Our Glenkens

Our Glenkens A Glenkens Community and Arts Trust (GCAT) project to show that the Glenkens is a great place to make a home and a life especially for young people.

The Glenkens Hub website and social media channels provides community-led information for the Glenkens and is a sister publication to the Glenkens Gazette. The Glenkens Hub was inspired by the request of the communities as part of the Glenkens and District Community Action Plan and we hope that you find it both enjoyable and informative. The views expressed on the Glenkens Hub are those of the con

tributors and not necessarily those of the Editor or of GCAT. Please find our social media policy here: https://tinyurl.com/GCATSMpublic
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Adam and Rachel love the work they do helping people experience new things, and enjoy the outdoors: “One of the main re...
15/04/2026

Adam and Rachel love the work they do helping people experience new things, and enjoy the outdoors:

“One of the main reasons why we do this job and why everyone who kind of works in the outdoors, works with young people, works with vulnerable people, is to see the change.”

“You see the progression…you meet someone one day who has maybe not had the opportunity to go outside and learn in that kind of environment.”

“And then we give them this awesome experience and at the end of it they are almost, I don’t want to say a change person, but they…
Take something away from it.”

“I guess we do it to help people change; give people life experiences that they may not have had before, or not been able to have.”

Suzy considers wellbeing deeply and is very thoughtful about how we have became distracted by things that cost money and...
11/04/2026

Suzy considers wellbeing deeply and is very thoughtful about how we have became distracted by things that cost money and are not good for us.

“Nothing needs to be expensive that you’re doing. Everything that is actually is good for your wellbeing is free. Like the fresh air is free. Being outside…walks, and the woods, and waterways…so much that we can do in Dumfries and Galloway is absolutely free. So I just think to get back to that would be great.”

John loves his work at Local Initiatives in New Galloway LING .He lives in New Galloway with his wife and young son, and...
08/04/2026

John loves his work at Local Initiatives in New Galloway LING .
He lives in New Galloway with his wife and young son, and fully understands just how important community and local projects are for sustaining the future in rural villages.

He enthusiastically talks about all the wonderful projects that LING support:

“We have Men's Coffee this morning, we've got a community cafe coming in, we'll have Margaret Morris dancing later on tonight and then social dancing, and that's just on a Monday. We have classes and events that happen throughout the week, sports evenings, hubbub sessions…”

“…and then we have our community larder, Tai Chi classes, health and wellbeing, and then we've got our outdoor projects as well…We've got lots of irons and lots of fires.”

05/04/2026

Adam & Rachel love the area for its access to the outdoors:

“We've got loads of beautiful lochs that you can sail, swim in, windsurf, paddle board and kayak on... There's loads of hills for hiking in. There's beautiful beaches. There's beautiful forests for mountain biking. There's just so much you can do around the area.”

Galloway Activity Centre
GCAT

Alia has an amazing approach to sustainability, she is not only thoughtful about her larger choices, but also her everyd...
02/04/2026

Alia has an amazing approach to sustainability, she is not only thoughtful about her larger choices, but also her everyday ones.
She explains to us how she aims to be as aware and proactive as she can be:

“I try to do stuff like batch cooking to reduce energy consumption.
And buy food locally and seasonally, there are loads of opportunities to do that in Dalry…there's the Galloway Food Hub , which is based here, where you can buy loads of local produce from local producers.”

“And also from Dalry Village Shop, they sell loads of local produce as well.”

“I also buying secondhand, I try to buy all my clothes secondhand.”

“I try to reduce the use of single use plastic. So, for example, I use refillable soap, shampoo, conditioner, which you can refill at New Galloway Shop or Sunrise in Castle Douglas.”

We asked her to explain a little more about the Galloway Food Hub:

“It's a producer led online marketplace….you can put in an order every week and then go and collect it. They've got a really nice range of products and loads of stuff that you wouldn't find in a normal supermarket.”

