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< PREVIOUS PAGE 1 2 3 4 NEXT > Pavilion Cottage is a cosy garden cottage located within five minutes walk of Rigg Bay, on the edge of the fishing village of Garlieston, in The Machars region of Galloway, south west Scotland. Rigg Bay is a private sandy beach, where guests can relax or walk dogs and enjoy the fantastic birdlife, from oyster catchers and avocets to herons and peregrines, or catch the sight of seals swimming in the bay. With the mild Gulf Stream, Garlieston seems to have its own pocket climate, with its fair share of sunshine. The Galloway Hills form a backdrop to the bay, and on a clear day the hills of Cumbria can be seen. During WW2, Garlieston and Rigg bay were used to test the floating roadways used in operation Mulberry, which formed a necessary part of the D-Day landings. For 18 months, secret activity went on in this secluded part of South West Scotland, chosen because the bay was considered very similar to Arromanches in Normandy, and because it was 'out of the way'. The significance of this was recently covered on BBC2's 'Scotland's Secret War'. Pavilion Cottage itself, has a varied history. Built into the wall in the walled garden of the Galloway House Estate, formerly home to the Earls of Galloway, older parts of the building have had many uses, from drying and storing fruit before sending it up to the big house, to a wine cellar (1945 Krug magnums were found in the wine cellar along with original strength Pimms no 1. The name Pavilion Cottage comes from the fact that it overlooks the tennis/croquet lawn and the swimming pool in the walled garden. |