Cumnock, which William Wallace made his headquarters between the battle of Stirling bridge and that of Falkirk.
New Cumnock, whence the Afton so sweetly falls into the Nith—
"Flow gently, sweet Afton, amang thy green braes,
Flow gently, I'll sing thee a song in thy praise."
Kirkconnel, which is said not to be the Kirkconnel where Fair Helen lies—but like the blasted heath, will it not serve?
"I wish I were where Helen lies,
Baith night and day on me she cries."
And in any event "The Bairnies cuddle doon at Nicht" were "waukrife rogues" in Kirkconnel.
Sanquhar to Thornhill, with rounding green hills along the Nith, with memories of Old Queensberry and Defoe and Wordsworth and Coleridge and Allan Ramsay and Dr. John Brown, and Carlyle. Thornhill is Dalgarnock, where fairs were held—
"But a' the niest week, as I petted wi' care,
I gaed to the tryste o' Dalgarnock,
And wha but my fine, fickle lover was there?
I glowr'd as I'd seen a warlock, a warlock,
I glowr'd as I'd seen a warlock."
Dunscore lies to the right with "Redgauntlet" memories, and a few miles farther on is Craigenputtock.
Ellisland a brief moment, where immortal "Tam" was written as under the spell of a warlock.