To fully appreciate Dumfries and Galloway you have to try the local produce. Apart from being a treat for the tastebuds, it’s an excellent way of fuelling all those castle visits and scenic drives. The region has increasingly moved towards natural forms of food production. It is at the vanguard of organic agriculture in Scotland and local eateries often use local produce in their menus.

1 Cream O'Galloway
If you have both a sweet tooth and a penchant for the outdoors, the Cream O’Galloway is a must, as it combines a working farm, a visitor centre and an ice-cream factory.
Catering for all waistlines, Cream O’Galloway is also a slimmer’s dream. Here, low-fat frozen yoghurts almost beat the ice-cream for taste: we tried Organic Blackcurrant Fool which bursts with flavour and has a real kick. If calories are no concern, try the decadent Real Strawberry ice-cream. Also available are egg-free options.
After gorging you can take younger visitors to burn off a few calories. Two of the nature trails are accessible to buggies and there is a brilliant adventure playground, well worth the £1.50 entrance price.

2 Bladnoch Distillery
No tour of a Scottish county is complete without a visit to the local whisky distillery. Bladnoch, re-opened in 2000, is Scotland’s most southerly distillery. It produces a lightly-peated ‘before dinner-style’ malt.
We tried a lovely ten-year-old sherry, but would also recommend the superb ‘Old Master’ produced by James McArthur, a previous owner of Bladnoch – but only to the non-drivers. This whisky is so smooth as to be positively silken.
If a whole bottle of ‘Uisge Beatha’ (Water of Life) is a bit too much of a commitment, at the end of the tour you can try a wee dram, which comes with the £1 entrance fee. But make sure that you have your nose ready to capture ‘the angel’s share’ of the whisky, the two percent lost by evaporation from the stored whisky casks.

3 Marrbury Smokehouse
As one reviewer wrote about this fishmongers, “it’s one good reason to start smokin’”. The Smokehouse operates on traditional lines: Vincent Marr fishes for fresh salmon in the same waters as his forefathers, using family methods over a century old.
The Marrburry Smokehouse comprises a shop, the smokehouse and a restaurant (The Orangerie) which serves lunch, teas and dinner. The smoked salmon, found on the menu of the world-famous Gleneagles Hotel, is bought from here and it deserves its billing. More unusual, perhaps, is the smoked chicken. As one diner commented, “it is an interesting combination of a familiar texture and an unfamiliar but delicious taste”. The smoked brie is also both beautifully creamy and very strong, which proves smoking is not for the faint-hearted foodie.

4 Irvings Home-Style bakery
Situated in Castle Douglas – the region’s self-designated Food Town – Irvings Bakery is the icing on the cake. Founded in 1998, the bakery has a shop on site and prides itself on following traditional, ‘natural’ methods using the best quality, basic ingredients.
Local favourites are the Galloway Fruit Cake and Perkin Biscuits. The cake is beautifully moist and chock full of tasty raisins. The biscuits, however, surprised us. They looked deceptively like ginger nuts but had an airy, melt-in-the-mouth consistency. Irvings also sells a wide selection of preserves and pickles. Intriguing combinations such as cherry curd with cherry brandy and pineapple curd with malibu will satisfy even the most adventurous palate. And remember, when planning a full day sightseeing stock up from the half-price shelf.

5 Kitty's Tea Room
Although located in Scotland’s smallest Royal Burgh, New Galloway, Kitty’s is not for visitors with diminutive appetites. It would seems a disservice to pop in there just for lunch; instead, set aside a whole afternoon, because although the lunches are good, but it’s the cake you go for. The names of the cakes are tantalising: Vicar’s Vice, Forbidden Fruit, and Fallen Angel (a French tart to ‘tickle your tastebuds’). We succumbed to ‘Sophie’s Sin’ and ‘Mata Hari’. Sophie’s Sin is a liqueur-soaked chocolate cake topped with chocolate mousse – pure wickedness. Decorative pear slices cleansed taste buds in between chocolate mouthfuls. The ‘Mata Hari’ is a moist date cake complimented by the heat of a toffee sauce and the coolness of ice-cream.
Kitty’s is a delightful echo of a bygone era. Delicate crockery is carefully arranged on view while white lace drapes across the bottom half of the windows. What isn’t old fashioned is the service: the owner Sylvia, her daughter Julia and fellow local Valerie make a lively and attentive trio.

6 Loch Arthur Creamery
Run by The Camphill Foundation, Lock Arthur creamery provides support and work for men and women with special needs. Working on the land is an integral part of the project, and the community runs a renowned creamery whose products use only the unpasteurised milk from its own herd to create mouth-watering dairy products.
The award-winning Criffel, a semi-soft rind washed cheese, is strong enough to smell a mile away and is only for the brave. If your fancy leans to a smoother taste, try the Kebbuck. This cheese was voted the Best Cheese in Scotland in the 1999 British Cheese awards. You can also see the cheese being made through an inside window in the shop.

7 Abbey Cottage
Situated beside the historical Sweetheart Abbey, Abbey Cottage café serves locally sourced produce with the emphasis on freshness. The vegetarian selection includes a sandwich of bean and hazlenut paté with mango and ginger. Sweet and peculiar it was a welcome change from a cheese salad option.
Abbey Cottage is also a member of ‘The Tea Council’, which sounds vaguely threatening but in fact guarantees the quality of their tea.

8 McFadzean the butchers
If you can pronounce the name you must be Scottish. McFadzean (‘macfadjan’) has been open for more than 30 years and is hidden in the village of Dunscore, a place only accessible by the most twisty of roads. Its pies are are locally renowned, and the mincemeat variety is a particular favourite. They are a decent size and a perfect balance of pastry and a tasty filling. The recipe is secret but undoubtedly traditional. Although McFadzean’s has a strong local base, the pies travel as far afield as London. Catching one at source however, in the midst of lovely countryside, is the best way to sample them.