Tolbooth Weathervane

Today's the day ................... to blow the wind northerly

Right on top of the Tolbooth in Kirkcudbright, there's a conical stone spire topped by a very elaborate, boat-shaped weathervane.

The Tolbooth is a historic municipal building in the town, built between 1627 and 1629, to serve as a centre of commercial administation, a meeting place for the council and a prison.  The present weather-vane, in the form of a three-masted sailing-ship, is believed to have been erected after 1805 to commemorate the Battle of Trafalgar.

Today, the weathervane served as a perfect perch for a party of starlings. that had flown over, to have a play on the boat.  They were pretending that they were under attack by a gang of pirates......................