It’s high spring and Dumfriesshire is looking beautiful, the luscious curves of the landscape draped in bluebells. Fifteen miles up the road from the county town, Moniaive is enjoying the loveliest sunshine it has seen all year.

With its whitewashed houses and narrow lanes, the village looks every inch the “Sleepy Moniaive” proclaimed in a headline of its local newspaper, the Glencairn Gazette. But those picturesque looks are deceptive and the headline, it turns out, was ironic. For “sleepy” read “Boho”: Moniaive, suddenly, unexpectedly is the place to be.

You want proof? You might find it at the mock Tudor house bought earlier this year by Alex Kapranos, lead singer of Franz Ferdinand. You can tell the hot-as-mustard band are in residence, because the windows have been thrown wide open to let the warm air circulate. They are recording their eagerly anticipated second album, but no sound emerges to compete with the birdsong. Maybe they’re working on the lyrics.

The locals are understandably protective of their celebrities. There’s a tale or two about Kapranos wobbling down the street on the bicycle he bought on eBay, and mention of a vegan meal served up for one of the band in the local cafe. But “the Boys” as they’re called, are blending nicely into the scenery of the place.

“They’re a great bunch of guys, really nice,” says Catherine Braid, who runs the village’s thriving Green Tree House, famous for its monthly gourmet theme nights. She has become official caterer to the band, ensuring they get two square meals a day.

“There’s no hassle with them at all,” she says. “They just get on with their work and I get on with mine. They like meeting the locals. They want to be involved.”

In these parts to be arty and perhaps a little bit famous has never been exceptional. Kapranos owns a house that was occupied in the 1890s by the artist James Paterson, a prominent member of the Glasgow Boys. Even then you can bet nobody batted an eye. These days it’s just the same.

Moniaive hosts half a dozen working artists, a similar number of writers, a pair of fashion designers and a fair few folk musicians of varying professional status.

Some of these celebs, it’s true, are relatively obscure. But others have achieved a rather wider fame.

Andy Goldsworthy, renowned across the globe for his sculptures made from organic materials, lives in nearby Penpont and is currently working on the Striding Arches, a huge installation for the area.

Joanna Lumley, actress, author and all round national treasure, drives her 4x4 up to her cottage in the hills a few miles away, along with Stephen Barlow, her conductor/composer husband.

To add a little piquancy to the image cast by Lumley’s Absolutely Fabulous character, the chain-smoking louche Patsy, the actress has vowed to fight the Scottish executive’s smoking ban from her country retreat.

She plans, she says, to build a big bonfire on the day the ban comes into force and then smoke “comedy size” cigarettes with her guests. “I will just say — lighten up guys,” she says for emphasis, as if anyone in these parts could lighten up any further.

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