Sweetheart Abbey stands in New Abbey, a short drive south of Dumfries. Devorguilla of Galloway founded it in 1273 in memory of her husband John Balliol, whose embalmed heart she is said to have carried with her and buried here.
The ruin is romantic without needing much embellishment: red sandstone, open sky, and enough surviving church fabric to make the Cistercian plan clear. It pairs naturally with Caerlaverock Castle on a countryside loop from Dumfries.