Wicker Man

Today's the day ……………………… for a cult figure

Always an impressive sight, the Wicker Man  looked very much so when we came upon him today on our way home from Castle Douglas.  It was a bright and breezy day - just the sort of weather to show off the 30-foot high effigy from the cult film starring Edward Woodward - 'The Wicker Man' (1973), which was filmed almost entirely on location in Dumfries and Galloway, predominantly in the Kirkcudbright area.

Back in 2001, Sid Ambrose, a youth worker in Kirkcudbright, had the idea of staging a counter-culture festival, themed on this film.  All he needed was a venue.  It coincided with the fact that Dumfries and Galloway was reeling from the economic devastation of the foot and mouth epidemic.  Local farmer, Jamie Gilroy was looking at diversification and alternative income streams  He had a field which was a natural amphitheatre.  It was a perfect, if unlikely, match - but the rest, as they say, was history.

The Wickerman Festival became an integral part of the summer social calendar for thousands; a beacon event for Dumfries and Galloway which raised the region's profile and which it promoted with pride.  The last one took place in 2015 - the year following the tragic death of Jamie Gilroy, the festival's director and gregarious host.

And this (rather scary) Wickerman  effigy is all that is left to show that it once took place here ……………………...