The village is located where the A74(M) motorway and the West Coast Main Line railway cross the Kirtle Water.
It used to have a village pub but it is now a licensed guest house which has a residents bar and is very dog friendly.
Kirtlebridge railway station on the main line formerly served the village, and a nearby junction marked the start of the Solway Junction Railway to Annan.
[1] The Kirtlebridge rail crash occurred at the station on 2 October 1872, and resulted in 12 deaths.
The tower was one of a number of structures built along the border as protection against incursions by the British.