Sculptured by Penny Wheatley, the otter statue is in honour of Gavin Maxwell, best known for his book Ring of Bright Water, published in 1960.
Movie Fact: A film was made in 1969 based on the book, starring Bill Travers (Born Free & The Smallest Show on Earth) and Virginia McKenna (Born Free & A Town like Alice).
Maxwell’s book Ring of Bright Water describes how, in 1956, he brought a smooth-coated otter back from Iraq and raised it in “Camusfearna”at Sandaig Bay on the west coast of Scotland. He took the otter, called Mijbil, to the London Zoological Society, where it was decided that
this was a previously unknown subspecies of smooth-coated otter. It was therefore named Lutrogale perspicillata maxwelli (or, colloquially, “Maxwell’s otter”) after him.
Gavin Maxwell was the youngest son of Lieutenant-Colonel Aymer Maxwell and Lady Mary Percy, fifth daughter of the seventh Duke of Northumberland. His paternal grandfather, Sir Herbert Maxwell, 7th Baronet, was an archaeologist, politician and natural historian. Maxwell was born at The House of Elrig near the small village of Elrig, near Port William, in Wigtownshire, south-western Scotland. Maxwell’s relatives still live in the area and the family’s ancient estate and grounds are in nearby Monreith.
How to get there from The Old Smiddy: From Glasserton, follow the A747 North. Before Monreith, opposite Knock Farm Caravan
Site, take an unclassified road on the left and follow this single track road down through St Medan Golf Course to a car park at the beach.
After parking retrace your steps up the road and opposite St Medan Golf Club Car Park there is a grassy track which goes left and leads to the disused Old Kirkmaiden Church with its picturesque graveyard overlooking Monreith Bay. Come back up the grassy track and turn
left along the road passing the Golf Club on your right until you come to the Otter Memorial.
To Monreith Beach: From the Otter Memorial take a track on the right which leads you in a northerly direction towards the village of Monreith. Pass through two wooden gates and then bear left along the fence until you come to a gate which leads down to the pebbly beach.
All depending on your walk (and tides), you can go back the way you came, you can alternatively turn right along the beach until you see a track going up past a house on the left. Follow this track, Mill Lane, to the main road and circle back to the car park, following the signposts for the Maxwell Otter. There are extensive seascape vistas on this walk right over to the Mull of Galloway Lighthouse and the Scares Rocks, which are a protected seabird colony.
Terrain: Straightforward to the memorial and church, then pebbly/sandy shoreline.
The beach and caves may be inaccessible at high tides.
