Annan

Standing where the River Annan meets the Solway Firth, this border town carries the salt tang of the sea and centuries of Scottish-English rivalry. Annan might not grab headlines like its touristy neighbours, but that's precisely its appeal - a proper working town where locals still outnumber visitors.

The Savings Banks Museum tells a surprisingly gripping tale of financial revolution. Henry Duncan, a local minister, founded the world's first savings bank here in 1810. It's a cracking little museum that punches well above its weight, housed in the very building where ordinary folk first learned to save their pennies.

Beyond town, the landscape shifts between ancient woodland and tidal marshes. Greenhill Plantation and the surrounding forests like Priestside Flow offer peaceful walking, while Lochar Water provides a scenic backdrop for a proper ramble. Comlongon Castle, just outside town, stands as a magnificent 15th-century tower house - though it's now a rather posh hotel.

Ruthwell Church deserves a detour for its remarkable Anglo-Saxon cross, one of Europe's finest examples of early Christian art. Most visitors dash past without stopping, which is their loss.

The town sits perfectly for exploring this stretch of the Solway coast. Caerlaverock Castle, with its unique triangular design, lies a short drive east, while the border runs just south - you can practically hop between countries. Getting here couldn't be simpler: the A75 runs straight through town, and it's barely 20 minutes from Dumfries.

Staying at one of the nearby holiday parks makes perfect sense. You're close enough to nip into Annan for supplies or a pub lunch, yet surrounded by some of southern Scotland's most overlooked countryside. The Solway Firth stretches away to the south, offering endless sky and the kind of peace that's increasingly rare.