Founded in the early 18th Century by the Johnstones of Lockerbie, Lockerbie is located in NE Dumfries and Galloway, 14 miles (22.5 km) east of Dumfries and just east of the River Annan, by the M74 motorway. In Mediaeval times the town was the focus of much feuding between the Johnstone and Maxwell families, giving rise to the term 'Lockerbie Lick' (a slashed face). Scotland's largest lamb fair was held here in the 18th century, in 1847 the railway arrived and in 1863 Lockerbie became a burgh. Lockerbie still has a station on the West Coast Main Line but, until 1966, it also served as a junction, with trains bound for Dumfries via Lochmaben. Tragedy struck the town on 21st December 1988 when a terrorist bomb exploded on a PanAm Jumbo Jet flying overhead, killing all 259 passengers and crew, together with 11 further people when the wreckage fell on the town.
Nearby is Lockerbie Manor (a mile / 1.5 km north), now a hotel, and there is an 18-hole golf course at Corrie Road. Major local employers include the timber-processing facility and biomass power station at Steven's Croft (2¼ miles / 4 km north northwest of the village) and Lockerbie Creamery, on the opposite side of the River Annan, 2 miles (3 km) to the west.