[3] The new harbour built by the burgh lies to the south of the town and in 1818 consisted of a breastwork,[4] an area of quay running parallel to the river with a rubble and wood frontage and a small rectangular basin of a similar construction.

[5] The harbour is of the simplest form with a quay and the addition of a basin that provided extra berths rather than protection from the elements.

[11] Wigtown Castle once stood on the original course of the River Bladnoch and helped to provide protection from English incursions coming across the Solway Firth.

[17] The harbour basin has silted up however ships can still berth here and two slipways provide access to the river for smaller boats.

In the 17th century "The Killing Times" two local Covenanter women, Margaret McLachlan (various spellings exist), a woman in her 60s and the teenager Margaret Wilson were tried and sentenced to be drowned, as was the custom for condemned women at the time, but unusually they were tied to stakes to be drowned by the incoming tide.