“Also, all of their packaging is sustainable. It's either recyclable or reusable.”

Galloway Food Hub
New Galloway Community Shop

28/03/2026

Suzy has a way of talking about her passion for the outdoors that is really infectious.

“We can be more sustainable by using wellbeing in outdoors, and fresh air, and cold water… and it is sustainable because it's free. Like you're stripping your life back, just going back to the basics, get outside, get in the fresh air.”

Jacob has a set up an independent coffee roasting business darkskiesscotland in the area. He has a unique approach to ma...
24/03/2026

Jacob has a set up an independent coffee roasting business darkskiesscotland in the area. He has a unique approach to making the product as sustainable possible:

“All the beans are single origin and I've selected stuff that is direct trade. Sort of going a step beyond fair trade if you can have a relationship with the farmer or the grower…that gives a great deal of peace of mind.
And then using fallen wood or sustainably planted trees to roast the coffee.
You're kind of getting a subtle impart of flavours from the wood smoke, which is unusual and it adds like a subtle element of flavour.”

Keep an eye out for Dark Skies Coffee in local shops.

Victoria grew up in the Glenkens and has run Dynamic Domestic for the last 13 years. More recently she has taken on a pr...
23/03/2026

Victoria grew up in the Glenkens and has run Dynamic Domestic for the last 13 years. More recently she has taken on a project to breathe new life into The Kenmure Arms Hotel.
We asked her about her approach to living sustainably in life and business:

“Living sustainably I think means keeping my carbon footprint low. So with my businesses we try and support other local businesses within the Glenkens rather than looking further afield for suppliers for the hotel. We're going to stick really close in hand and support local farmers, other local businesses and entrepreneurs…So the pheasants from the local gamekeeper and local vegetables.

“…the hotel as well. When we renovate we're looking at energy efficiency and sustainability with the building and actually looking for the most efficient sources of heat and electricity that we can.”

22/03/2026

Leanne is Head Ranger for The Loch Ken Trust. Within this role she helps to take care of the areas natural environment:

“Being head ranger for the Loch means that I do visitor management. So I patrol the land and water; that helps sustain the area in terms of looking after it for litter, and making sure that it doesn't get destroyed, and it protects it for future generations. Another part of my job is we educate young children of the area on water safety, which is very key for this area.”

Loch Ken Trust

Hayley moved back to the area with her partner and took on restoring an old house.In doing so so she has been continuous...
19/03/2026

Hayley moved back to the area with her partner and took on restoring an old house.
In doing so so she has been continuously mindful of being as sustainable and eco friendly as possible.

“My partner and I decided that we wanted to live here…I was doing a bit of research into old houses and how they're supposed to be built and learned a lot about the materials. …like using lime plaster in the walls.”

“We have got a heat pump, that was important to us, to try and make sure that we were not having a negative impact as far as possible.”

“…we have used eco materials for the walls…
and I try to limit the negative impact that I'm having in daily life.”

17/03/2026

🎬 Join Us for a Special Our Glenkens Event!

📍 CatStrand, New Galloway
📅 Wednesday 18 March
🕰️ 5:30PM

We’ve just released a new series of films as part of our Our Glenkens project - this time exploring sustainable living in the Glenkens and celebrating life in our rural communities. The films were created in partnership with the Uist community and highlight inspiring local stories and perspectives.

Come along to a celebratory screening at CatStrand, where we’ll be showing all of the Our Glenkens films. You’ll also hear more about the project and have the chance to join the conversation about the future of our communities, especially at a time when rural depopulation is such an important topic.

Everyone is warmly welcome to celebrate the stories, people, and places that make the Glenkens so special.

Glenkens Hub 🎥🌿

17/03/2026

John Muir is the Community Inclusion Lead for Local Initiatives in New Galloway.
We caught up with him to find out more about how LING is tackling food waste via its Community Larder.

Local Initiatives in New Galloway LING


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