Regional Spotlight: Dumfries & Galloway

Dumfries & Galloway in the South-west of Scotland boasts an array of unspoilt areas and historic landmarks, with regional centres including Dumfries, Stranraer, Lockerbie and weddings capital Gretna Green.

According to Gordon Mair, a director at Edinburgh-based property agent Bruce & Co, the local hospitality property market has been "very busy" over the past six months, with hot areas including Castle Douglas and West Coast harbour villages such as Portpatrick.

In 2001, says Mair, Dumfries & Galloway was the only area of Scotland to be seriously affected by the foot-and-mouth epidemic, resulting in properties going unsold and poor trading figures, which continued to hamper the market throughout 2002.

But there has since been a significant recovery, with increased tourism and bigger groups such as Punch Taverns being attracted to the area.

Most properties are small and privately owned, however, and Mair says a typical property in the region would be a "village style" hotel with seven or eight bedrooms, a bar and a restaurant.

There are many pubs that trade as hotels because, traditionally, they had to be a hotel to get a licence to sell alcohol on a Sunday.

Historically, says Mair, property prices in the area have been low but, as befits an "emerging" area, they are rising, making it a good time to buy.