Newton Stewart

Newton Stewart is a former burgh town in Dumfries and Galloway, southwest Scotland. The town is on the River Cree with most of the town to the west of the river, and is sometimes referred to as the "Gateway to the Galloway Hills".The main local industries are agriculture, forestry and tourism. The town hosts a local market, and a number of services to support the farming industry. There are many mountain biking trails in the area. Newton Stewart lies on the southern edge of the Galloway Forest Park, which supplies a large amount of jobs to the town.Newton Stewart FC, nicknamed the "Creesiders" play in the South of Scotland league, their ground is called Blairmount Park.TourismThere are numerous nature trails nearby as part of Galloway Forest Park, managed on behalf of the state by Forest Enterprise. There is a local museum at St. John's Church, and a doll's house exhibition and a butterfly and tropical plant house nearby. The last two are no longer open for visitors. Newton Stewart is seven miles from Scotland's book town Wigtown.HistoryThe town was founded in the mid 17th century by William Stewart, fourth and youngest son of the 2nd Earl of Galloway. The "New Town of Stewart" was granted burgh status by charter from King Charles II, allowing a weekly market and two annual fairs to be held.It was on a pilgrimage to the shrine of St Ninian at Whithorn in 1329 that Robert the Bruce forded the river where the present bridge stands. Designed by John Rennie the Elder and built in 1813 the present bridge replaced the old bridge of 1745 which was destroyed by floods in 1806.