I set off from Port Rodie, the main bus terminal in Stranraer, on the 416 towards Port William. Located on the west coast of The Machars, at the eastern side of Luce Bay, the route runs along the very edge of the beach for some distance, with the Isle of Man clearly visible across the sea.

At Port William, the connecting 415 was waiting for us, taking me onward through the Isle of Whithorn, Whithorn and Garlieston to Wigtown.

The old county town of Wigtownshire is now known as Scotland's National Book Town, and there were certainly plenty of bookshops to browse. My favourite is The Open Book, although on this occasion I left empty-handed before stopping for a coffee at Café Rendezvous.

From there it was a short trip on the 415 to Newton Stewart. Another walk took me down Victoria Street to Brigend Pantry for an ice cream, where I sat and watched the River Cree flow by.

From Newton Stewart I finally left the Galloway coast behind, boarding service 359 to Girvan on the Ayrshire coast. Between the two towns, the route climbs high into the hills beside Galloway Forest Park before dropping back towards the sea.

In Girvan, a walk along the beach offered excellent views of Ailsa Craig, the granite island that provides the stone used for curling stones.

For my final bus of the day, the 358/360 headed south along the coast as far as Ballantrae before climbing over towards Glenapp, dropping back down to Cairnryan and following the lochside into Stranraer.