Introduction

This evening, I am focusing on the small town of Lockerbie (pop 4,000) which is located in southern Scotland. The town is in the Scottish Borders region, close to Dumfries and Carlisle and about 70 miles south of Edinburgh.

Facts and information concerning Lockerbie

Population: This is about 4,000.

Name origin: Old Norse and translates as ‘Lockhart’s Farm’. This suggests there has been a settlement here for about 1200 years.

Travel time: To travel to/from Edinburgh or Glasgow is about 1 hour by train, 90 minutes by road.

Annual jazz festival: The town is famous for its annual jazz festival which takes place late September/early October each year.

Near to: Langholm and the Border Reivers Trail are within range including sites associated with Clan Armstrong. Close by are Drumlanrig Castle and Ecclefechan. The former is a visitor attraction, the latter birthplace of Thomas Carlyle (writer and historian). Ecclefechan is also known for its tart which has a texture reminiscent of pecan pie.

Golf: There are thirty golf courses in the region.

Halmuir P.o.W Camp: Close to Lockerbie is the Halmuir P.o.W camp chapel which dates from post WW2 (1947-50). It was built by former Ukrainian prisoners of war who were unable to return home.

Lockerbie Air Disaster, 1988: On December 21st 1988 Pan Am flight 103, a 747 with 259 passengers and crew, blew up over Lockerbie. All persons on the flight were killed plus a further 11 persons on the ground. In remembrance of this sad event, a memorial garden has been constructed at Lockerbie.

Video clip of memorial

More information for the visitor

For more information on the Scottish Borders region and many other aspects of Scotland please refer Visitors’ Guide to Scotland, ISBN,978-1-9161332-0-4.