Follow the A75 to Newton Stewart (the place that Britt
Ekland described as ‘hell on earth’) – a
pleasant and friendly Wigtownshire town) and at the roundabout
on the edge of town, take the left-hand (first) exit, heading
south to Whithorn on the A746. You will pass through Wigtown,
Scotland’s Booktown, which is well-worth a visit on
its own account: its website is www.wigtown-booktown.co.uk
Whithorn is the cradle of Christianity in Scotland as it
was the site of the first Christian church in the country,
founded by St Ninian in the 5th Century. As you will be visiting
St Ninian’s Cave later in the trail, you might like
to stop at the Whithorn Visitors Centre in George Street.
It boasts an AV show, exhibitions, a guided tour of the archaeological
dig on the site and a museum.
#5. CHILDREN’S CHANT: Outside Whithorn
Library, Whithorn
SCENE: A group of children march along carrying
a white puppet and singing “We carry death out of
the village. We carry summer into the village”.
DESCRIPTION: Whithorn is a typical little sleepy
village in the Machars of Galloway: A mellow place
to while away an afternoon. The old library is
right in the main street – if you’re
facing the Visitors Centre in the main street, it’s
up on the right hand side.
#6. BURNING OF THE WICKER MAN: Burrowhead
Holiday Village, Isle of Whithorn, at the foot of the Machers
peninsula.
Head out of Whithorn on the B7004 towards Isle of Whithorn,
a picturesque village with a harbour. Take the first right
as you reach the village towards Burrowhead Holiday
Village.
SCENE: The final ominous scene – the virgin sacrifice
to the Sun god is made to ensure a good harvest next
year. The ultimate price is paid by the reckless police
officer, who apparently had failed to see that he fulfilled
the crucial criteria needed for the sacrifice: “virgin,
fool, king for a day and came willingly”. The stumps
of the original Wicker Man are still at this site where
Howie meets his inevitable and, it has to be said, glorious,
death.
DESCRIPTION: This is a bit of a wow! experience. As
you walk from the car park of the holiday village down
the winding path to the cliffs you get nearer to a vast
expanse of blue sea and sky and you suddenly come across
the two concrete posts, which the actual Wicker Man stood
upon, and the actual scale is daunting.
#7. HOWIE EMERGES FROM CAVE TO MEET HIS
DEATH: St Ninian’s Caves, 3 miles south of Whithorn.
Take the B7004 back towards Whithorn, but continue straight
(in other words, don’t take the turn off to Whithorn).
You are looking for a sign for Kidsdale car park, which
will be about three quarters of a mile and on the left.
The path to the cave is signposted. You walk through Physgill
Glen, a very pleasant wood. The cave is about one mile
away from the car park.
For the intrepid, there is a spectacular walk from St
Ninian’s Cave along the cliff top to Burrowhead,
which is seven and a half miles in total. The views are
spectacular, the wind is bracing.
SCENE: Leading to the ultimate scene, Howie emerges
from the cave following the “innocent” would-be
sacrificial “virgin” Rowan, only to find
that there is no escape.
DESCRIPTION: A word of warning to the faint-hearted – DON’T
GO ALONE. This is one of the most genuinely creepy places
on the trail. Ironically, St Ninian’s Cave is
where Christianity was first brought to Scotland. St
Ninian floated in from Ireland some time in the mid 5th
century and ever since then it has had pilgrims in the
Lourdes style, each putting their little pebble at strategic
places in the cave. After taking a mile long amble through
the woods you will come to a desolate pebble beach, at
the end of which lies St Ninian’s cave.
You really do feel like you are at the edge of the world
and as you walk nearer and nearer to the cave, you will
see a huge wooden cross is propped at the entrance to
the cave. Strange drawings adorn the walls. This place
has a real sense of “other-worldliness” to
it.
# 8 . Lochinch Castle near Stranraer
was used for Lord Summerisle’s home but is not open
to the public.
The next best thing is to visit the castle gardens, where
the fire dancing took place. The ruin of Castle
Kennedy is in the castle grounds.
#9. SEAPLANE SCENES, HOWIE BEING ROWED
TO AND FROM THE ISLAND: Stranraer Harbour, Stranraer.
Stranraer is the main town in the Rhinns, and can be reached
via the A747 from the Machars, and then onto the A75, heading
west.
SCENE: These are the shots where Howie is rowed to the
island and where the seaplane takes off.
DESCRIPTION: Stranraer Harbour is the main waterway
between Scotland and Northern Ireland so this is very
much a working harbour. Stranraer is a bustling port
town filled with bars and restaurants of every description.
For more information about Stranraer visit: www.stranraer.org
#10. HOWIE AND SUMMERISLE’S
MEETING: Logan Botanical Gardens.
Take the A7166 heading south to the Mull of Galloway – the
most southerly point in Scotland. Stay on the A7166 until
after the village of Ardwell, where you take a right-hand
turn to Port Logan. The Botanic Gardens, part of the collection
of the Royal Botanical Gardens in Edinburgh, are signposted
along this road on the right hand side.
SCENE: Howie and Lord Summerisle walk in an orchard
covered with lush blossoms, giving the impression that
this was spring time. In reality, this scene was shot
in winter, which meant that every bit of blossom had
to be stuck on by hand!
DESCRIPTION: Logan Gardens is on the southernmost part
of Scotland, the Mull of Galloway, a beautiful drive
along by the shore. The botanical gardens are, of course,
incredibly fertile and ripe looking, and a perfect symbol
for the pagans, a representation of reproduction in flower.
If you carry on down the road to the village of Port Logan,
it may look strangely familiar. Port Logan is the main
location for the BBC series, ‘2000 Acres of Sky’,
which, like ‘The Wicker Man’ is presumed to
be filmed on a Hebridean island. Don’t forget to
visit the Port Logan Fishpond, the most unusual tourist
attraction in Scotland, where you can feed fish by hand.
The
gorgeous harbour town of Portpatrick was used as the ‘2000
Acres’ mainland port and is well worth a visit.
There are plenty of good hotels, pubs and restaurants
here.
If you’ve come this far, it’s worth continuing
south to see the dramatic coastlines of the most southerly
point of Scotland at the Mull of Galloway, with its magnificent
lighthouse. The landscape is dramatic and beautiful in
this part of the region, and the coast of Northern Ireland
can be seen clearly, looking west from the Rhinns. www.mull-of-galloway.co.uk has
a lot of useful information about what to see, and a number
of useful links.
