IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Corbelly Hill, DUMFRIES, DG2 7SQ

The Camera Obscura, installed in 1836, is on the top floor of the old windmill tower. From it you can see a fascinating panoramic view of Dumfries and the surrounding countryside.

Located in the grounds of the Dumfries Museum and Camera Obscura, built in the style of a Tuscan temple (more details at Historic Scotland http://hsewsf.sedsh.gov.uk/hslive/hsstart?P_HBNUM=26136 ). It is a memorial to John Sinclair M.D., assistant surgeon in the Royal Navy, 1814-1840. Inside the building are some sculptures Image Doctor Sinclair won them in a lottery, but the very next day "by a mournful accident", the young man died.

Located inside Image . Old Mortality was the nickname of Robert Paterson (1715-1801), a stonemason who took it upon himself to travel around lowland Scotland carving inscriptions for the unmarked graves of Covenanters, martyred in the 17th century. He is the subject of a novel by Sir Walter Scott. More information here http://futuremuseum.co.uk/collections/people/lives-in-key-periods/rebellion-enlightenment/the-covenanting-wars-the-killing-time/old-mortality,-dumfries-photographic-views-of-dumfries-and-neighbourhood,-kings-arms-hotel.aspx . The sculptures are by John Currie (or Corrie). There is a very similar statue by him at Balmaclellan Image .

This building, the top floor of which houses the Camera Obscura, is an eighteenth-century windmill set on Corbelly Hill. After conversion for use as a Camera Obscura and observatory, the building was opened to the public in 1836. The main role of the building later changed from observatory to museum, and the exhibits here include archaeological finds from the Stone, Bronze, and Iron Age; ores and other minerals; wildlife; fragments of Celtic crosses, and ogham inscriptions. A spiral staircase in the windmill tower is built around the mast of a ship. The Camera Obscura in Dumfries opened on the 1st of August 1836; according to a BBC news report, it is "thought to be the oldest continuously working device of its kind in the world".

The 18th century windmill, converted to an observatory and then a museum is a Category A listed building [http://portal.historicenvironment.scot/designation/LB26135]. The opening for the Camera Obscura on the top floor is just visible at the top of the tower.

Dumfries Museum and Camera Obscura is housed in this converted windmill near the town centre. We went specially to see the display of Fred Champion's pioneering photography of Indian wildlife, notably tigers, but the whole museum was of interest. Full marks go to Dumfries & Galloway Council for keeping it open all year, free of charge, in these tough economic times.

Access to the Dumfries Museum and Camera Obscura via a steep garden (there is another entrance at the top of the hill). Above the gate is a lamp with the arms of Dumfries on it. There is a good article about the museum on Undiscovered Scotland http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/dumfries/museum/index.html .

As seen through the Camera Obsura at the top of the windmill tower in Dumfries Museum Image The instrument was installed in 1836 when the tower was converted into an observatory. This makers it the world's oldest working Camera Obscura. This is the view as seen projected onto the viewing table. You may want to turn the image through 90 degrees to see the scene more easily - buses are parked beside the weir on the River Nith at the White Sands. The observatory is Category A listed http://portal.historicenvironment.scot/designation/LB26135.

This was originally a tenement block called Observatory Terrace, but there does not appear to be a sign with that name today. Probably built in the early 20th century, located opposite Image which was at one time an astronomical observatory. There is a photo of the back of these buildings, taken 1967, on ScotlandsPlaces http://www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk/search_item/index.php?service=RCAHMS&id=175210&refer=L3NlYXJjaC9pbmRleC5waHA%2FYWN0aW9uPWRvX3NlYXJjaCZwX3R5cGU9ZnJlZV90ZXh0X3NlYXJjaCZwX25hbWU9b2JzZXJ2YXRvcnk%3D .