Wanlockhead Curling Society

The photograph shows the Curling Society of 1912 which swept the board that year by winning all the major trophies including the Carsebreck Cup (National Trophy) and the Dumfries Waterlow Cup.   The Minutes show that there were 123 members at the first meeting in 1777. There was always a problem ensuring suitable ice, despite and altitude of well over 450m. There are no natural lochs nearby and the Minutes record the building of a succession of dams “sheltered from the thaws of the southern and western winds”. Nonetheless , players were highly competitive and were prepared to travel long distances for an ‘away spiel’ and it was a common site to witness one hundred curlers and their supporters trudging the eight miles over the old hill road to Sanquhar, while the ‘stanes’ were transported on carts down the longer Mennock Pass route.