The Five Red Herrings Trail — In Search of Lord Peter Wimsey
A self-drive literary and television-location tour from The Selkirk Arms Hotel
Six suspects, a landscape full of artists and a detective with an eye for detail. Discover the Galloway that inspired Dorothy L. Sayers, and visit locations used in the 1975 BBC adaptation starring Ian Carmichael. Start and finish at the Selkirk Arms, whose hotel and bar appeared in the production.
Main route
Kirkcudbright → Gatehouse of Fleet → former Gatehouse Station, Dromore → Big Water of Fleet Viaduct → Gatehouse → Kirkcudbright
Start and finish: The Selkirk Arms Hotel, High Street, Kirkcudbright
Allow: 6–7 hours, including lunch, short walks and visits
Driving: roughly 35–45 miles; a planning estimate, depending on parking and detours
Best enjoyed: with a copy of the book, a camera and time to linger
The Kirkcudbright stops form a walking circuit before the driving section. This trail keeps the solution to the mystery under wraps.
| Stop | Connection | Suggested visit |
|---|---|---|
| Selkirk Arms bar | Television filming location | 20 minutes |
| Sheriff Court exterior | Screen police station | 10 minutes |
| Broughton House | Screen home of Matthew Gowan; artists' heritage | 45–60 minutes |
| Harbour and Kirkcudbright Galleries | Background to the novel's artistic community | 30–45 minutes |
| Ship Inn and Gatehouse | Sayers' holiday base; town featured in the book | 60–90 minutes, including lunch |
| Former Gatehouse Station area | Railway enquiries in the novel | 10–15 minutes, where public access permits |
| Big Water of Fleet Viaduct | Television location and the book's railway landscape | 45–60 minutes |
1. Begin at the Selkirk Arms
Suggested start: 9.30am
Your literary adventure begins in a place with its own screen connection: the Selkirk Arms hotel and bar were used in the television adaptation.
The novel introduces a community of painters and fishers, then sets Lord Peter Wimsey the task of untangling a suspicious death and six possible suspects. Enjoy the atmosphere before setting off. Save the celebratory dram for your return, once the car is parked!
2. Follow the clues along Kirkcudbright High Street
On foot from the hotel • Allow 20–30 minutes
Walk along High Street to the Sheriff Court exterior, which stood in for the police station in the adaptation. Continue to Broughton House, staying on public pavements.
Kirkcudbright's old streets make an atmospheric introduction to the story. Treat the court as an exterior viewing stop; access to nearby closes and homes should not be assumed.
3. Broughton House — art meets detective fiction
Allow 45–60 minutes for an interior and garden visit
The former home of artist E. A. Hornel connects the town's real artistic heritage with its fictional painters. Its exterior and garden were used as Matthew Gowan's residence in the television production.
Visit the house and garden when open, or enjoy an exterior stop. Check opening dates, admission and access before setting out.
4. Explore the Artists' Town
Walk to the harbour and Kirkcudbright Galleries • Allow 30–45 minutes
Make time for the waterfront and, when open, the galleries. This is a background stop rather than a claimed filming location: seeing the town and its art helps bring Sayers' community of painters to life.
If you would prefer more time in Broughton House, shorten this stop and head straight to your car.
5. Gatehouse of Fleet — Sayers' Galloway
Drive approximately 20–25 minutes • Allow 60–90 minutes
Leave Kirkcudbright on the A755 and join the A75 westbound, following signs for Gatehouse of Fleet. Park in a designated town parking area and explore on foot.
Head towards the Ship Inn beside the river bridge. Formerly the Anwoth Hotel, it was a holiday base for Sayers and her husband, Mac Fleming. Gatehouse is also an important setting in the novel.
Enjoy lunch here or elsewhere in town, checking food-service times beforehand. Take a short stroll beside the Fleet, then return to your car for the railway landscape above the town.
6. The former Gatehouse Station area
Follow the B796 towards Gatehouse Station and Dromore • Allow about 20–25 minutes driving
The station in the novel was well outside Gatehouse itself. Wimsey visits it to ask questions, and train journeys, bicycles and timings form an important part of the puzzle.
This is a stop to appreciate the former railway setting, not an operating station attraction. View only from places with public access, respect private property and stop only where there is safe, lawful parking. If there is no suitable stopping place, continue to the reserve.
7. Big Water of Fleet Viaduct
Continue to Dromore Farm reserve parking • Allow 45–60 minutes
Use NatureScot's directions: from Gatehouse, follow the B796 to the former station and turn right at the T-junction after approximately 10 kilometres. Follow local signs for the Cairnsmore of Fleet reserve parking at Dromore Farm; DG7 2BP is the nearest postcode, not an exact parking pin.
The viaduct is a recorded television filming location, and the surrounding railway landscape appears in the novel. Walk towards it using the reserve's signed routes and current visitor information. Paths can be uneven or muddy; choose a walk suited to your group and follow any access restrictions.
Enjoy the views, the great stone arches and a very different side of Galloway from the harbour streets where you began.
8. Return to the Selkirk Arms
Allow approximately 40–50 minutes driving
Return via the B796 to Gatehouse, then follow signs for the A75 eastbound and A755 to Kirkcudbright.
Back at the hotel, park up and return to the bar. Compare your favourite locations over tea, dinner or a well-earned drink. The scenery may have provided plenty of distractions, but the murderer can remain a mystery until you finish the book!
Optional second-day extension — The Road to the Minnoch
A separate full-day outing for keen readers
Kirkcudbright → Gatehouse → coastal scenery around Cardoness, Mossyard and Kirkdale → Creetown → Newton Stewart → Bargrennan and the Minnoch countryside → return to Kirkcudbright
This follows the broad journey described near the beginning of the novel. Sayers takes Wimsey past coastal landmarks, through Newton Stewart and towards the Minnoch, where Campbell's body is discovered.
Take the A755 and A75 west towards Newton Stewart, leaving the main road for town visits where appropriate, then the A714 towards Bargrennan. Newton Stewart makes a convenient lunch stop.
Treat the Minnoch as a literary landscape visit: this guide does not identify an exact murder-site bridge or a verified television location there, but I like to think that it could be the Roman Bridge. Car Park and location below and then walk up the side of the Minnoch passing the named fishing pools, when you reach the Kettle pool it's just another 100m further up to the Roman Bridge.
55°02'28.1"N 4°33'50.6"W
Before you set off
- Check attraction opening hours and lunch availability for your chosen day.
- Driving distances and times are approximate; use current navigation and road signs.
- Wear suitable shoes for the reserve paths and allow for the weather.
- Respect private homes, gardens and former railway buildings.
- The adaptation was broadcast in 1975; use that date in publicity.
Stay at the Selkirk Arms. Follow the clues. Discover the Galloway behind Five Red Herrings.
Sources and further reading
- Dorothy L. Sayers, The Five Red Herrings (1931), especially the early journey to the Minnoch and Gatehouse Station enquiries: https://mail.gutenberg.ca/ebooks/sayersdl-fiveredherrings/sayersdl-fiveredherrings-00-h-dir/sayersdl-fiveredherrings-00-h.html
- Production location listing, Five Red Herrings (1975): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072502/locations/
- Wigtown Book Festival, “A Killing in Kirkcudbright”: https://www.wigtownbookfestival.com/blog/a-killing-in-kirkcudbright
- NatureScot, Cairnsmore of Fleet visitor directions and facilities: https://www.nature.scot/enjoying-outdoors/visit-our-nature-reserves/cairnsmore-fleet-nnr/cairnsmore-fleet-nnr-visiting-reserve