more probable. In the third edition in 1934 this is the only derivation offered. Mills also takes the name to be Old Scandinavian kryfja + fjall but adds that the first element is 'doubtful'. In 1930 Maxwell proposed Scandinavian kraka fjall 'raven's or crow's hill' or Lowland Scots Craw Fell . William J. Watson rejected
1054-399: The upland vegetation of heather, bog cotton and blaeberry and are inhabited by skylarks . Loch Kindar sits at the foot of the hill. The name Criffel is recorded in 1273 as Crufel . The second element, - fel , is either Older Scots or Northern Middle English fell or Old Norse fjall 'mountain'. Because Old Norse fjall had been borrowed into Middle English by the twelfth century, it
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1088-417: Was held in 1974, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new system came into force on 16 May 1975. A shadow authority was again elected in 1995 ahead of the reforms which came into force on 1 April 1996. Political control of the council since 1975 has been as follows: Regional council Unitary authority Since 2007 the council has been required to designate
1122-544: Was introduced by the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004 to achieve a reasonably proportionately representative outcome. Election results since 1995 have been as follows: The council area is divided into 12 wards that elect 43 councilors: Sheriffdom A sheriffdom is a judicial district in Scotland , led by a sheriff principal . Since 1 January 1975, there have been six sheriffdoms. Each sheriffdom
1156-401: Was often hereditary, but this was ended following the unsuccessful Jacobite Rising of 1745 . The Heritable Jurisdictions (Scotland) Act 1746 ( 20 Geo. 2 . c. 43) revested the government of the shires in the Crown, compensating those office holders who were displaced. The Sheriffs (Scotland) Act 1747 ( 21 Geo. 2 . c. 19) reduced the office of sheriff principal to a largely ceremonial one, with
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