Along the flowery bunks of Cree.”
Photo: J. P. Gibson, Hexham.
CAERLAVEROCK CASTLE (p. [320]).
In truth the river has many beautiful prospects, whereof the finest are in the vicinity of Newton Stewart, the most considerable town on its banks. We have selected the river at the bridge for our illustration. The bridge is lauded in the “New Statistical Account” as “elegant and substantial, built of granite, with a freestone parapet”; and another authority assures us that it was built in 1813, and cost £6,000—all which, no doubt, you are prepared to take on trust, as you can scarce be expected to go to Newton Stewart to verify the facts!
One must not leave the river without mention of the famous “Cruives of Cree,” to wit, “salmon-traps in the stone-cauls or dam-dykes, which, serving the country-folk for bridges, came to be well known landmarks.” They were situate near Penninghame House, in the parish of Penninghame, and are commemorated in an ancient rhyme celebrating the power of the Kennedys:—
“’Twixt Wigtown and the town o’ Ayr,
Portpatrick and the Cruives o’ Cree,