Hotel, dinner, bed and breakfast
8 rooms. Exclusive Use for House Parties.
Visit Scotland **** small hotel.
and awarded 2 Red Stars by the AA
Cavens
Kirkbean
by Dumfries
South West Scotland
Award winning Country house hotel near Dumfries, on the Solway Coast near Galloway Forest Park
15 minutes south of Dumfries in South West Scotland, and secluded amidst 6 acres of gardens, ancient Florence Court Yews and giant Rhododendrons, Cavens Country House Hotel is the ideal place for complete relaxation in beautiful surroundings. It is the home and hotel of Angus Fordyce (chef proprietor) and his wife Jane and together they extend a very warm and friendly welcome to all their guests.
We strongly recommend staying for several days! However, this is a perfect place to stop for a night or two if you're travelling around this quiet and unhurried part of Scotland, and also very suitable if you are a party, because the hotel (sleeping 14) can be made available on a exclusive basis, for family re-unions, house parties for friends, shooting parties (excellent shooting close by and Angus can help arrange this), and Christmas and New Year.
Cavens was built in 1752 for the Oswalds, who were friends of Benjamin Franklin. Robbie Burns wrote a poem 'Ode sacred to the memory of Mrs Oswald'. Dumfriesshire is Burns country and there are lots of places associated with him nearby. Founder of the American Navy, John Paul Jones, was born a short distance away, you can visit his house. There are 12 golf courses locally, the closest a mile away. The countryside is rural, unpopulated, with rolling hills, woodland (Galloway Forest Park) and a natural coastline.
Accommodation:
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Cavens has 8 bedrooms all with private Shower and/or Bathrooms en suite, and two with private Sitting Rooms.
Right;
Oswald Double bedroom. |
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Left and right; |
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Left and right; |
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Left; The cosy area with sofas around a log fire - a part of the large and light Drawing Room with windows overlooking the garden.
Right; A further Sitting Room, also looking over the garden. An after-dinner Malt Whisky never tasted better than in a comfortable chair by a crackling log fire such as this!
Dining at Cavens:
The hotel's 'Dumfries Restaurant' is also a renowned restaurant locally in Dumfries and Galloway. The food cooked by Angus Fordyce and his small team is such as you would expect at a private country house; fresh, locally sourced (and that means excellent), an emphasis on enjoyment, simplicity and totally top quality.
Dinner is served from 7:00 until 8:30pm. The three course table d' hote menu including coffee and petit fours costs £35.
Angus's cellar has a carefully chosen representative selection of wines from Europe and the New World. Claret, Rhône, Malbec, Chardonay, Chablis, Riesling, Puilly Fuissé, etc.
One AA Rosette and Awarded the Taste of Scotland
Tariff:
From from £150 to £190 per Room for bed and breakfast and based on two people sharing.
Dinner is £35. 3 courses and coffee with petit fours
It is ALWAYS worth enquiring about special discounted rates which apply at Cavens for parties staying two nights or more. Some weekends also may have special offers and also last minute bookings (within seven days of arrival) attract special rates. A special rate/offer example is £75 for Dinner B&B per person, based on two people sharing a room.
House parties, Christmas and New Year The hotel has 8 rooms and parties may stay at Cavens on an exclusive use – including (and this is unusual for a hotel) welcoming outside caterers – basis especially during the winter months. Please enquire.
With advance notice Dogs are very welcome at Cavens – but please enquire to make special arrangements.
To enquire or to book:
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Please contact: |
Please tell Jane and Angus you found Cavens through About Scotland! Some photographs on this page are by Z. Kracun. |
Walking
At Kirkbean is Criffel, the highest of the coastal hills (1868ft/569 m) with a splendid viewpoint over the Nith estuary and Solway Firth.
Castles, gardens and wildlife
Only slightly further afield near Castle Douglas are Threave Castle and Threave Gardens and Estate and Plant Centre, and a little way eastwards along the Solway Firth near Caerlaverock Castle is Caerlaverock Wild Life and Wetlands Trust where in the autumn and winter and spring thousands upon thousands of wild geese and other migrating birds can be seen from hides and observation towers and in summer trails meander through flower meadows alive with wildlife.
Map of the area:
About Scotland
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