Since 2017, the parishes in Wigtownshire have had a twinning link with the Trutnov area in the Czech Republic.

Trutnov is a town about the same size as Dumfries, and it is two hours east of Prague, near the mountains and the Polish border.

A group from Wigtownshire visited for a long weekend in 2025, and five Czechs came to Wigtownshire for the weekend of 12th to 15th June 2026.

They attended the opening session of the Presbytery meeting in Stranraer, and also the Wigtown martyrs memorial. They attended Sunday worship at Penninghame St John’s, Newton Stewart, and met with a number of local people at social events in Sandhead, Portpatrick and Leswalt.

It is hoped a Scottish group will return the visit in 2027, and Czechs come back here in 2028. We have learned a lot from our visitors and hope to share our experiences of church life with them, for the benefit of us all.

Revd Steve Fulcher, Leswalt