No chimney sweep listed in Castle Douglas yet.

A chimney sweep cleans flues and chimneys to remove soot, tar and blockages - essential for anyone with an open fire, wood burner or multi-fuel stove.

An annual sweep is recommended for any chimney in regular use and many home insurance policies require it.

Look for a sweep registered with the Guild of Master Chimney Sweeps or HETAS and keep the certificate they issue - your insurer may ask for it.

Castle Douglas is a market town in the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright, designated Scotland's Food Town in recognition of its independent food shops, butchers, bakers and delicatessens.

The town sits on the edge of Carlingwark Loch and was laid out as a planned town in the late 18th century by Sir William Douglas, giving it a broad, well-proportioned main street.

Castle Douglas has a strong agricultural hinterland and hosts a weekly livestock market that remains central to the farming economy of the Stewartry.

Threave Castle, a 14th-century tower house on an island in the River Dee and the National Trust for Scotland's Threave Garden are both within easy reach of the town.

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Dumfries and Galloway is the most south-westerly council area in Scotland, stretching from the English border at Gretna to the Mull of Galloway - the southernmost point in Scotland - and from the Solway Firth coast inland to the hills of the Southern Uplands.

Dumfries is the largest town and administrative centre, a handsome red sandstone burgh on the River Nith where Robert Burns spent the last years of his life and is buried in St Michael's Kirkyard.

The region divides naturally into three historic areas: Dumfriesshire to the east, Kirkcudbrightshire (the Stewartry) in the centre and Wigtownshire to the west - each with its own character, landscape and loyalties.

The Galloway coast and countryside have a mild climate influenced by the Gulf Stream, fertile farmland, dark-sky reserves and a string of small harbour towns that attract artists, writers and visitors drawn to the quiet and the landscape.

Despite its size, the region is one of the most sparsely populated in Scotland - a place where community is strong, the pace is slower and the landscape ranges from river valleys and rolling farmland to wild moorland and rocky coastline.