County Dossier
Kirkcudbrightshire
A Galloway county of saints, coasts and coves.
Kirkcudbrightshire, also known as the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright, is a maritime county along the northern shore of the Solway Firth.
At a glance
Kirkcudbrightshire at a glance
A Galloway county of saints, coasts and coves.
- Named for St Cuthbert
- Sheriffdom by 12th century
- Kirkcudbright fishing port
- Area: 899 sq miles / 2,328 sq km
- Population: 47,546
- County Top: Merrick (2,766ft / 843m)
County Geography
Kirkcudbrightshire meets Ayrshire to the north, Wigtownshire to the west, and Dumfriesshire to the east and north-east, while the Solway Firth forms the county’s southern edge. The county is shaped by the Galloway hills, the Dee and Ken waters, the Urr valley, the River Cree on the west, and the broad Solway-side bays to the south.
Kirkcudbrightshire is easy to recognise through its hill mass, river dales, and Solway shore.
Map Reference
View Kirkcudbrightshire on the map
Kirkcudbrightshire is the county. The map also shows lieutenancies and council areas that use the county name.
The county.
The lieutenancy.
Council areas.
Places and routes
Kirkcudbright, Castle Douglas, Dalbeattie, New Galloway, and Gatehouse of Fleet show the county from its Solway-side town and central market centre to the Dee-Ken basin and western edge.
Connections
The county’s routes have long followed the Dee and Ken, crossed the Galloway dales, and run south to the Solway shore. Movement follows the same upland, dale, and shore pattern.
Names
- Kirkcudbrightshire
- County of Kirkcudbright
- East Galloway
- Siorrachd Chill Chuithbeirt
Siorrachd Chill Chuithbeirt is the Gaelic form of Kirkcudbrightshire. County of Kirkcudbright is the formal historical style, East Galloway is the long-standing alternative regional name, and the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright remains part of the county’s historical identity.
The county was a sheriffdom by the twelfth century and later carried its distinctive stewartry tradition while remaining one county of east Galloway. The Dee, Ken, Galloway hills, and Solway shore still define Kirkcudbrightshire clearly.