No welder listed in Kirkconnel yet.

A welder joins and repairs metal using techniques like MIG, TIG and stick welding - from fixing a broken gate or trailer to fabricating brackets, mending vehicle bodywork and tackling structural steel work.

A reliable local welder is invaluable for jobs that come up unexpectedly, from a snapped tow bar to a corroded handrail.

Check they're insured for the type of work involved and ask whether they're certified to relevant standards (e.g. CSWIP for structural welding).

Kirkconnel is a former mining village in upper Nithsdale, sitting on the River Nith alongside its twin village of Kelloholm.

The village grew around the coal mines that served the Nithsdale coalfield and the mining heritage is central to the community's identity - the last pit closed in the 1960s.

Kirkconnel has a war memorial, a community centre and local shops and the surrounding hills offer walking routes into the Southern Uplands.

The village sits on the A76 between Sanquhar and Cumnock, with a rail station on the Glasgow South Western line providing connections to Dumfries and Kilmarnock.

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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.