Things you didn't know about Kirkcudbrightshire

A daft girl called Ann drowned here
At the southern end of Heston Island—a small island off the coast of mainland Kirkcudbrightshire—there are a number of protruding rocks. They are known as "Daft Ann's Steps", as it is said a girl foolishly thought she could reach the mainland by laying stones in front of her, only to drown after just a few steps.

A top cat of motor racing is from here—close friends get to call him DC
David Coulthard, famous for his exploits in Formula One motor racing, was raised in Kirkcudbrightshire.

Kirkcudbrightshire is home to The Wicker Man—the film and the festival
Almost all of the 1973 film The Wicker Man was shot in Kirkcudbrightshire. The film became a cult classic among horror fans, and in 2002 the Wickerman music festival began. Each year around 10,000 people come to Kirkcudbrightshire for the live music performances. The climax to the festival sees the burning of a huge wicker man, in homage to the final scene of the film. (The 2002 remake, incidentally, was shot mainly in British Columbia, Canada.)

Far from the madding crowd in Kirkcudbrightshire
Kirkcudbrightshire has an area of 2,323 sq km. There's plenty of space to roam, as no town in the county has a population of more than 10,000.

The county was named by Royal Mail
Many locals still call the county The Stewartry. This is because the original name was the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright. The name Kirkcudbrightshire is thought to have been invented by the Royal Mail to help organise their deliveries.

Ain't no mountain high enough (to beat Merrick) (in these parts)
Merrick is the tallest mountain in Kirkcudbrightshire, and Southern Scotland as a whole, at 843 m/2,765 ft high.

Kirkcudbrightshire makes sporting history
What is believed to be the oldest surviving sporting trophy in the UK is housed in Kirkcudbrightshire. The Silver Gun is a shooting trophy that was given to the town in around 1587 by James VI of Scotland (who became James I of England). It is kept in the Stewartry Museum, and still presented to the winner of shooting competitions that take place in Kirkcudbrightshire. However these contests only take place to celebrate events of national importance, and there have been just 10 competitions since 1945.