No tree surgeon listed in Whithorn yet.

A tree surgeon carries out specialist tree work - pruning, crown reduction, felling, stump grinding and emergency storm damage clearance.

Trees near buildings, power lines or boundaries need professional attention - chainsaw work at height is not a DIY job under any circumstances.

Check they carry public liability insurance and ask whether the trees are covered by a Tree Preservation Order or are in a conservation area before any work begins.

Whithorn is one of the oldest continuously occupied Christian sites in Scotland - St Ninian established a church here in the late 4th or early 5th century, making it the cradle of Christianity in Scotland.

The Whithorn Priory and the associated archaeological dig have revealed centuries of continuous settlement and the Whithorn Trust visitor centre tells the story of the site's remarkable history.

The town has a single main street of whitewashed houses, a medieval archway known as the Pend and a quiet, end-of-the-road character that comes from its position on the southern tip of the Machars peninsula.

Whithorn is a place of pilgrimage history and archaeological significance, sitting in gentle farmland a few miles from the coast.

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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.