SECRET DUMFRIES

Much of the history of Dumfries is well recorded - but as with any community, there are secrets hidden away. Darker aspects include the burning of nine witches on the Whitesands in 1659; the last public hanging of a woman in Scotland, held in Dumfries in 1862; tales of plague victims exiled to Scabbit Isle - and by contrast, the story of Patrick Miller and his introduction of turnips, courtesy of King Gustav III of Sweden.